Original scientific paper
»For Better or Worse, Till Death Us Do Part« – Spousal Age Gap and Differential Longevity: Evidence from Historical Demography
Ariane Kemkes-Grottenthaler
Abstract
Based on a set of 2,371 family related entries dating from 1688 to 1921, the current
study tried to verify longevity differentials due to interspousal age difference. For the
purpose of the analysis, age-heterogamy was operationalized in terms of sample-specific
marital age gap (3.2 years) with a standard deviation of 6.1 years. Based on this, five
marriage groups were isolated. Female mean age at marriage experienced a slight increase
over time, while the male mean at marriage decreased. This led to an appreciable
narrowing of the spousal age gap. Age-homogamous unions were most prevalent in the
lower socio-economic class (day-laborers, industrial workers) (p<0.01). In both husband-
older and wife-older unions, the interspousal gap increased with marriage order.
In accord with previous studies, mean age at death varied significantly by marriage
group. Females, who married younger men, died later than females, who married older
men. In contrast, male longevity was most depressed within age-similar marriages,
while those who married older or younger wives displayed higher life spans. Overall,
marriage to a younger spouse seemed to increase longevity prospects (p<0.05). These differentials
were not exclusively a function of the marital age gap, but were affected by diverse
confounders such as reproductive output and socio-economic status.
Keywords
historical demography; mate choice; interspousal age gap; longevity
Hrčak ID:
27993
URI
Publication date:
28.12.2004.
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