Late-Life Divorce and Postdivorce Adult Subjective Well-Being

Abstract

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.