Adaptation to marital separation in later and earlier life

In recent years, the divorce rate has increased markedly for people of all ages. Whereas the consequences of the divorce experience for those in young adulthood have received considerable attention, relatively little is known about their impact on older adults. This paper evaluates the psychosocial functioning of recently separated men and women (N = 310) ranging in age from 20 to the 70s. Included in the analyses were measures of morale, psychiatric symptoms, time perspective, self-reported physical health, social disruption, personal disruption, and divorce-induced upset. The older respondents exhibited more psychosocial distress than did the younger, whereas sex differences suggested that men and women have different vulnerabilities.