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Verwitwung, Geschlecht und Depression im höheren Lebensalter

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Der Verlust des (Ehe-)Partners stellt ein einschneidendes Ereignis im Leben dar. Bisherige Forschungsergebnisse bestätigen, dass der Tod des Partners eines der am meisten mit negativem Stress besetzten Lebensereignisse darstellt (Dohrenwend et al. 1978; Holmes & Rahe 1967). Zahlreiche Studien belegen, dass ältere verwitwete Personen geringeres subjektives Wohlbefinden berichten und häufiger unter Depressionen leiden als Verheiratete (Lee et al. 1998; Umberson et al. 1992; Williams & Umberson 2004). Ein besonderes Augenmerk der Forschung galt auch immer der Frage, inwiefern sich Verwitwung unterschiedlich auf die Entstehung von Depressionen bei Männern und Frauen auswirkt. Durchgängige Bestätigung erhält der Befund, dass Frauen grundsätzlich stärker von Depressionen betroffen sind als Männer. Die Frage hingegen, ob Männer oder Frauen nach einer Verwitwung stärker unter Depressionen leiden, hat bisher keine zufriedenstellende Antwort erhalten. Viele Studien finden Hinweise darauf, dass depressive Symptome bei Männern nach einer Verwitwung stärker ausgeprägt sind als bei Frauen (Carr 2004; Williams 2003). Andere Studien hingegen zeigen, dass Frauen nach einer Verwitwung stärker von Depressionen betroffen sind (Chou & Chi 2000; Lichtenstein et al. 1996). Einige Studien finden keine Unterschiede hinsichtlich depressiver Symptome zwischen den Geschlechtern nach dem Verlust des Ehepartners (Umberson et al. 1992).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Mannheimer Forschungsinstitut Ökonomie und Demographischer Wandel (MEA), Universität Mannheim, Deutschland

    Barbara Schaan

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  1. Barbara Schaan
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Axel Börsch-Supan Karsten Hank Hendrik Jürges Mathis Schröder

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Schaan, B. (2009). Verwitwung, Geschlecht und Depression im höheren Lebensalter. In: Börsch-Supan, A., Hank, K., Jürges, H., Schröder, M. (eds) 50plus in Deutschland und Europa. VS Verlag für Sozialwissenschaften. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-531-91455-8_5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-531-91455-8_5

  • Publisher Name: VS Verlag für Sozialwissenschaften

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