When the Going Gets Tough: the Impact of Health Shocks on Divorce

Anna Sanz- de-Galdeano () and Daniela Vuri ()
Additional contact information
Anna Sanz- de-Galdeano: University of Alicante
Daniela Vuri: DEF & CEIS, University of Rome "Tor Vergata", http://www.ceistorvergata.it

No 597, CEIS Research Paper from Tor Vergata University, CEIS

Abstract: We analyze the impact of unexpected health shocks—defined as the sudden diagnosis of cancer, stroke, or heart attack—on the probability of couple dissolution using longitudinal representative data on older individuals (50+). We leverage the longitudinal nature of the HRS and utilize a quasi-experimental research approach that creates counterfactual scenarios for affected households by comparing them to households set to experience the same event in subsequent years. We find that experiencing a health shock significantly increases the probability of couple dissolution by approximately 19% of the mean divorce prevalence. This effect intensifies gradually over time rather than appearing immediately after the adverse health event. Additionally, we examine several mechanisms through which health shocks may influence divorce, focusing on three potential channels: mental health, cognitive decline, and financial strain. Our findings suggest that all three mechanisms likely play a role in mediating the relationship between health shocks and the increased probability of divorce.

Keywords: Health shocks; divorce; aging (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I14 I24 J13 J15 Z13 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 39 pages
Date: 2025-04-15, Revised 2025-04-15
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://ceistorvergata.it/RePEc/rpaper/RP597.pdf Main text (application/pdf)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:rtv:ceisrp:597

Ordering information: This working paper can be ordered from
CEIS - Centre for Economic and International Studies - Faculty of Economics - University of Rome "Tor Vergata" - Via Columbia, 2 00133 Roma
https://ceistorvergata.it

Access Statistics for this paper

More papers in CEIS Research Paper from Tor Vergata University, CEIS CEIS - Centre for Economic and International Studies - Faculty of Economics - University of Rome "Tor Vergata" - Via Columbia, 2 00133 Roma. Contact information at EDIRC.
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Barbara Piazzi ().