Showing papers in "Research on Aging in 2003"
TL;DR: The conceptual and empirical development of an instrument to measure religiousness and spirituality, intended explicitly for studies of health, are reported on, which is multidimensional to allow investigation of multiple possible mechanisms of effect.
Abstract: Progress in studying the relationship between religion and health has been hampered by the absence of an adequate measure of religiousness and spirituality. This article reports on the conceptual and empirical development of an instrument to measure religiousness and spirituality, intended explicitly for studies of health. It is multidimensional to allow investigation of multiple possible mechanisms of effect, brief enough to be included in clinical or epidemiological surveys, inclusive of both traditional religiousness and noninstitutionally based spirituality, and appropriate for diverse Judeo-Christian populations. The measure may be particularly useful for studies of health in elderly populations in which religious involvement is higher. The measure was tested in the nationally representative 1998 General Social Survey (N = 1,445). Nine dimensions have indices with moderate-to-good internal consistency, and there are three single-item domains. Analysis by age and sex shows that elderly respondents rep...
578 citations
TL;DR: The 3D-WS as discussed by the authors is a measure of the three dimensions of wisdom, i.e., cognitive, reflective, and affective effect indicators, which is based on a self-administered questionnaire, which included 114 items from existing scales and 18 newly developed items.
Abstract: Although wisdom is thought to be a strong predictor for many attributes of aging well, the concept of wisdom still lacks a comprehensive, directly testable scale. Quantitative and qualitative interviews with a sample of 180 older adults (age 52-plus) were conducted to develop a three-dimensional wisdom scale (3D-WS) and to test its validity and reliability. Wisdom was operationalized and measured as a latent variable with cognitive, reflective, and affective effect indicators. Respondents completed a self-administered questionnaire, which included 114 items from existing scales and 18 newly developed items to assess the three dimensions of wisdom. The final version of the 3D-WS consists of 14 items for the cognitive, 12 for the reflective, and 13 for the affective component of wisdom. Results indicate that the 3D-WS can be considered a reliable and valid instrument and a promising measure of the latent variable wisdom in large, standardized surveys of older populations.
541 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors analyzed patterns of time use of older adults in the following nine countries: Austria, Canada, Finland, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Sweden, the United Kingdom, and the United States.
Abstract: This article analyzes patterns of time use of older adults in the following nine countries: Austria, Canada, Finland, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Sweden, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Using time-use surveys carried out in these countries between 1987 and 1992, the article describes country-level variations in the aggregate patterns of time use of older adults and examines changes in the patterns of time use associated with aging. The results suggest that there are large cross-national differences in the patterns of time use of older adults but remarkable similarities in the age patterns of activities. Results also suggest that a large fraction of time freed up by retirement from the labor market is reallocated to passive activities.
146 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors analyzed unmarried elderly parents' and children's characteristics associated with their respective self-reported reasons for coresidence: always lived together, to help the child, or to help both.
Abstract: Data from the 1993 to 1995 waves of the Asset and Health Dynamics among the Oldest Old were used to analyze unmarried elderly parents' and children's characteristics associated with their respective self-reported reasons for coresidence: always lived together, to help the child, to help the parent, or to help both. As compared to the parents in the always-lived-together pairs, parents as the help receivers were older, had more health problems, and were more likely to have moved in with an older, married child. Children as the help recipients were more likely to be sons than daughters and less likely to work or make a financial contribution to the household. Parents in the mutual-help group were more likely to have higher education and to have been divorced, separated, or never married than to be widowed, and the children were more likely to be married. Parental gender and race/ethnicity were not significant factors.
115 citations
TL;DR: The authors compared age identities of middle-aged and older adults in the United States and Germany and found that persons with better health have younger identities and role losses are not related to age identities.
Abstract: This study compares age identities of middle-aged and older adults in the United States and Germany. Differences between countries in social systems and cultural meanings of old age are expected to produce different age identities. Data are from respondents between ages 40 and 74 in the United States (MIDUS; n = 2,006) and Germany (German Aging Survey; n = 3,331). Americans and Germans tend to feel younger than their actual age, but the discrepancy is larger among Americans. The bias toward youthful identities is stronger at older ages, particularly among Americans. In both counties, persons with better health have younger identities and role losses are not related to age identities. The study shows that different social and cultural systems produce different subjective experiences of aging. As these differences exist within Western culture, the study makes clear that one should be careful in generalizing findings from aging research across countries.
