The effects of marital status transitions on alcohol use trajectories

Authors

  • Hui Liew Mississippi State University

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.14301/llcs.v3i3.187

Keywords:

aging, a semi-parametric mixture modeling, marital transition, alcohol use.

Abstract

This study aims to exploit the longitudinal nature of the US Health and Retirement Study (HRS), using a semi-parametric mixture modeling (SPMM) approach to examine whether the presence of marital transitions has an impact on alcohol use trajectories among the elderly. The empirical work of this study is based on the 1994-2008 Health and Retirement Study (HRS). Findings provide support to the marriage protection effect: for both elderly men and women, remaining divorced or widowed had detrimental effects on alcohol consumption. Findings also concur with the potential roles of assortive mating / marital homophily: having a drinking spouse increased alcohol consumption.

Author Biography

Hui Liew, Mississippi State University

As a research fellow, my research at the Social Science Research Center (SSRC), Mississippi State University, focuses on aging, medical demography, substance abuse, health inequality, and quantitative methodology.

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Published

2012-08-08