Why women find it harder to adjust to divorce or break-ups than men
It is never easy to experience a breakup at any age.
But according to a new study, women may find it more difficult to adjust to a breakup or divorce later in life than men.
A long-term study of people between the ages of 50 and 70 identified the use of antidepressants among those who had experienced a breakup, divorce or bereavement.
And although both genders increased their use of antidepressants in the lead-up to and immediate aftermath of each event, women’s use of these drugs was greater than men’s.
Due to an aging population, the number of ‘grey divorces’ from the age of 50 in high-income countries is increasing, and as a result, so is re-partnering, the researchers said.
Depression in later life is also relatively common: up to 15 percent of people over 55 experience depressive symptoms.
A long-term study of people between the ages of 50 and 70 identified the use of antidepressants among those who had experienced a breakup, divorce or bereavement. And although both genders increased their use of antidepressants in the lead-up to and immediate aftermath of each event, women’s use of these drugs was greater than men’s.
But few studies have looked at the impact of divorce later in life, relationship breakdown, bereavement or a new relationship on the use of antidepressants.
The team from Chongqing Medical University in China tracked patterns of antidepressant use between 1996 and 2018 among 228,000 elderly people in Finland.
In total, 37 percent were grieving, a third were divorced and 30 percent had stopped living with a partner as a result of a divorce.
Analysis showed that the likelihood of using antidepressants increased by 5.5 percent in men and 7 percent in women in the three months before and three months after a death.
Antidepressant use also increased for both sexes in the six months before divorce – by 5 percent in men and 7 percent in women.
However, women experiencing a breakup significantly increased their use of antidepressants in the four years leading up to the event.
Men also increased their use of these drugs, but to a much lesser extent: by just over 3 percent compared to 6 percent among women.
Within a year, antidepressant use in men fell back to the level of 12 months before the break.
But for women it was a different story, as their use only decreased slightly after the breakup, and started to increase again from the first year onwards.
The study also found that 53,000 participants entered a new relationship within two to three years of a death, divorce or breakup.
Men found a new partner more often than women, the researchers discovered.
Writing in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, the researchers say the findings “may indeed be related to the fact that the mental health costs of union dissolution fall more heavily on women than on men.”
“Gender differences in family roles, responsibilities and economic status often explain the greater deleterious effects of union breakdown on mental health observed in women than in men,” she added.
Separate research shows that women see their household income drop twice as much as men after divorce.
A study conducted by Legal & General Retail found that women see their household income drop by 41 percent in the year after divorce, compared to 21 percent for men.
The research shows that women are more likely to face financial problems after a divorce and are more concerned about covering essential costs.