108 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors compared objective and subjective indicators of older adults' housing situations in western and eastern German rural regions and examined the role of housing-related variables to predict life satisfaction by simultaneously controlling for other generally acknowledged predictors.
Abstract: The first objective of this work is to contrast objective and subjective indicators of older adults' housing situations in western and eastern German rural regions. The second objective of this study is to examine the role of housing-related variables to predict life satisfaction by simultaneously controlling for other generally acknowledged predictors. The data were gathered in two rural regions in western and eastern Germany by drawing a sample of N = 412 older adults (55-99 years old; M = 73.2 years) stratified by age and gender. All participants lived in private households. As suggested by the paradox of actual versus perceived life conditions, analysis revealed comparable levels of perceived life satisfaction in spite of significantly different objective and subjective housing-related variables to the advantage of the western region. Moreover, the central hypothesis of this work that housing-related variables explain a substantial portion of variance in life satisfaction was supported by the data.
92 citations
TL;DR: Zhang et al. as mentioned in this paper found that gender differentials in educational attainment among the Chinese oldest old are enormous: Many more women are illiterate, widowed and economically dependent, much less likely to have pensions, and thus more likely to live with their children and rely on children for financial support and care.
Abstract: Based on unique data from a sample of nearly 9,000 people ages 80 to 105 interviewed in 22 provinces in 1998, we found that gender differentials in educational attainment among the Chinese oldest old are enormous: Many more women are illiterate. Oldest old women are more likely to be widowed and economically dependent, much less likely to have pensions, and thus more likely to live with their children and rely on children for financial support and care. The female oldest old in China are also seriously disadvantaged in activities of daily living, physical performance, cognitive function, and self-reported health, as compared with their male counterparts; these gender differences are more marked with advancing age. The large gender differentials among the Chinese oldest old need serious attention from society and government, and any old-age insurance and service programs to be developed or reformed must benefit older women and men equally.
89 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the relationship between socioeconomic status and physical functioning was tested among older adults in Taiwan, Thailand, and the Philippines, and it was found that socioeconomic indicators were limited to education and income.
Abstract: The relationship between socioeconomic status and physical functioning is tested among older adults in Taiwan, Thailand, and the Philippines. Socioeconomic indicators are limited to education and i...
79 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors developed and empirically evaluated a latent variable model that examines the relationships among role-specific control, personal meaning, and health in late life, and found that older adults with high levels of role- specific control are likely to develop a deep sense of personal meaning.
Abstract: The purpose of this study is to develop and empirically evaluate a latent variable model that examines the relationships among role-specific control, personal meaning, and health in late life. It is hypothesized that older adults with high levels of role- specific control are likely to develop a deep sense of personal meaning. This conceptual scheme further specifies that elderly people who derive a sense of meaning will, in turn, enjoy better health than older adults who are unable to find meaning in life. Data from a nationwide survey of older people provide support for this theoretical rationale.
61 citations
TL;DR: The authors developed models for data from 1972 to 1990 and estimated them using naive and more stringent assumptions about Black data quality and found that mortality deceleration begins at older ages for Blacks than for Whites but that the ages of de acceleration onset are converging.
Abstract: Most studies investigating Black-White differences in mortality patterns have focused exclusively on the well-known crossover but have ignored other aspects of the mortality curves, such as deceleration and compression. Yet compression and deceleration are also important features of mortality curves that may vary by race. In this research, the authors developed models for data from 1972 to 1990 and estimated them using naive and more stringent assumptions about Black data quality. They found that mortality deceleration begins at older ages for Blacks than for Whites but that the ages of deceleration onset are converging. The authors also found that mortality compression is occurring for Blacks but not for Whites and that compression is more apparent for Blacks when data quality is considered. Finally, the authors found that a crossover exists, that the age at crossover is increasing across time, and that the age at crossover is later in adjusted data than in unadjusted data.
59 citations
TL;DR: There is a need for HIV risk prevention programs to take age into consideration when developing intervention messages and strategies for older adults who engage in high-risk sexual and drug behaviors.
