relationship breakdown and social exclusion: a ... · relationship breakdown and social exclusion:...
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Relationship breakdown and social exclusion: A longitudinal analysis
David de Vaus, Matthew Gray, Lixia Qu and David Stanton 7 July 2010
Paper presented at the 10th Australian Institute of Family Studies of Conferences, Melbourne
Affiliations
David de Vaus – University of Queensland
Matthew Gray - Australian Institute of Family Studies
Lixia Qu – Australian Institute of Family Studies
David Stanton – Australian National University
Introduction
Longitudinal impact of separation
Pre & post-separation(longitudinal data).
2 waves pre and 4 waves post separation
Multidimensional approach
Our previous study - income, the experience and financial hardships
Extends previous work
to consider two time periods prior to separation
and broadens the range of outcome measures
Measures of financial wellbeing analysed Equivalent household income
Experience of financial hardship
Perceived prosperity
Measures of social support
Life satisfaction
Mental health (SF-36)
Data: The Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia (HILDA) survey
Use data from the first 8 waves of HILDA (2001-08)
7,682 household & nearly 14,000 household members interviewed at Wave 1
Nationally representative
Identifying respondents who separated in the HILDA data
C = Couple S = Single
W1 W2 W3 W4 W5 W6 W7 W8
C C S S S S S S
W1 W2 W3 W4 W5 W6 W7 W8
C C C C C C C C
W1 W2 W3 W4 W5 W6 W7 W8
C C S S C C C C
Separation
Separation Re-partner
Note: Includes those who separated from de facto relationships.
Pre-separation educational attainment and employment status
Men Women
Intact couple
All separated
Separated -remained
single Intact couple
All separated
Separated - remained
single Per cent
Highest educational attainment
Degree or higher 26.9 17.1 17.4 29.2 18.6 18.7 Other post-school qual 42.8 39.2 38.0 25.9 28.0 29.2 No post-school qual 30.2 43.7 44.6 44.9 53.4 52.1
Employment status
Full-time employed 87.1 76.2 72.8 36.8 40.7 39.6 Part-time employed 6.2 11.1 12.4 37.1 27.7 27.3 Not employed 6.7 12.7 14.8 26.1 31.6 33.2
Source: HILDA 2001-2008
Pre-separation educational attainment and employment status
Men Women
Intact couple
All separated
Separated -remained
single Intact couple
All separated
Separated - remained
single Per cent
Highest educational attainment
Degree or higher 26.9 17.1 17.4 29.2 18.6 18.7 Other post-school qual 42.8 39.2 38.0 25.9 28.0 29.2 No post-school qual 30.2 43.7 44.6 44.9 53.4 52.1
Employment status
Full-time employed 87.1 76.2 72.8 36.8 40.7 39.6 Part-time employed 6.2 11.1 12.4 37.1 27.7 27.3 Not employed 6.7 12.7 14.8 26.1 31.6 33.2
Source: HILDA 2001-2008
Pre-separation educational attainment and employment status
Men Women
Intact couple
All separated
Separated -remained
single Intact couple
All separated
Separated - remained
single Per cent
Highest educational attainment
Degree or higher 26.9 17.1 17.4 29.2 18.6 18.7 Other post-school qual 42.8 39.2 38.0 25.9 28.0 29.2 No post-school qual 30.2 43.7 44.6 44.9 53.4 52.1
Employment status
Full-time employed 87.1 76.2 72.8 36.8 40.7 39.6 Part-time employed 6.2 11.1 12.4 37.1 27.7 27.3 Not employed 6.7 12.7 14.8 26.1 31.6 33.2
Source: HILDA 2001-2008
Equivalent household income by whether divorced & gender, aged under 55 ($2008 per annum)
Source: HILDA 2001-2008
Equivalent household income by whether divorced & gender, aged under 55 ($2008 per annum)
Source: HILDA 2001-2008
Equivalent household income by whether divorced & gender, aged under 55 ($2008 per annum)
Source: HILDA 2001-2008
Equivalent household income by whether divorced & gender, aged under 55 ($2008 per annum)
Source: HILDA 2001-2008
Equivalent household income, males aged under 55 years
Source: HILDA 2001-2008
$25,000
$30,000
$35,000
$40,000
$45,000
$50,000
T - 2 T -1 T+1 T+2 T+3 T+4
Intact couple All separated Separated & remained single
Separation
Equivalent household income, females aged under 55 years
Source: HILDA 2001-2008
$25,000
$30,000
$35,000
$40,000
$45,000
$50,000
T - 2 T -1 T+1 T+2 T+3 T+4
Intact couple All separated Separated & remained single
Separation
Employment status by relationship history, males and females
Source: HILDA 2001-2008
Perceived poverty (% poor or very poor) by relationship history, males
Source: HILDA 2001-2008
