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Living Alone And Subsequent Living Arrangement Transitions Among Older Americans, Yao-Chi Shih

Graduate Doctoral Dissertations

Past research often considers living alone as a risk factor for older persons. In fact, adverse health outcomes are associated with living arrangement transitions, suggesting a need to consider the dynamic process of living arrangements. Using eight waves of the Health and Retirement Study (1998-2012), this study examines three research questions: (1) Do older Americans’ living arrangements exhibit a pattern of sequence? (2) What are implications of living arrangements at particular older ages on life expectancy? (3) What factors predict transitions out of a living alone arrangement?

The first analysis displays and classifies ordered patterns of living arrangements over time. …