Abstract: Older women's risk of acquiring HIV should not be discounted, because researchers have noted that older women may be at an increased risk of contracting HIV due to their heterosexual sexual practices and/or substance use behaviors. HIV prevention efforts must be directed at older adults who engage in high-risk sexual and drug behaviors, particularly those who may not perceive themselves to be at risk for HIV infection. This study is based on 183 women, mostly African American, divided into two age cohorts (ages 18 to 29, and ages 40 and older). The authors investigate factors associated with HIV risk perception in several domains, including individual, psychosocial, and sociodemographic characteristics as well as sexual and drug use behaviors. Multivariate analyses revealed differences in factors associated with younger and older women's HIV risk perceptions. Our findings indicate a need for HIV risk prevention programs to take age into consideration when developing intervention messages and strategies.
TL;DR: This article examined gender differences in elderly support and socio-economic well-being in Vietnam using census and survey data and found that the gender of the support recipient and provider showed little variation across gender once the mediating effect of marital status differences was controlled.
Abstract: Although women and the elderly are assumed to be disadvantaged in much of the world, systematic empirical studies of gender differences in well-being among the elderly are rare. This article examines gender differences in elderly support and socio-economic well-being in Vietnam using census and survey data. Sources of support examined include work, nonfamilial support, and especially familial support including living arrangements. The authors consider the gender of the support recipient and provider. Substantial regional differences in the patriarchal/patrilineal family system, manifested in the wide regional variation in coresidence with married sons rather than daughters, make Vietnam a particularly interesting context for the study. The receipt of intergenerational transfers shows little variation across gender once the mediating effect of marital status differences is controlled. Gender differences in economic well-being, as measured by household wealth and self-perceptions of economic satisfaction, a...
TL;DR: In this article, the authors examined the effects of housing market conditions on the living arrangements of non-Hispanic White and African American persons 60 years old and older, and found that older persons' and couples' living arrangement decisions are responsive to housing affordability.
Abstract: This study examines the effects of housing market conditions on the living arrangements of non-Hispanic White and African American persons 60 years old and older. The multilevel models include indicators of local housing market affordability and availability, as well as individual-level resources, evaluated for unmarried women, unmarried men, and married couples. The results indicate that older persons' and couples' living arrangement decisions are responsive to housing affordability in that those who live in areas with high housing costs experience increased likelihoods of living with nonnuclear adults. For married couples, housing availability is also associated with living arrangement decisions, and for single men and women, the relative share of the housing market composed of small rental units is positively associated with residential independence. In addition, housing availability and affordability are positively associated with the likelihood of living alone as compared to living in group quarters ...
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors examined two interrelated indicators of modernization (urbanization and social isolation) in relation to elder abuse among Arab-Israelis, a population in rapid transition from agrarian to urban culture.
Abstract: The study examines two interrelated indicators of modernization—urbanization and social isolation—in relation to elder abuse among Arab-Israelis, a population in rapid transition from agrarian to urban culture. The analysis matches a sample of abused elders (N = 120) with a control group from the same population (N = 120). Urbanization is measured by community type and social isolation is assessed by five measures of social network. The analysis finds that Arab-Israeli elderly persons who had been abused were more socially isolated than nonabused elders. In addition, abused elders who resided in cities had lower network scores than abused elders from rural and semiurban localities. The study provides preliminary empirical backing to modernization explanations of elder abuse and neglect.
TL;DR: This paper described and reviewed stereotypes of elderly persons found in adult narrative jokes, based on a conceptual framework drawing from psychoanalytic and cognitive processes, and used them to describe and review stereotypes.
Abstract: The chief objective of this study was to describe and review stereotypes of elderly persons found in adult narrative jokes, based on a conceptual framework drawing from psychoanalytic and cognitive
TL;DR: This paper examined the effect of parent care on the quality of adult daughter-aging parent relationships and the effects of these relationships on the mental health of daughters, finding that providing care to a parent with both cognitive and physical impairments takes a toll on the daughter-parent relationship, and this association is largely accounted for by the daughter's self-esteem.
