IDENTITY MECHANISMS IN OVERCOMING SOCIAL AND EMOTIONAL LONELINESS AFTER LATE-LIFE DIVORCE

摘要

Divorce in later life is a critical life event that can affect well-being through changes in self-continuity and multiple important group memberships (MIGM), two mechanisms that enhance identity-stability. This study investigates how changes in self-continuity and MIGM may explain changes in social and emotional loneliness after divorce. Data derived from a longitudinal study conducted in Switzerland from 2012 to 2016 (N = 548) and were analyzed using multilevel modeling. Results indicated that longitudinal changes in social and emotional loneliness were explained as a function of self-continuity, MIGM, time since divorce, gender (only for social loneliness) and having a new partner. Self-continuity varied significantly across individuals for social loneliness, as well as MIGM for emotional loneliness. In sum, there are different trajectories of adaptation to divorce in later life depending on the stability of identity, which, along with having a new partner, are more important than time, in overcoming loneliness.