A Problem Shared is a Problem Halved? Widowhood and Well-Being in Europe

Abstract

It is well-known that widows have lower levels of subjective well-being than married individuals, but little attention has been paid to how this might vary across societal contexts. Using a three-level multilevel analysis of five waves of the European Social Survey (N = 117,394 people in 206 regions and 23 countries), this study tests how three contextual level factors affect the well-being of widowsi: the proportion of married at the regional and national level, the proportion of widowed at the regional and national level, and national social expenditure. Results indicate that widows fare worse in countries with high proportions of married and in regions and countries with high proportions of widowed. Differing effects at the region and country level confirm that widows’ well-being is affected by both the regions and countries in which they live. The well-being of widows is not affected by social expenditure at the national level.