Abstract: This study examined the effects of parent care on the quality of adult daughter–aging parent relationships and the effects of these relationships on the mental health of daughters. One hundred ninety-six daughters who participated in the first two waves (18 months apart) of a longitudinal study of women in Wisconsin were included in this analysis. Structural equation modeling results show that providing care to a parent with both cognitive and physical impairments, but not to a parent with physical impairments only, takes a toll on the quality of the daughter-parent relationship. The quality of the daughter-parent relationship was found to be negatively associated with depressive symptoms in the daughter, and this association is largely accounted for by the daughter’s self-esteem.
TL;DR: For example, this paper explored the effect of unplanned changes in disability and marital status on labor force participation for a sample of just under 6,000 men and women born between 1931 and 1941.
Abstract: This study explored the effect of unplanned changes in disability and marital status on labor force participation for a sample of just under 6,000 men and women born between 1931 and 1941. It was based on Wave 1 (1992) through Wave 4 (1998) of the Health and Retirement Study data. Binomial hierarchical linear models were used to evaluate the change in the probability of working. Unplanned changes in disability and marital status had effects on labor force participation over and above the effects of the statuses themselves. These findings highlight the need for employer and government policies that minimize the stress that exists with unplanned events. Such policies might encourage higher labor force participation among workers who experience unplanned events that prompt them to exit the labor force earlier than they otherwise would have, with potentially adverse consequences for their subsequent socioeconomic status.
TL;DR: Provider support did not materially affect caregivers' health but had an indirect effect on caregivers' self-assessed health through rewards, suggesting perceived support from care recipients' providers is limited.
Abstract: This study examined whether support from care recipients' primary care providers affects the stress and health of caregivers. This two-year longitudinal study addressed changes in caregivers' mental and physical health, both self-assessed and evaluated by professional nurse practitioners in physical examinations, and the effects of provider support on caregivers' health. Randomly selected participants from three previous studies plus a group of volunteer Alzheimer's caregivers constituted the sample. Of 254 eligible individuals, 150 agreed to participate, but by time 2, care recipient deaths and other reasons had reduced the number of caregivers to 99. Participants showed significant increases in stress and service use but declines in all areas of health and in provider support. Provider support did not materially affect caregivers' health but had an indirect effect on caregivers' self-assessed health through rewards. Despite the need for bolstering caregivers' health, perceived support from care recipien...
TL;DR: This study investigated facility characteristics that may be correlated with resident complaints in Connecticut's 261 nursing facilities to indicate that other factors such as psychosocial characteristics of complainants may influence complaint reporting, rather than structural/organizational components of the facility.
Abstract: Using Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program complaint data (N = 3,360) from all of Connecticut's 261 nursing facilities, this study investigated facility characteristics that may be correlated with resident complaints. Complaints per 100 beds and four subcategories of complaints established by the Administration on Aging (AoA) were the dependent variables. The presence of volunteers trained by the Ombudsman Pro-gram significantly predicted total complaints. At the bivariate level, profit status, size, location, citations, and the presence of a volunteer resident advocate were associated with the rate of complaints. However, multivariate analysis exposed a more complex pattern of relationships. The strongest model explained slightly more than 9% of the variance using the nine predictors. This indicates that other factors such as psychosocial characteristics of complainants may influence complaint reporting, rather than structural/organizational components of the facility.
TL;DR: In this article, the significance of vision and hearing on physical, social, and emotional functioning was assessed along with the role of personality traits and social resources, using a stratified sample of 425 community-dwelling older individuals (M age = 72.2).
Abstract: The present study examined the comparative roles of vision and hearing in differentaspects of older individuals' lives. The significance of vision and hearing on physical, social, and emotional functioning (disability, social activity, and depressive symptoms) was assessed along with the role of personality traits and social resources, using a stratified sample of 425 community-dwelling older individuals (M age = 72.2). Vision was a significant factor for disability, while hearing was significantly associated with social activity, implying the unique contribution of vision and hearing. The association between sensory performance and depressive symptoms became nonsignificant in multivariate analysis. After adjusting for vision and hearing, psychosocial factors increased the amount of explained variance in physical, social, and emotional outcomes. The findings demonstrate the important roles of personality and social resources along with vision and hearing and suggest a need to consider them when planning i...
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors investigated whether both mothers' and daughters' paternalism beliefs influenced the daughters' caregiving decision-making, and found that mothers' reports of conflict were related only to their own beliefs.
