Holding On and Letting Go: Residential Mobility During Widowhood

Longitudinal data from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics are used to study residential mobility before and after entry into widowhood. An event-history analysis is employed to test the Litwak and Longino proposal that entrance into widowhood stimulates residential mobility. Widowhood is a triggering mechanism, with the peak of moving occurring in the 1st year of widowhood, preceded by a gradual rise in the probability of a move and followed by a gradual decline in that probability. Eventually, the majority of widowed persons move, but after 20 years of widowhood 40%o are estimated to still be in the home they occupied when they were widowed. Age at widowhood, health, duration of residence, educational attainment, excess space, income, race, homeownership, and single family residence affect holding on and letting go. Moving during widowhood is made more complex by changes over time in the way age at widowhood, income, and tenure status influence moving.