The family and community life of older people: household composition and social networks in three urban areas

1998 ◽  
Vol 18 (3) ◽  
pp. 259-289 ◽  
Author(s):  
CHRIS PHILLIPSON ◽  
MIRIAM BERNARD ◽  
JUDITH PHILLIPS ◽  
JIM OGG
Keyword(s):  
Older People ◽  
Living Arrangements ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Considerable Change ◽  
Household Composition ◽  
Community Life ◽  
Community Studies ◽  
Family Structures ◽  
The Family ◽  
The Impact

The post-war period has witnessed considerable change in England affecting family structures and social relationships both within, and between, the generations. In this paper, we report on research which has examined the impact of these changes on the lives of older people. Three urban areas: Bethnal Green and Woodford in London, and Wolverhampton in the West Midlands, are the locations for this project. All three were the subject of classic community studies in the 1940s and 1950s, providing rich material about the family and community life of older people. Using these as a baseline, we have examined changes to the social and family networks of older people over the intervening years. Our research comprised a questionnaire-based survey of 627 older people, followed-up one year later by a series of in-depth interviews with 62 people over the age of 75 (and 19 second generation members in their networks). We also undertook 35 interviews with Indian and Bangladeshi elders in Wolverhampton and Bethnal Green. Findings reported concern the living arrangements of older people and their relationships with network members. In particular, we note the marked trend towards solo living or living in married pairs amongst the white population, and the importance of multi-generation households amongst the two minority ethnic groups. Together with the enduring importance of family and the significance of friends, there are also crucial differences, notably in the ways people maintain contact with members of their networks.

scholarly journals The Impact of Living Arrangements and Intergenerational Support on the Health Status of Older People in China

2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 796-796
Author(s):  
Yazhen Yang ◽  
Maria Evandrou ◽  
Athina Vlachantoni
Keyword(s):  
Life Satisfaction ◽  
Older People ◽  
Adult Children ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
Living Arrangements ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Intergenerational Support ◽  
Rural And Urban Areas ◽  
The Impact

Abstract Research to-date has examined the impact of intergenerational support in terms of isolated types of support, or at one point in time, failing to provide strong evidence of the complex effect of support on older persons’ wellbeing. Using the Harmonised China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (2011, 2013 and 2015), this paper investigates the impact of older people’s living arrangements and intergenerational support provision/ receipt on their physical and psychological wellbeing, focusing on rural/ urban differences. The results show that receiving economic support from one’s adult children was a stronger predictor for higher life satisfaction among older rural residents compared to those in urban areas, while grandchild care provision was an important determinant for poor life satisfaction only for older urban residents. Receiving informal care from one’s adult children was associated with a poor (I)ADL functional status and with depressive symptoms among older rural people. Meanwhile, having weekly in-person and distant contact reduced the risk of depression among older people in both rural and urban areas. The paper shows that it is important to improve the level of public economic transfers and public social care towards vulnerable older people in rural areas, and more emphasis should be placed on improving the psychological well-being of urban older residents, such as with the early diagnosis of depression.

scholarly journals The impact of living arrangements and intergenerational support on the health status of older people in China: are rural residents disadvantaged compared to urban residents?

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-26
Author(s):  
Yazhen Yang ◽  
Maria Evandrou ◽  
Athina Vlachantoni
Keyword(s):  
Life Satisfaction ◽  
Older People ◽  
Adult Children ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
Living Arrangements ◽  
Psychological Wellbeing ◽  
Urban Residents ◽  
Intergenerational Support ◽  
Rural Residents ◽  
The Impact

Abstract Research to-date has examined the impact of intergenerational support in terms of isolated types of support, or at one point in time, failing to provide strong evidence of the complex effect of support on older persons’ wellbeing. Using the Harmonised China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (2011, 2013 and 2015), this paper investigates the impact of older people's living arrangements and intergenerational support provision/receipt on their physical and psychological wellbeing, focusing on rural–urban differences. The results show that receiving economic support from one's adult children was a stronger predictor for higher life satisfaction among rural residents compared to urban residents, while grandchild care provision was an important determinant for poor life satisfaction only for urban residents. Having weekly in-person and distant contact with one's adult children reduced the risk of depression in both rural and urban residents. Older women were more likely than men to receive support and to have contact with adult children, but also to report poor functional status and depression. The paper shows that it is important to improve the level of public economic transfers and public social care towards vulnerable older people in rural areas, and more emphasis should be placed on improving the psychological wellbeing of urban older residents, such as with the early diagnosis of depression.