Abstract: The study investigated whether both mothers' and daughters' paternalism beliefs influenced the daughters' paternalistic caregiving decision making. Fifty mother-daughter dyads (mothers' age was 82.6, daughters' age was 54.9), where daughters provided at least 10 hours of caregiving help weekly and mothers retained their cognitive functioning, were interviewed individually. Each was assessed on paternalism beliefs, instrumental activities of daily living, the number of paternalistic caregiving decisions made by the daughter, conflict over caregiving decisions, and satisfaction with the decisions. Both mother's and daughter's paternalism beliefs were related to the number of the daughter's paternalistic decisions, as was the degree of the mother's dependency (p < .05). Daughters'reports of conflict over decisions were related to differences in mothers' and daughters' paternalism beliefs, whereas mothers' reports of conflict were related only to the daughters' paternalism beliefs. Decision satisfaction was u...
TL;DR: The economic well-being of the elderly largely reflects their cumulative achievements in the labor market and the success of welfare policy in reducing income gaps and inequality as mentioned in this paper. But the economic independence of the older population is not guaranteed.
Abstract: The economic well-being of the elderly largely reflects their cumulative achievements in the labor market and the success of welfare policy in reducing income gaps and inequality This article focuses on the effect of immigration, especially its timing along the life course, on economic well-being later in life Using data from a nationally representative survey of the elderly population in Israel, we found that immigrants entering Israel at a young age were able not only to accumulate sufficient labor force experience but also to secure the types of employment that grant high levels of benefits Thus, they could achieve economic independence by old age The findings underscore the role of the state in compensating those who immigrated at older ages for their inability to accumulate market resources by raising them above the poverty line
TL;DR: This article examined the income dynamics of retired individuals over the first 12 years of their life and found that there are major differences between the two countries in the experiences of the retired individuals as they age.
Abstract: This study examines the income dynamics of retired individuals over the first 12 years of retirement. Two questions are asked: (1) Are the economic experiences of U.S. elderly unique, or are they similar to the experiences of the elderly in Germany? and (2) What is the role of social security in these economic experiences? The results show that there are major differences between the two countries in the experiences of retired individuals as they age. Retired Germans generally maintain their living standards as they age, whereas retired Americans experience falling living standards.
TL;DR: In this paper, the generality of George's model of the social precursors of depression was tested in a sample of older persons (N = 803) from three ethnic groups: U.S.-born African Americans, African Caribbeans, and European Americans.
Abstract: The generality of George's model of the social precursors of depression was tested in a sample of older persons (N = 803) from three ethnic groups: U.S.-born African Americans, African Caribbeans, and U.S.-born European Americans. The social precursors model includes demographic variables, early events and achievements, later events and achievements, social integration, vulnerability and protective factors, and provoking agents and coping efforts. Zero-order correlations indicated that nearly all the predictor variables were significantly associated with depression. A test of the overall model with all six stages was followed by separate regressions for each ethnic group. Four of the six stages of the model contributed unique variance to the prediction of depressed affect in European Americans but only two in the case of African Americans and African Caribbeans. The most robust and consistent predictor of depression was the sixth-stage variables of stress and emotion regulation.
TL;DR: The authors explored the difficulties encountered and strategies adopted in obtaining a sample of older Australian workers who were about to retire and explored the fieldwork problems encountered and the effectiveness of alternative recruitment strategies in meeting core sampling goals.
Abstract: Studies of change flowing from important life-course transitions such as retirement are best conducted using panel designs that allowchange to be tracked at an individual level. However, for many life-course transitions, sample recruitment is especially difficult because no sampling frames exist for what are relatively rare and nonenumerated populations. This article outlines the difficulties encountered and strategies adopted in obtaining a sample of older Australianworkers who were about to retire. It explores the fieldwork problems encountered and the effectiveness of alternative recruitment strategies in meeting core sampling goals. Recruitment strategies are evaluated in terms of their cost, efficiency, impact on data quality, and ability to recruit difficult-to-find subtypes of retirees. The experience of this research team is provided to offer guidance and information for other teams as they seek to recruit samples for retirement studies or for other studies of rare and nonenumerated populations.