Birth of the Society of Divorees – Changing Patterns of Civil Status in Later Life

Half a century ago Lopata used the concept “society of widows” to describe the gendered reality of late life singlehood, where widowed women were excluded from coupled social life, depended on a community of other widows for social integration, and refrained from initiating new relationships due to “sanctification” of their former husbands. We use Swedish, American and EU census data and a national survey to Swedes 60-90 years old (n=1225; response rate 42%) to illustrate a substantial change in the demographic landscape of late life singlehood. More people enter later life as divorcees or become divorced at a high age. Among Swedes 60+ divorcees outnumber widowed people, and the incidence of late life divorce has more than doubled since the millennium in what has been called the “grey divorce revolution”. Many other Western countries follow the same demographical trend, posing important questions about the transformation of late life singlehood. Based on two Swedish studies we will show that the structure of the late life single community is becoming less gender skewed as a consequence of the emerging society of divorcees, and that in this society relationship careers are increasingly complex, attitudes to repartnering increasingly liberal and partner sanctification seldom an issue. We conclude by proposing the concept “society of divorcees” for this new demographic landscape of late life singlehood, argue that research is needed to capture this new reality, and discuss the implications of this change for access to social support later life.

THE TRANSFORMATION OF LATE-LIFE SINGLEHOOD: EMERGENCE OF THE SOCIETY OF DIVORCEES

More than four decades ago Lopata coined the concept “society of widows” to describe the gendered reality of late life singlehood, where widowed women were excluded from coupled social life and had to depend on other widows for social integration. We have coined the concept “society of divorcees” to describe the changing reality of late life singlehood. Swedish, American and EU census data and a national survey to Swedes 60-90 years old (n=1225; response rate 42%). Results show that more people enter later life as divorcees or become divorced at a high age. Among Swedes 60+ divorcees outnumber widowed people, and the incidence of late life divorce has more than doubled since the millennium in what has been called the grey divorce revolution. Many other Western countries follow the same demographic trend, posing important questions about late life singlehood. Based on two Swedish studies we will show that the structure of the late life single community is becoming less gender skewed as a consequence of the emerging society of divorcees, and that in this society relationship careers are increasingly complex, attitudes to repartnering increasingly liberal and partner sanctification seldom an issue. We conclude by discussing the consequences of the emerging society of divorcees for late life support structures.

Late-Life Divorce and Postdivorce Adult Subjective Well-Being

Late-life divorce—divorce at 50 years and older—is an increasingly common event in the United States. Despite this trend, the conditions and outcomes for those involved in late-life divorce remain understudied. Drawing on Schlossberg’s transition theory, we assess four sets of risk and protective factors (i.e., situation, self, support, and coping strategies) that could influence the postdivorce life satisfaction of adults who experience late-life divorces. Using the data set of a nationally representative study, we obtained an analytical sample of 164 men and 145 women who reported a divorce at 50 years or older ( N = 309). Results from ordinary least squares regression analysis indicate few statistically significant effects from the sets of risk and protective factors entered in the second and third steps of the analysis. Implications, limitations, and directions for future research are discussed.