Till Death Do Us Part: Contexts and Implications of Marriage, Divorce, and Remarriage Across Adulthood

Abstract

The marital tie is one of the most influential relationships in adulthood, with vast implications for well-being. This special issue uses diverse samples, examines individuals in different marital situations (engaged, married, divorced, and remarried), and considers martial situations with regard to several contexts (e.g., in-law relationships, marital happiness, support, caregiving, well-being) across the life span. This issue includes four articles examining several marital situations among different age groups. Articles examine formation of marital ties in early adulthood and implications for in-law relationships, the development of marital happiness over 16 years, the implications of marital quality for the divorce experience, and the caregiving experience among remarried caregivers. Overall, these studies highlight the complexity and the diversity of experiences in marriage, divorce, and remarriage which is especially critical given the increasingly complicated family structures individuals experience across the life span.

Acknowledgments

The first author is funded by a grant from the National Institute on Aging (K99/R00 AG029879). The second author was supported in part by grants from National Institute on Aging (AG030569) and the Fetzer Institute.