Social Gerontology Theories: Past, Present, and Future

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jill Suitor ◽  
Megan Gilligan ◽  
Marissa Rurka ◽  
Yifei Hou ◽  
Gulcin Con
Keyword(s):  
Social Networks ◽  
Life Course ◽  
Interpersonal Relations ◽  
Later Life ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Individual Characteristics ◽  
Public Health Medicine ◽  
Social Gerontology ◽  
Social Structural ◽  
The Life Course

Theories of social gerontology have progressed from a focus on individuals’ later-life decline to theories that emphasize the intra- and interindividual variability of later-life experiences and the ways in which such heterogeneity is conditioned by social structural, cultural, and interpersonal factors that often begin in childhood and continue to shape individuals and members of their social networks across the life course. Consistent with theories across the sciences, theories of social gerontology predict and explain real-world experiences. In the case of social gerontology, the goals of theory address a wide array of phenomena, ranging from individuals’ attitudes and motivations, social networks and social support, the actions and functions of formal organizations, the embodiment of cultural norms and stereotypes, social determinants of health, and sources of inequality throughout the life course.. As the field of social gerontology has developed, theories in the field have shown increasing complexity, particularly regarding the roles of early life course experiences, social structural positions, and interpersonal relations in explaining variations in well-being, longevity, and the quality of life across the lifespan. As part of this increased complexity, social gerontology has become increasingly cross-disciplinary, spanning disciplines such as sociology, psychology, biology, anthropology, public health, medicine, and engineering, with a strong emphasis on how each discipline can contribute to developing principles that transcend individual fields. These integrative theories of social gerontology are crucial to developing comprehensive approaches to improving the health and well-being of individuals throughout the life course. Theories of social gerontology help us comprehensively understand the aging process by emphasizing individual characteristics, social relationships, and the larger cultural contexts in which individuals’ lives are embedded.

The Early-Life Origins of Later-Life Networks

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alyssa W Goldman
Keyword(s):  
Social Networks ◽  
Life Course ◽  
Network Structure ◽  
Social Life ◽  
Early Life ◽  
Later Life ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
The Life Course ◽  
Personal Social Networks

Abstract Personal social networks profoundly influence a wide range of outcomes throughout the life course. But little research has considered how some features of individuals’ social networks may be shaped by experiences in early life. This study uses nationally representative data from the National Social Life, Health, and Aging Project to examine how childhood circumstances may shape the structure of older adults’ personal social networks. The analyses show that higher childhood socioeconomic status is associated with larger network size and a more expansive, less kin-based network structure. At the same time, higher levels of family happiness in childhood are associated with greater network density and more kin-centric network composition, which may reflect greater access to social support and overall network intimacy across the life course. The results suggest that studies of the relative advantages of social network structure may benefit from contextualizing individuals’ social networks in terms of their social origins. The article discusses the need for additional research on the life-course bases of the link between childhood circumstances and later-life network properties, and what role this connection plays in shaping later-life well-being.

Social class and inequality in later life

2020 ◽  
pp. 19-40
Author(s):  
Chris Gilleard ◽  
Paul Higgs
Keyword(s):  
Social Class ◽  
Life Course ◽  
Working Life ◽  
Later Life ◽  
Cumulative Advantage ◽  
Social Gerontology ◽  
The Life Course

This chapter begins with a consideration of models and theories concerning social class. It focuses upon the distinctions between relational and gradational models of class. It then explores how these different models seem to be articulated in later life and the model of cumulative advantage and disadvantage employed in much social gerontology. Following from such considerations, it explores both the connections and the disjunctions that exists between working and post working life. The chapter concludes with a consideration of how consumption and consumerism have grown in significance as markers of distinction and determinants of difference, not just in later life but throughout the life course.

scholarly journals PATTERNS OF WEALTH TRAJECTORY IN LATER LIFE: CRITICAL PERIOD, ACCUMULATION, AND SOCIAL MOBILITY MODELS

2019 ◽  
Vol 3 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. S382-S382
Author(s):  
Yu-Chih Chen ◽  
Sojung Park ◽  
Nancy Morrow-Howell
Keyword(s):  
Life Course ◽  
Social Mobility ◽  
Critical Period ◽  
Reference Group ◽  
Multinomial Logistic Regression ◽  
Later Life ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Economic Stress ◽  
Mobility Models ◽  
The Life Course

