Changes in depressive symptoms associated with spousal loss in six country context.
- 1Claude Pepper Center, Florida State University, Tallahassee, Florida, United States.
- 2Department of Sociology, Florida State University, Tallahassee, Florida, United States.
Abstract
Background and objectives
This exploratory study examines changes in depressive symptoms following spousal loss relative to remaining married across countries, whether these associations vary by national context and gender, and the extent to which selection into widowhood accounts for cross-national differences.Research design and methods
This study uses data from the Health and Retirement Study international family of studies and evaluates change in depressive symptoms across six country contexts: United States, England, Mexico, China, and two combinations of European Union countries categorized by welfare state: Conservative and Social/Democratic. We evaluated change in depressive symptoms among individuals who were married at Wave 1 (2015/2016 depending on country) and at Wave 2 (2018) when some remained married while others reported a spousal loss. The analytic sample included adults aged 60 years and older (Wave 1 mean age = 69.13 years, SD = 6.78).Results
Using ordinary least squares regression and propensity score methods to account for selection into widowhood, results suggest that the experience of widowhood is generally similar across country contexts, with widows experiencing, on average, about 0.5 SDs increase in depressive symptoms (marginal effect = 0.53, p < .001; propensity adjusted score = 0.56, p < .001), a likely clinically relevant increase, accounting for selection. These effects were roughly the same for men and women in all country contexts.Discussion and implications
Future research is needed to identify factors that may buffer the consequences of widowhood and explore cross-national interventions that may help reduce these effects.
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BibTeX
@article{chauhan2026changes,
title = {{Changes in depressive symptoms associated with spousal loss in six country context.}},
author = {Shekhar Chauhan and Dawn C Carr},
journal = {Innovation in aging},
year = {2026},
month = sep,
doi = {10.1093/geroni/igag101},
url = {https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42927414},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Changes in depressive symptoms associated with spousal loss in six country context.
AU - Shekhar Chauhan
AU - Dawn C Carr
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/09/18
JO - Innovation in aging
DO - 10.1093/geroni/igag101
UR - https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42927414
AB - Background and objectives This exploratory study examines changes in depressive symptoms following spousal loss relative to remaining married across countries, whether these associations vary by national context and gender, and the extent to which selection into widowhood accounts for cross-national differences.Research design and methods This study uses data from the Health and Retirement Study international family of studies and evaluates change in depressive symptoms across six country contexts: United States, England, Mexico, China, and two combinations of European Union countries categorized by welfare state: Conservative and Social/Democratic. We evaluated change in depressive symptoms among individuals who were married at Wave 1 (2015/2016 depending on country) and at Wave 2 (2018) when some remained married while others reported a spousal loss. The analytic sample included adults aged 60 years and older (Wave 1 mean age = 69.13 years, SD = 6.78).Results Using ordinary least squares regression and propensity score methods to account for selection into widowhood, results suggest that the experience of widowhood is generally similar across country contexts, with widows experiencing, on average, about 0.5 SDs increase in depressive symptoms (marginal effect = 0.53, p < .001; propensity adjusted score = 0.56, p < .001), a likely clinically relevant increase, accounting for selection. These effects were roughly the same for men and women in all country contexts.Discussion and implications Future research is needed to identify factors that may buffer the consequences of widowhood and explore cross-national interventions that may help reduce these effects.
SN - 2399-5300
ER -