Health status after union dissolution in Italy

The major aim of this research is to analyze several aspects of the quality of life after separation, especially its effects on mental and physical well-being. This research considers separation as a process and takes into account that preceding the event there are sources of distress which create subsequent mental and physical ailments. The research first focuses on Italian survey instruments measuring separation and its consequence on health. The aim is to check the appropriateness of these instruments to measure union dissolution (marital and consensual) and its consequences. The empirical analysis tests the hypothesis that marital dissolution is an adverse event for health, in two steps. In the first step, cross-sectional data from the 2003 Italian sample of the Generation and Gender Survey are used through logistic regression models. The analysis investigates the association between separation experience and longstanding illness or permanent disabilities, and investigates the role of possible mediators. Results show that people who experienced separation or divorce are more likely to be affected by longstanding illness or permanent disabilities that hamper them in daily activities, compared to people in intact families. Results also show a gender specificity of the majority of the mediators. In the second step, panel data from the European Survey on Income and Living Condition are used through fixed-effects models. In this step the effect of union dissolution on self-rated health is investigated. Dissolutions of consensual unions are included. The causal analysis supports the beneficial effect hypothesis, although it does not appear to be intensely strong. Results indicate an improvement in the self-perception of one’s health in the very short run of a single year. This “relief” effect seems to be true only for men, and only if they are not custodial.