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Yet there are no recent national estimates of either the prevalence or factors associated with dating during older adulthood. Using ...";"Dating Relationships in Older Adulthood: A National Portrait. Dating in later life is likely common
especially as the proportion of older adults who are single continues to rise.

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Yet there are no recent national estimates of either the prevalence or factors associated with dating during older adulthood. Using data from the 2005-2006 National Social Life
Health
and Aging Project
a nationally representative sample of 3
005 individuals ages 57-85
the authors constructed a national portrait of older adult daters. Roughly 14% of singles were in a dating relationship. Dating was more common among men than women and declined with age. Compared to non-daters
daters were more socially advantaged. Daters were more likely to be college educated and had more assets
were in better health
and reported more social connectedness. This study underscores the importance of new research on partnering in later life
particularly with the aging of the U.S. population and the swelling ranks of older singles. Keywords: aging
couples
dating
gender
gerontology
social support. A growing share of the U.S. population is unmarried
and this trend is especially pronounced among middle-aged and older adults (Kreider & Ellis
2011). The proportion of middle-aged adults who are single has risen 50% since 1980. Today
roughly one third of Baby Boomers are currently unmarried (Lin & Brown
2012). Among adults 65 and older
a majority is unmarried (Manning & Brown
2011). Unmarried older adults often form partnerships
although they increasingly do so outside of marriage (de Jong Gierveld
2004). Cohabitation has accelerated rapidly among older single adults
who are now equally likely to form cohabiting or marital unions (Brown
Bulanda
& Lee
2012). The rise in unmarried individuals suggests the availability of a large pool of potential partners for non-coresidential relationships
too. Dating in later life may offer many of the benefits of a close intimate relationship without the constraints entailed by coresidence. For others
dating may be a stepping stone to cohabitation or marriage. Regardless
researchers lack a basic understanding of who dates in later life
the most recent national
empirical study on the older adult dating population was conducted more than 20 years ago (Bulcroft & Bulcroft
1991). With the growth in single older adults
an examination of today’s later life daters is overdue. The purpose of this study was to provide a national portrait of older adult daters using data from the 2005-2006 National Social Life
Health
and Aging Project (NSHAP). Nearly all of the research on older daters comes from qualitative
in-depth interview studies that explore the reasons why older adults (often only women and only widows) pursue or avoid intimate relationships (Bulcroft & O’Connor
1986
Dickson
Hughes
& Walker
2005
McWilliams & Barrett
2012
Stevens
2002
Watson & Stelle
2011). These studies illustrate the range of meanings of dating in later life. One study from the 1980s revealed that many daters were involved in serious
long-term relationships (Bulcroft & O’Connor
1986). But more recent research has suggested many women view dating as a social activity that provides a unique form of companionship not achieved through friendships with other women (Davidson
2001
Watson & Stelle
2011). These women desired a close companion but at the same time wanted to be autonomous and ultimately were not interested in a long-term
conventional commitment (e.g. marriage or cohabitation
Dickson et al. 2005
McWilliams & Barrett
2012). There appear to be notable gender differences in the meanings of later life dating relationships. Specifically
men tend to be more interested than women in formalizing these relationships through marriage (McWilliams & Barrett
2012
Stevens
2002)
although the prospect of remarriage can be stressful for older men and women alike (de Jong Gierveld
2002). Women are often reluctant to marry
preferring instead to enjoy the companionship afforded through dating without incurring the potentially heavy caregiving burdens than marriage can entail in old age (Dickson et al. 2005). Many women also cite maintaining their autonomy as the reason why they do not wish to enter into a coresidential relationship (Dickson et al. 2005
Stevens
2002). In fact
older widowed women’s interest in remarriage declines with age
but the likelihood of having a male confidante does not (Moorman
Booth
& Fingerman
2006). To our knowledge
only one empirical study has provided a portrait of older daters
and it relied on data from the 1987-1988 National Survey of Families and Households. Bulcroft and Bulcroft (1991) compared older daters and non-daters to determine the characteristics associated with dating in later life. They found that daters were younger than non-daters and more likely to be men. Daters also had better health and driving ability and greater involvement in organizational activities than non-daters
on average. Such patterns indicate that daters tend to be a socially advantaged group. These individuals are certainly the most attractive potential partners. At the same time
they are arguably the most active and engaged older adults
which may lead them to seek social interaction through dating relationships. Older adults often pursue dating relationships to mitigate feelings of loneliness
and this is particularly true for men (Bulcroft & O’Connor
1986
Carr
2004
de Jong Gierveld
2002
Stevens
2002). Women enjoy wider circles of social support and therefore tend to be less eager to date (Watson & Stelle
2011). In her study of older widow(er)s’ desire to date and remarry
Carr (2004) found that men with lower levels of social support were particularly likely to express interest in forming a new partnership
suggesting that dating was perceived as a mechanism through which men could minimize feelings of loneliness and isolation. Men with higher levels of support were more similar to women in their weaker desires to date following widowhood. For some older adults
forming a new partnership that provides close ties is preferable to relying on their adult children for social support and interaction (Stevens
2002). The present study extends prior research by drawing on a large
recent national sample to provide estimates of the prevalence and composition of the older dating population in the U.S. Specifically
we assessed whether and how today’s daters and non-daters differ in terms of demographic characteristics
economic resources
health
and social ties. Drawing on Bulcroft and Bulcroft (1991)
we anticipated that daters are younger and more likely to be men. Age and gender were expected to interact such that the gender gap in dating widens with age. Bulcroft and Bulcroft found no racial variation in dating
neither did dating vary by ever having divorced. This latter nonsignificant association may reflect the rarity of divorce among older adults 25 years ago. Since 1990
the divorce rate has doubled among those ages 50 and older (Brown & Lin
2012). We assessed whether divorced
widowed
and never-married singles differ in their dating behavior and expected the divorced to be most likely to date
because prior work indicates they are most likely to cohabit (Brown
Lee
& Bulanda
2006). Economic resources
including education
employment
and assets
presumably make one more attractive in the dating market and are indicators of success. Although Bulcroft and Bulcroft (1991) did not find any linkages among these three measures and dating
family behaviors for today’s cohorts are increasingly polarized by socioeconomic status (Cherlin
2010). Economic factors may be more salient for men than women. Similarly
health should increase one’s attractiveness as a dating partner and possibly raise one’s interest in dating. Bulcroft and Bulcroft (1991) found that comparative health (i.e. relative to one’s peers) and driving ability were positively associated with dating
whereas disability was unrelated to dating. We examined overall comparative health and driving ability. Finally
social ties encompass both behavioral and subjective indicators of social connectedness and support. There are competing hypotheses about the relationship between social ties and dating (Talbott
1998). The complementarity hypothesis suggests that individuals with the most social connections are most likely to date because they are more interested in and adept at forming social ties.













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