@article{ref1,
title="The double burden of poverty and marital loss on the mental health of older Australian women; a longitudinal regression analysis using 17 annual waves of the  HILDA cohort",
journal="Social psychiatry and psychiatric epidemiology",
year="2021",
author="Milner, Allison and Ervin, Jennifer L. and King, Tania L. and Kavanagh, Anne M.",
volume="ePub",
number="ePub",
pages="ePub-ePub",
abstract="PURPOSE: Compared to men, older women have poorer mental health and are more vulnerable to poverty, especially when living alone. However, few studies have  examined how gender, marital status and poverty are inter-related and are associated  with mental health. This study examines the gendered associations between relative  poverty, marital status and mental health in older Australians. <br><br>METHODS: Drawing on  17 waves of the HILDA Survey, fixed-effects longitudinal regression analysis was  utilised to examine the association between: (1) relative poverty (< 50% median  household income) and mental health (MHI-5); (2) marital status and poverty, in a  cohort of Australians aged 65 + years. We then examined effect modification of the  association between relative poverty and mental health by marital status. <br><br>RESULTS:  Within-person associations, stratified by gender, showed that women in relative  poverty reported poorer mental health than when not in relative poverty, however no  association was observed for men. Being divorced/separated was associated with  increased odds of relative poverty for women, but not men. Widowhood was strongly  associated with relative poverty in women, and also among men, albeit a smaller  estimate was observed for men. There was no evidence of effect modification of the  relationship between relative poverty and mental health by marital status for either  men or women. <br><br>CONCLUSION: This study provides evidence that relative poverty is a  major determinant of mental health in older Australian women. Addressing gender  inequities in lifetime savings, as well as in division of acquired wealth post  marital loss, may help reduce these disparities.  K: Bereavement <p /> <p>Language: en</p>",
language="en",
issn="0933-7954",
doi="10.1007/s00127-020-02019-z",
url="http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00127-020-02019-z"
}