2006/07/26 by Sara M. Moorman, Alan Booth, Karen L. Fingerman · 55 citations
Medicine · Psychology · Social Sciences · #Demography #Developmental psychology #Family Dynamics and Relationships #Gerontology #Grief, Bereavement, and Mental Health #Intergenerational Family Dynamics and Caregiving #Interpersonal relationship #Logistic regression #Medicine #Mental health #Population #Psychiatry #Psychology #Remarriage #Romance #Social psychology #Socioeconomic status #Sociology
paper · doi:10.1177/0192513x06289096
published in Journal of Family Issues 27(9), 1281-1304 (SAGE Publishing)
openalex publication_date 2006/07/26 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/06/11
This study examines decisions women make about their romantic lives after widowhood. Participants were women from the Americans’ Changing Lives survey, a nationwide random sample of 3,617 Americans older than age 25 years who, in 1986, were widowed ( n = 259) or had been widowed and were remarried ( n = 49). Widowed participants provided information about their male companions and their interest in remarriage, as well as information about their social support, mental and physical health, age, and socioeconomic status. Logistic regressions revealed that younger age and greater unhappiness predicted interest in remarriage. Higher trait anxiety predicted having male companionship. Widows who had remarried had higher household incomes and worried less about finances than did widows who did not remarry. Widows appear to make choices about partners based on their individual needs and desires as well as the attributes and availability of partners.