Abstract Wealth, an important financial cushion for older adults to buffer economic stress, requires a longer time to accumulate and develop in one’s course of life. However, little is known about the trajectories of wealth in later life, and how the life course socioeconomic status (SES) may contribute to the development of wealth at old-age. This study investigated longitudinal patterns of wealth trajectory and whether SES across the life course affects these trajectories using critical period, accumulation, and social mobility models. Using data from 16,189 adults aged 51 and older from the 2004-2014 Health and Retirement Study, a growth mixture model was used to explore distinct wealth trajectories. Impacts of life course models were studied using multinomial logistic regression. Results showed that four heterogeneous latent classes of wealth were identified: Stable high (reference group), Low and increasing, Stable low, and High but decline. Disadvantaged adulthood SES, accumulated exposure to socioeconomic risks, and downward or persistent socioeconomic disadvantage over the life course were associated with Stable low, Low and increasing, and High but decline, supporting all three life course mechanisms on wealth development in later life. Evidence suggests that wealth development is heterogeneous across individuals, and a strong gradient effect of life-course SES on wealth trajectories are clearly observed. Programs and policies should address the effects of life course on wealth development to strengthen the economic well-being in later life.

scholarly journals CONTINUITY OF CAREER OVER THE LIFE COURSE ON LIFE SATISFACTION AND DEPRESSIVE SYMPTOMS IN LATER LIFE

2019 ◽  
Vol 3 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. S128-S129
Author(s):  
Melanie S Hill ◽  
James E Hill ◽  
Stephanie Richardson ◽  
Jessica Brown ◽  
Jeremy B Yorgason ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
High School ◽  
Life Satisfaction ◽  
Depressive Symptoms ◽  
Life Course ◽  
Career Choice ◽  
Early Adulthood ◽  
Later Life ◽  
Well Being ◽  
The Life Course ◽  
The Impact

Abstract Identity scholars have suggested that having a unified sense of past, present, and future is related to positive well-being outcomes (Whitbourne, Sneed & Skultety, 2009). One’s occupation can have a profound influence on an individual’s identity throughout the life course (Nazar & van der Heijden, 2012). Research has looked at career mobility among younger age groups (Baiyun, Ramkissoon, Greenwood, & Hoyte, 2018); however, less is known about the impact of career stability later in life. Consistency in career choice over the life course may have positive outcomes down the line as career becomes part of an individual's identity. The current study uses the Life and Family Legacies dataset, a longitudinal state-representative sample of 3,348, to examine individual’s careers at three points in the life course: high school (projected career choice), early adulthood, and later life. Results revealed that a match of desired career in high school and actual career in early adulthood was not predictive of life satisfaction or depressive symptoms in later life. However, a match of career in early adulthood and later life was significantly related to better life satisfaction and less depressive symptoms, which was explained through higher levels of job satisfaction. This study highlights the importance of acquiring and maintaining a career that is fulfilling to the individual over the course of early adulthood to later life.

scholarly journals Marital Strain and Support and Subjective Well-Being in Later Life: Ascribing a Role to Early-Life Conditions

2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 407-407
Author(s):  
Laura Upenieks ◽  
Yingling Liu
Keyword(s):  
Life Course ◽  
Process Model ◽  
Later Life ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Life Course Perspective ◽  
Subjective Well Being ◽  
Marital Support ◽  
Lagged Dependent Variable ◽  
The Life Course ◽  
Marital Strain

Abstract Decades of research have the beneficial effects of marital support and the detrimental consequences of marital strain on health and well-being. However, we know relatively less about how circumstances in childhood—a key developmental period of the life course—influence the relational structure in which later life is embedded and any implications this may hold for well-being. We integrate the life course perspective with the stress process model to offer a framework for how childhood conditions (childhood happiness, family structure, and financial strain) moderate the relationship between marital support/strain and subjective well-being in older adulthood in potentially different ways for men and women. The consequences of marital strain may be more severe and the benefits of marital support may not be as strongly felt for those adults who experienced greater adversity during childhood. Drawing on longitudinal data from Waves 2 (2010-2011) and 3 (2015-2016) of the NSHAP project (N = 1,376), results from lagged dependent variable models suggest that marital support buffers the effect of not living with both parents in childhood on subjective well-being for men. Meanwhile, women raised in families that experienced financial hardship reported lower subjective well-being in the context of marital strain in later life. No significant interaction effects were obtained for childhood happiness. Taken together, our findings suggest that adverse experiences in childhood can be scarring, particularly in the context of strained intimate relationships. However, a supportive marriage can, in some cases, offset the effects of childhood hardship on subjective well-being in later life.

