Living Apart Together and Older Adults' Mental Health in the United Kingdom.

ABSTRACT:

Objectives

Living apart together (LAT)-intimate partners living in separate households-is a common partnership type among older adults. Although the mental health benefits of intimate partnerships are widely documented, how LAT relates to older adults' mental health remains understudied.

Methods

Analyzing Waves 3-13 (2011-2023) of the United Kingdom Household Longitudinal Study, we use fixed effects models to examine (a) how older adults' mental health varies with LAT, marriage, cohabitation, and singlehood (never married, widowed, divorced/separated) and (b) how transitions into and out of LAT, compared with marriage and cohabitation, relate to older adults' mental health.

Results

Overall, older adults have better mental health when LAT than when single, but little d

SUBMITTER: Hu Y 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11878551 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature