Research: How Women Deal with Life After a Breakup

Dr. Bronwen Lichtenstein is a University of Alabama assistant professor of criminal justice. She specializes in women's issues and has just recently completed a study that focused on women over the age of 35 and the health problems they may face when they return to dating after breaking up from a long-term relationship.

Her theory is that a woman who leaves a long-term relationship may make risky choices when she starts to date again because she has been away from the dating scene so long that she does not have any idea of what the scene is like today.

Dr. Lichtenstein surveyed women living in the West Alabama area and the results show that many women had bouts of depression, did not have a good knowledge about health and did not have social support of friends or family after the end of the relationship.

She next asked them how they met people and got stated dating again. One place that a lot of them mentioned was the supermarket. They feel that there are not that many places for older adults to go and meet other singles. They have the idea that most places from singles bars to single groups at church are geared for the younger crowd.

All of the women were either recently divorced or widowed. She asked them about their health care situation and almost 100% of the women in the study reported that they had become depressed, more than 50% were diagnosed with a sexually transmitted infection. Women are more at risk for STDs at 50 than at 20, and the biggest problem is that most women don't realize it. Having all of these problems is hard enough, but probably the biggest problem of all is that nothing was being done to correct the problems.

There are those who do not fit into this mold and are able to adjust to the dating lifestyle again and she took a look at how they differed from the first group. Women who have confidence and feel self assured are better able to deal with the issues much better. They are in the same situation as those who develop the problems, but they are able to find other things to do and keep their minds busy. For instance, there is the story of the 62-year-old woman who went and joined a motorcycle club and really started a new life.

University of Alabama : http://uanews.ua.edu/