Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 Page 6 Page 7 Page 8 Page 9 Page 10 Page 11 Page 12 Page 13 Page 14 Page 15 Page 16 Page 17 Page 18 Page 19 Page 20 Page 21 Page 22 Page 23 Page 24 Page 25 Page 26 Page 27 Page 28 Page 29 Page 30 Page 31 Page 32 Page 33 Page 34 Page 35 Page 36 Page 37 Page 38 Page 39 Page 40 Page 41 Page 42 Page 43 Page 44 Page 45 Page 46 Page 47 Page 48 Page 49 Page 50 Page 51 Page 52 Page 53 Page 54 Page 55 Page 56 Page 57 Page 58 Page 59 Page 60 Page 61 Page 62 Page 63 Page 64 Page 65 Page 66 Page 67 Page 68 Page 69 Page 70 Page 71 Page 72 Page 73 Page 74 Page 75 Page 76 Page 77 Page 78 Page 79 Page 80 Page 81 Page 82 Page 83 Page 84 Page 85 Page 86 Page 87 Page 88 Page 89 Page 90 Page 91 Page 92 Page 93 Page 94 Page 95 Page 96 Page 97 Page 98 Page 99 Page 100 Page 101 Page 102 Page 103 Page 104 Page 105 Page 106 Page 107 Page 108CHAPTER 4 77 marital disruption results in a substantial loss of both income and assets. The economic conse- quences are greatest for Black and Hispanic women, who have lower household incomes and fewer assets even when married. Multiple Family Roles and Well-Being While family connections enhance well-being in many ways, the burden of family roles can also be a strain, especially when one person takes on multiple roles. Several researchers have examined the link between performing multiple family roles and well-being. One study using 1992 data evalu- ated depressive symptoms associated with the roles of wife, mother, paid worker, and informal caregiver for women (Reid and Hardy 1999). The study also assessed role demands and satisfac- tion. Although the number of roles was linked with depressive symptoms, the number had no cross-sectional analysis was the inability to as- sess whether the observed correlation of marriage and good health occurs because marriage itself promotes health, or whether the healthy are more likely to be married (or remarried). With HRS longitudinal data on health and marriage, it will be possible to distinguish between these explanations. Marital Status and Wealth Chapter 3 describes the relationship between current marital status and wealth. Retrospective first-wave data also have documented links be- tween marital histories and economic well-being (Holden and Kuo 1996). In more than one-third of all married-couple households in 1992, at least one spouse had a previous marriage that ended in divorce or widowhood. These respon- dents who had experienced divorce or widowhood had significantly lower incomes and fewer assets than did couples in first marriages. The research- ers found that widows and couples in which the prior marriage of one spouse had ended in widowhood were no better off economically than their divorced peers. Also, women and Blacks in the original 1992 HRS cohort (ages 51 to 61) had spent a higher percentage of their lifetimes outside of marriage than had men and Whites. The study raises important questions about the long-term economic consequences of past mari- tal dissolution. In a related vein, Angel et al. (2003) used five waves of the HRS to assess the economic consequences of marital disruption for pre- retirement-age women. Prior research has shown that a woman’s financial situation in later life is determined by her marital and work history. HRS women who were age 51 or older in 1992 grew up during a period when female employment rates and rates of marital disruption both increased substantially. For HRS women generally, significant effect after controlling for role demand and satisfaction. In other words, role quality, not role occupancy per se, is linked with psychologi- cal well-being. Another study brought a racial perspective to the analysis of multiple-role participation and depressive symptoms (Cochran et al. 1999). Among women ages 55 to 61, Blacks were less likely than White women to be married and em- ployed, and more likely to be grandmothers and caregivers. Older Black women reported signifi- cantly more depressive symptoms than did White women, and employment was found to have a more powerful influence on diminishing depres- sive symptoms for Black women than for White women. The research also suggested that in the absence of a spouse and/or employment, Black women who are caregivers and grandmothers may be more likely to face economic hardship that increases the likelihood of depressive symptoms.