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Uncoupling in the third age – the importance of the existential context for late-life divorce
Social Work, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden.ORCID iD: 0000-0001-6096-2752
University of Gävle, Faculty of Health and Occupational Studies, Department of Social Work, Criminology and Public Health Sciences, Social Work.ORCID iD: 0000-0002-0295-898x
2025 (English)In: Ageing & Society, ISSN 0144-686X, E-ISSN 1469-1779, Vol. 45, no 1, p. 100-122Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]

Late-life divorce is increasingly common in many Western countries, however, studies on this transition remain scarce. The purpose of this article is to study attributed reasons for late-life divorce, and if any life phase-typical aspects can be identified in these attributions. Qualitative interviews were carried out with Swedish men and women aged 62-82, who after the age of 60 had divorced from a cross-gender marital or non-marital co-habiting union (N = 37). The results, analysed using principles from Grounded Theory, revealed four different types of narratives: (a) incompatible goals for the third age, (b) personality change caused by age-related disease, (c) a last chance for romance, and (d) enough of inequality and abuse. A central insight and an original contribution generated by the study was the importance grey divorcees attributed to the existential conditions of later life in their divorce decisions. The results are discussed in relation to theories of late modern intimacy and the third age.

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Cambridge , 2025. Vol. 45, no 1, p. 100-122
Keywords [en]
divorce, motives, third age, existential context, gerontology
National Category
Sociology
Identifiers
URN: urn:nbn:se:hig:diva-42725DOI: 10.1017/s0144686x23000272ISI: 001009145900001Scopus ID: 2-s2.0-85163813805OAI: oai:DiVA.org:hig-42725DiVA, id: diva2:1780533
Funder
Swedish Research Council, 2017-02610Available from: 2023-07-06 Created: 2023-07-06 Last updated: 2025-10-02Bibliographically approved

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Öberg, Peter

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CiteExportLink to record
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Citation style
  • apa
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  • Other style
More styles
Language
  • sv-SE
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  • nn-NB
  • de-DE
  • Other locale
More languages
Output format
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  • asciidoc
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