0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
T-2 T-1 T+1 T+2 T+3 T+4
Intact couple All separated Separated & remained single
Separation
Perceived poverty (% poor or very poor) by relationship history, females
Source: HILDA 2001-2008
0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
T-2 T-1 T+1 T+2 T+3 T+4
Intact couple All separated Separated & remained single
Separation
Experience of financial hardships by relationship history, males (%)
Source: HILDA 2001-2008
0%
20%
40%
60%
T-2 T-1 T+1 T+2 T+3 T+4
Intact couple All separated Separated & remained single
Separation
Experience of financial hardships by relationship history, females (%)
Source: HILDA 2001-2008
0%
20%
40%
60%
T-2 T-1 T+1 T+2 T+3 T+4
Intact couple All separated Separated & remained single
Separation
Often very lonely by relationship history, males and females (%)
Source: HILDA 2001-2008
Often very lonely by relationship history, males and females (%)
Source: HILDA 2001-2008
Two scales on sense of social support Scale - “sociability”
I seem to have a lot of friends
There is someone who can always cheer me up when I’m down
I enjoy the time I spend with the people who are important to me
When something’s on my mind, just talking with the people I know can make me feel better
When I need someone to help me out, I can usually find someone
Mean score 1–7, high level of “sociability” = 5–7
Scale - “isolation” People don’t come to visit me as often as I would like
I often need help from other people but can’t get it
I don’t have anyone that I can confide in
I have no one to lean on in times of trouble
I often feel very lonely
Mean score 1–7, “isolated”=5–7”
High level of “sociability” by relationship history, males and females (%)
Source: HILDA 2001-2008
High level of “sociability” by relationship history, males and females (%)
Source: HILDA 2001-2008
Feeling isolated by relationship history, males and females (%)
Source: HILDA 2001-2008
Feeling isolated by relationship history, males and females (%)
Source: HILDA 2001-2008
Mean “isolation” scale score, males (1-7 scale)
Source: HILDA 2001-2008
4.0
4.2
4.4
4.6
4.8
5.0
5.2
5.4
5.6
T-2 T-1 T+1 T+2 T+3 T+4
Intact couple All separated Separated and remained single
Separation
Mean “isolation” scale score, females (1-7 scale)
Source: HILDA 2001-2008
4.6
4.7
4.8
4.9
5.0
5.1
5.2
5.3
5.4
5.5
5.6
T-2 T-1 T+1 T+2 T+3 T+4
Intact couple All separated Separated and remained single
Separation
High life satisfaction by relationship history, males and females (%)
High life satisfaction refers to ratings 8-10 on a scale 0–10, higher ratings meaning more satisfied.
Source: HILDA 2001-2008
High life satisfaction by relationship history, males and females (%)
High life satisfaction refers to ratings 8-10 on a scale 0–10, higher ratings meaning more satisfied.
Source: HILDA 2001-2008
High life satisfaction by relationship history, males and females (%)
High life satisfaction refers to ratings 8-10 on a scale 0–10, higher ratings meaning more satisfied.
Source: HILDA 2001-2008
High life satisfaction by relationship history, males and females (%)
High life satisfaction refers to ratings 8-10 on a scale 0–10, higher ratings meaning more satisfied.
Source: HILDA 2001-2008
Mean score of mental health, males (%)
Source: HILDA 2001-2008
60
70
80
T -2 T -1 T +1 T +2 T +3 T +4
All separated Separated & remained single Intact couple
Separation
Mean score of mental health, females (%)
Source: HILDA 2001-2008
60.0
70.0
80.0
T -2 T -1 T +1 T +2 T +3 T +4
Intact couple All separated Separated & remained single
Separation
Summary
After separation – separated do worse on all measures than intact
Immediate dip on all measures after separation
Overall recovery four years after separation
Most eventual post separation differences predate separation
Post separation differences (4 years out) between separated and intact reflect pre-separation differences
Those separating and remaining single recover less well
Summary – gender differences
General overview holds for men and women except: Separating women suffer persisting financial loss
Separating men – extended period of loneliness, low social support, isolation & poorer mental health (cf women)
Men – immediate loss of life satisfaction – persists for those remaining single
Women - loss of life satisfaction in year before and year following separation. Then recover.
Women – mental health recovers much better than men’s.