Department of Sociology, Bowling Green State University, Bowling Green, OH 43403-0222, USA.
Gerontologist. 2012 Apr;52(2):153-65. doi: 10.1093/geront/gnr141. Epub 2012 Jan 31.
Our study provides a national portrait of the Baby Boom generation, paying particular attention to the heterogeneity among unmarried Boomers and whether it operates similarly among women versus men.
We used the 1980, 1990, and 2000 Census 5% samples and the 2009 American Community Survey (ACS) to document the trends in the share and marital status composition of the unmarried population during midlife. Using the 2009 ACS, we developed a sociodemographic portrait of Baby Boomers according to marital status.
One in three Baby Boomers was unmarried. The vast majority of these unmarried Boomers were either divorced or never-married; just 10% were widowed. Unmarried Boomers faced greater economic, health, and social vulnerabilities compared to married Boomers. Divorced Boomers had more economic resources and better health than widowed and never-married Boomers. Widows appeared to be the most disadvantaged among Boomer women, whereas never-marrieds were the least advantaged among Boomer men.
The rise in unmarrieds at midlife leaves Baby Boomers vulnerable to the vagaries of aging. Health care and social service providers as well as policy makers must recognize the various risk profiles of different unmarried Boomers to ensure that all Boomers age well and that society is able to provide adequate services to all Boomers, regardless of marital status.
本研究提供了对生育高峰期一代的全国性描述，特别关注未婚生育高峰期一代的异质性，以及这种异质性在女性和男性中的表现是否相似。
我们使用了 1980 年、1990 年和 2000 年人口普查 5%的样本和 2009 年美国社区调查（ACS）的数据，记录了生育高峰期一代中年期间未婚人口的比例和婚姻状况构成的变化趋势。利用 2009 年 ACS，我们根据婚姻状况描绘了生育高峰期一代的社会人口学特征。
每三个生育高峰期一代中就有一个未婚。这些未婚的生育高峰期一代中，绝大多数是离婚或从未结婚的；只有 10%是丧偶的。与已婚的生育高峰期一代相比，未婚的生育高峰期一代面临着更大的经济、健康和社会脆弱性。与丧偶和从未结婚的生育高峰期一代相比，离婚的生育高峰期一代拥有更多的经济资源和更好的健康状况。在生育高峰期一代的女性中，寡妇似乎处于最不利的地位，而在生育高峰期一代的男性中，从未结婚的人则处于最不利的地位。
生育高峰期一代中年时未婚人数的增加使他们容易受到老龄化变幻莫测的影响。医疗保健和社会服务提供者以及政策制定者必须认识到不同未婚生育高峰期一代的各种风险概况，以确保所有生育高峰期一代都能健康老龄化，并且社会能够为所有生育高峰期一代提供足够的服务，无论其婚姻状况如何。
