Story perspectives

Study Reveals Resilience in Older Adults' Relationship Changes

2/20/2026

Summary

Story summary

Iris V. Wahring, researcher, led a study using Health and Retirement Study (HRS) data with 2,840 participants aged 50+ to examine how relationship transitions—separation, cohabitation, and marriage—affect life satisfaction and depressive symptoms.
The analysis used propensity score matching to isolate the impact of relationship changes from personality traits.
Findings suggest older adults may become more resilient, potentially diminishing the gender gap in these transitions.

1 of 1

Story summary

Iris V. Wahring, researcher, led a study using Health and Retirement Study (HRS) data with 2,840 participants aged 50+ to examine how relationship transitions—separation, cohabitation, and marriage—affect life satisfaction and depressive symptoms.
The analysis used propensity score matching to isolate the impact of relationship changes from personality traits.
Findings suggest older adults may become more resilient, potentially diminishing the gender gap in these transitions.