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Biomedical subjects

C D Zick

Publications and source records attributed to C D Zick.

8 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2000

Genetic testing, adverse selection, and the demand for life insurance.

The dramatic increase in genetic testing for adult-onset diseases has created a debate regarding whether or not insurance companies should be able to use genetic test results in underwriting. We use data from women who have been tested for the BRCA1 gene mutation along with data from otherwise comparable untested women to assess the potential for adverse selection in the life insurance market when tested individuals know their genetic test results but insurers do not. Our analyses show that women who test positive for the BRCA1 gene mutation do not capitalize on their informational advantage by purchasing more life insurance than those women who have not undergone genetic testing.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2000

An assessment of the wealth holdings of recent widows.

OBJECTIVES: This study examines the wealth holdings of recent widows, how they compare to those of married couple households, and the potential to use this wealth to augment the incomes of widowed women. METHODS: Data from the Survey of Income and Program Participation are used to investigate the amount and composition of wealth held by four different groups: always married women, about-to-be-widowed women, recent widows, and long-standing widows. Regression analyses assess the impact of group membership on wealth holding controlling for other sociodemographic factors, and annuity calculations assess the potential for wealth to augment income. RESULTS: About-to-be widowed women have fewer assets than intact couples, and there is a further decline in assets at the time of the husbands' deaths and in the ensuing period. Estimates of the annuity value of widows' wealth show that its liquidation would do little to improve the economic situation of the poorest widows. DISCUSSION: These findings parallel what is known about income changes that surround the death of a spouse. They also point to the need for additional research on the relationship between wealth holdings and mortality as well as the roles that health care costs, life insurance, and bequests may play in altering widows' wealth.

Aged↗
PubMed1994

Linked lives, dependent demise? Survival analysis of husbands and wives.

Past research has found that married individuals have substantially lower risks of mortality than their single counterparts. This paper examines how household characteristics affect spouses' risks of mortality. A paired hazard rate model is estimated and tests are made to ascertain whether the estimated coefficients associated with risk factors differ between husbands' and wives' equations. Cigarette smoking, risk-avoidance behavior, poverty, and children are found to affect wives' and husbands' mortality in similar ways. Divorce, which can be interpreted as the termination of this shared household environment, is found to affect spouses differently.

Adult↗
PubMed1991

Patterns of economic change surrounding the death of a spouse.

The timing of economic changes near the death of a spouse is not well understood. Using multiple regression analysis and longitudinal data from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics, the economic situations of middle-aged and older widows and widowers were compared to those of otherwise similar intact couples over an 11-year period. The analysis shows that all four widowed groups had fewer economic resources 5 years after the death than did their married counterparts. Yet, each group took very different economic paths to get to this point. For example, older widows and widowers begin the analysis with significantly lower income-to-needs ratios 5 years prior to the death, while middle-aged widows experience more economic change near the time of the death. These findings suggest that both middle-aged and older cohorts of widowed individuals may have made consumption choices over the life cycle that differ from those made by their intact counterparts.

Age Factors↗
PubMed1991

Remarriage patterns among recent widows and widowers.

Remarriage is one of the most important determinants of physical and economic well-being among the widowed. The goal of this study is to estimate how hazard rates for remarriage vary among widows and widowers on the basis of both observable and unobservable characteristics. The remarriage estimates rely on nationally representative samples of widows and widowers from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics. Continuous-time hazard rate regressions indicate strong age and duration dependence effects for middle-aged widows and widowers and for older widowers. Among middle-aged widows, blacks and those with dependent children in the home have lower rates of remarriage. For middle-aged widowers, living in urbanized areas limits the prospects of remarriage. For older widowers, education and, to some extent, economic status appear to have positive effects on the remarriage rates. Overall, age and time since widowhood have the strongest and most consistent effects on remarriage rates for different widowed groups.

Age Factors↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Assessing the correlates of desired family size in Shaanxi, China.

This exploratory analysis of factors associated with Chinese women's fertility desires uses data on married women between the ages of 18 and 35 who live in Shaanxi Province, China. Analyses using an economic framework found that both rural and urban couples who intended to sign, or who had already signed, the one-child certificate reported wanting significantly fewer children. However, in rural areas (where 80 per cent of the provincial population lives), education level, living arrangements, participation in an arranged marriage, attitudes regarding the ideal age for marriage, and knowledge of the reasons for the government's fertility policies appear to play a relatively larger role in shaping fertility preferences.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Risk of mortality following widowhood: age and sex differences by mode of death.

This study examines how spouses' deaths from sudden or lengthy illnesses differentially affect the mortality risks of surviving widows and widowers by age. Using the Panel Study of Income Dynamics, we find the mortality risk differs by gender, age, and type of widowhood. For nonelderly (< 65) widowers, there is an elevated risk when their wives died suddenly. For older (> or = 65) widows, the mortality risk is lower than that of comparably aged married women when their husbands died after a long-term illness. These gender, age, and mode-of-death differences are consistent with role theory and theories of social support.

Adult↗