Resource or crisis? Cognitive functioning after widowhood and why paid work status matters

OBJECTIVES: This study investigates the extent to which the experience of widowhood is associated with within-person changes in two key dimensions of cognitive functioning: crystallized and fluid intelligence (measured as memory recall and verbal fluency, respectively). This work enriches the empirical body of knowledge by considering whether paid work status (defined as working, retirement, or homemaking) plays a protective role in gender-specific cognitive changes associated with losing a spouse.

METHODS: Utilizing six waves of the Survey of Health, Ageing, and Retirement in Europe (SHARE) covering 32,089 men (N = 97,774) and 40,821 women (N = 126,998) aged 50+, two-way fixed-effects regression models were estimated to compare changes in cognitive functioning between being continuously partnered versus experiencing widowhood. We considered important heterogeneities by performing sub-sample analyses by paid work status and gender.

RESULTS: Cognitive changes were associated with widowhood, albeit markedly different by gender and across paid work status. The transition to widowhood among men was associated with reduced verbal fluency only if working. Instead, widows performed more poorly, especially in terms of memory recall, but only if they were homemakers at the time of the transition.

DISCUSSION: Paid work may serve as a cognitive resource after widowhood. However, the way in which it acts depends on gender, while being retired at the time of widowhood acts as a protection for both men and women.