The Effects of Marital Status, Fertility, and Bereavement on Adult Mortality in Polygamous and Monogamous Households: Evidence From the Utah Population Database

Kieron J. Barclay,Ken R. Smith,Heidi A. Hanson,Robyn Donrovich Thorén

doi:10.1007/s13524-020-00918-z

Kieron J. Barclay, Ken R. Smith + Show 2 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1007/s13524-020-00918-z

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Abstract

Although the associations among marital status, fertility, bereavement, and adult mortality have been widely studied, much less is known about these associations in polygamous households, which remain prevalent across much of the world. We use data from the Utah Population Database on 110,890 women and 106,979 men born up to 1900, with mortality follow-up into the twentieth century. We examine how the number of wife deaths affects male mortality in polygamous marriages, how sister wife deaths affect female mortality in polygamous marriages relative to the death of a husband, and how marriage order affects the mortality of women in polygamous marriages. We also examine how the number of children ever born and child deaths affect the mortality of men and women as well as variation across monogamous and polygamous unions. Our analyses of women show that the death of a husband and the death of a sister wife have similar effects on mortality. Marriage order does not play a role in the mortality of women in polygamous marriages. For men, the death of one wife in a polygamous marriage increases mortality to a lesser extent than it does for men in monogamous marriages. For polygamous men, losing additional wives has a dose-response effect. Both child deaths and lower fertility are associated with higher mortality. We consistently find that the presence of other kin in the household—whether a second wife, a sister wife, or children—mitigates the negative effects of bereavement.

Highlights

The detrimental effect of losing a spouse on the mortality of the surviving partner is one of the most consistently observed patterns in the social sciences (Elwert and Christakis 2008a; Hu and Goldman 1990; Martikainen and Valkonen 1996; Mineau et al 2002; Smith and Zick 1996)
Mortality rates are higher in these polygamous marriages with two wives when the husband has died and the sister wife is alive in comparison with when the sister wife has died and the husband is alive, but the highest rates are seen among women where both the husband and sister wife have died
Polygamous marriages with four or more wives show a similar pattern: the mortality is higher when some or all sister wives have died, rates are higher if the husband has died than if a sister wife dies, and rates are highest of all when all the sister wives and the husband are dead

Summary

Introduction

The detrimental effect of losing a spouse on the mortality of the surviving partner is one of the most consistently observed patterns in the social sciences (Elwert and Christakis 2008a; Hu and Goldman 1990; Martikainen and Valkonen 1996; Mineau et al 2002; Smith and Zick 1996). Disregarding statistical significance, the point estimates suggest that women in polygamous marriages who experience the death of their husband as well as all sister wives have a similar hazard of mortality to women who are widowed in monogamous marriages.

Results

Conclusion