Divorced baby boomers suffering more health problems

Australia’s baby boomer divorcees are suffering many more mental and physical health problems as they near retirement than their successfully married friends, according to research by the Australian Institute of Family Studies.

In a report ‘Divorce and the Wellbeing of Older Australians’ a disturbing picture has been painted of the long term impact of divorce on the emotional health and living circumstances of people in their mid-50s and above.

The Institute’s deputy director Dr Matthew Gray said that “until recently the number of divorced people was relatively small but it has grown rapidly in recent times. The baby boomers are moving through and they are more likely to be divorced than previous generations, mainly due to shifting social norms and no-fault divorce”.

“In 1996 9.6% of those aged 50-59 had been divorced. In 2006 it was 15% and it is likely to grow even faster in the future. When it came to questions about overall satisfaction with life, the neighbourhood you live in etc, those who had been divorced reported worse outcomes than those never divorced. It was particularly so for women.”

But Dr Gray said the research was not all negative. “If people remarry following divorce a lot of their financial position can be recovered, and those who have remarried look pretty similar on most measures of wellbeing to their long-term married friends.”