scholarly journals Informal Volunteering and Socialization Effects: Examining Modelling and Encouragement by Parents and Partner

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marlou J. M. Ramaekers ◽  
Ellen Verbakel ◽  
Gerbert Kraaykamp
Keyword(s):  
Social Relations ◽  
Community Life ◽  
Important Indicator ◽  
Parental Encouragement ◽  
Helping Behaviours ◽  
The Family ◽  
Socialization Processes ◽  
Informal Volunteering ◽  
Socializing Agents ◽  
The Impact

AbstractInformal volunteering is seen as an important indicator of social relations and community life. We therefore investigate the impact of various socialization practices on informal volunteering, being small helping behaviours outside of organizations for people outside the household. From theoretical notions on socialization, we hypothesize that experiencing extensive prosocial socialization practices promotes informal volunteering. We examine socialization processes of both modelling and encouragement and consider two socializing agents: parents and partners. We test our expectations employing the sixth wave of the Family Survey Dutch Population (N = 2464) that included unique measures on socialization as well as informal volunteering and holds important control variables. Our results indicated that parental modelling, partner modelling and partner encouragement were all positively related to informal volunteering, but that parental encouragement was not significantly related to informal volunteering. Our paper, thus, underscores that socialization practices are relevant in nurturing social relations and community life.

Village senior centres and the living arrangements of older people in rural China: considerations of health, land, migration and intergenerational support

2016 ◽  
Vol 37 (10) ◽  
pp. 2044-2073 ◽  
Author(s):  
HUIJUN LIU ◽  
KAREN N. EGGLESTON ◽  
YAN MIN
Keyword(s):  
Older People ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
Living Arrangements ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Independent Living ◽  
Rural China ◽  
Living Arrangement ◽  
Population Ageing ◽  
Intergenerational Support ◽  
North East

ABSTRACTChina is experiencing rapid urbanisation and population ageing, alongside sometimes contentious rural land consolidation. These on-going social, economic, political and demographic changes are especially problematic for older people in rural areas. In these regions, social and institutional support arrangements are less developed than in urban areas; older people have few options for re-settlement but are resistant to or incapable of adjusting to high-rise apartment living. In 2012–13, we gathered rich qualitative and quantitative data on over 600 older residents in 12 villages under the jurisdiction of City L in north-east coastal China to analyse residents’ living arrangement choices during the village renovation process. We compared villages with and without senior centres to shed light on the correlates of co-residence and independent living. Senior centres play a role in balancing the burden on rural Chinese families resulting from population ageing, smaller families, widespread migration for work, and the rapid urbanisation that is restructuring land rights and social support arrangements.

scholarly journals The impact of adult mortality on the living arrangements of older people in rural South Africa

2005 ◽  
Vol 25 (6) ◽  
pp. 431-444 ◽  
Author(s):  
VICTORIA HOSEGOOD ◽  
IAN M. TIMÆUS
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Older People ◽  
Living Arrangements ◽  
Adult Mortality ◽  
Living Alone ◽  
Rural South ◽  
Kwazulu Natal ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Quality Infrastructure ◽  
Rural South Africa

This paper examines changes in households with older people in a northern rural area of KwaZulu Natal province, South Africa, between January 2000 and January 2002. The focus is the impact of adult deaths, especially those from AIDS, on the living arrangements of older people. The longitudinal data are from the Africa Centre Demographic Information System. In 2000, 3,657 older people (women aged 60 years or older, men 65 years or older) were resident in the area, and 3,124 households had at least one older member. The majority (87%) of older people lived in three-generation households. Households with older people were significantly poorer, more likely to be headed by a woman, and in homesteads with poorer quality infrastructure than households without older members. By January 2002, 316 (8%) of the older people in the sample had died. Of all the households with an older person, 12 per cent experienced at least one adult death from AIDS. The paper shows that older people, particularly those living alone or with children in the absence of other adults, were living in the poorest households. They were also coping with an increasing burden of young adult deaths, the majority of which were attributable to AIDS.

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