Evidence map›Paper›PMID 39661770›Full record

ArticleAging & mental health2025

A national portrait of the well-being of remarried and previously married cohabiting older adults.

Christopher A Julian, Susan L Brown

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Aging & mental health, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Cohabitation and unmet care needs in later life.The journals of gerontology. Series B, Psychological sciences and social sciences · 2026
    Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

2 authors.

Christopher A JulianDepartment of Sociology and Center for Family and Demographic Research, Bowling Green State University, Bowling Green, OH, USA.
Susan L BrownDepartment of Sociology and Center for Family and Demographic Research, Bowling Green State University, Bowling Green, OH, USA.

Funding

HRS Yrs29-34: Y33 SSA CoFundingU01AG009740 · NIA · UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN AT ANN ARBOR · PI Jessica Faul, KENNETH M LANGA · 1990 to 2026
$555.8M
Research Development CoreR24HD050959 · NICHD · BOWLING GREEN STATE UNIVERSITY · PI MANNING, WENDY D. · 2005 to 2016
$2.6M
Computing and Data CoreP2CHD050959 · NICHD · BOWLING GREEN STATE UNIVERSITY · PI BROWN, SUSAN L. · 2016 to 2021
$1.2M
NIA NIH HHS U01 AG009740NICHD NIH HHS P2C HD050959NICHD NIH HHS R24 HD050959
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

objectivesMounting evidence signals that cohabitation operates as an alternative to remarriage in later life. However, others have maintained that cohabitation is an incomplete institution marked by less favorable outcomes than remarriage. We appraise these two frameworks by examining the well-being of remarried and previously married cohabiting older adults.

methodDrawing on the 2010-2020 Health and Retirement Study, we assessed whether remarried and previously married cohabiting older adults differed in their depressive symptoms and loneliness. We also tested whether the association between relationship quality and well-being varied by union type.

resultsAmong women, cohabitors reported higher levels of depressive symptoms than their remarried counterparts. In contrast, union type was not appreciably associated with men's depressive symptoms. Meanwhile, among men, cohabitors reported less loneliness, on average, than did those in remarriages. No corresponding union-type differential emerged among women. Additionally, the association between relationship quality and psychological well-being did not differ by union type for both men and women.

conclusionOur study largely aligns with the notion that cohabitation functions as an alternative to remarriage in later life. The growth of cohabitation among older adults, coupled with its distinct purpose during this life stage, underscores the importance of advancing this nascent line of inquiry into its role in older adults' well-being.

Indexed as

DepressionLonelinessMarriageAgedAged, 80 and overFemaleHumansMaleMiddle AgedUnited StatesCohabitationgenderrelationship qualityremarriagewell-being

Identifiers

PMID39661770
PMCPMC12210332

What OpenQuestion holds

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Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.