scholarly journals The Impact of Life Course Employment and Domestic Duties on the Well-Being of Retired Women and the Social Protection Systems That Frame This

2018 ◽  
Vol 32 (5-6) ◽  
pp. 285-295 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sara Zella ◽  
Sarah Harper
Keyword(s):  
Life Course ◽  
Women’S Health ◽  
Women's Health ◽  
Social Protection ◽  
Positive Association ◽  
Later Life ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Welfare States ◽  
The Life Course ◽  
The Impact

Objectives: The article addresses whether specific combinations of employment and domestic duties over the life course are associated with variations in women’s health at the time of retirement. It also explores the differences of this relationship in four European welfare states. Method: Women from three waves of SHARE (Survey of Health, Aging and Retirement in Europe) are grouped using sequence analysis. Using logistic regression models, group differences in later life depression and self-reported health are tested. Predicted probabilities are applied to analyze welfares’ differences. Results: The findings confirm that a combination of employment and domestic duties across the life course has a positive association with later life health. Being outside the labor market is detrimental for women’s health. Well-being across the life course is framed by the welfare context in which women live. Discussion: We suggest that further research is needed to explore the mechanisms linking work and care trajectories to poor health and enable appropriate interventions.

scholarly journals The Long Shadow of Youth: Girls’ Transition From Full-Time Education and Later-Life Subjective Well-Being in the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Baowen Xue ◽  
Penny Tinkler ◽  
Anne McMunn
Keyword(s):  
Quality Of Life ◽  
Life Satisfaction ◽  
Life Course ◽  
Later Life ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Full Time ◽  
Subjective Well Being ◽  
The Life Course ◽  
English Longitudinal Study

Abstract Objectives To investigate whether the timing and nature of women’s transitions out of full-time (FT) education are related to later-life subjective well-being and the life-course experiences that might explain any associations seen. Methods Data are from women in Wave 3 of the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing who have participated in the life history interview and were aged 50+ at the interview (n = 3,889). Using multichannel sequence analysis, we identified 6 types of transition out of FT education (ages 14–26). Regression models were used to examine associations between transition types and life satisfaction, quality of life, and depressive symptoms at age 50+. Results Women who made early transitions to married parenthood and FT domestic labor had lower levels of well-being on all 3 later-life well-being outcomes (p < .01), compared to women who made later transitions to family life and remained employed. Women who remained single up to age 26 also had lower life satisfaction (p < .05) and quality of life (p < .01) in later life than their counterparts who married and had children. These associations were explained by the life-course socioeconomic and relationship pathways. Advantaged childhood socioeconomic circumstances and higher educational qualifications set “Later Marriage and Later employment” women apart onto advantaged trajectories and a better quality of life later (p < .01). Discussion The timing and nature of exits from FT education played a pivotal role in setting people onto life-course trajectories that influence well-being in later life for this older generation of women.

scholarly journals LATENT CLASS ANALYSIS OF RE-EXPERIENCING VIOLENCE ACROSS THE LIFE COURSE

2019 ◽  
Vol 3 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. S351-S351
Author(s):  
Jooyoung Kong ◽  
Scott Easton
Keyword(s):  
Life Course ◽  
Psychological Health ◽  
Childhood Maltreatment ◽  
Psychological Functioning ◽  
Latent Class ◽  
Elder Abuse ◽  
Later Life ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Latent Classes ◽  
The Life Course

Abstract Guided by the cumulative disadvantage hypothesis, the present study examines recurrent victimization experiences across the life course and their impact on psychological health in later life. Using data from the 2010-2011 Wisconsin Longitudinal Study, we explored the latent structure of histories of childhood maltreatment (i.e., neglect, emotional/physical abuse, witness of domestic violence) and elder abuse victimization among 5,968 older adults (average age of 71 years). We also investigated whether membership in specific latent classes, particularly experiencing both childhood and elder victimization, would be associated with psychological functioning in late life. We identified five latent classes: “Never victimized” (66% of respondents), “Abused as child” (16%), “Abused and neglected as child” (9%), “Abused as elder” (6%), and “Abused as child and elder” (2%). Also, the “abused as child and elder” class consistently was associated with negative psychological outcomes (i.e., distress and somatic symptom severity) and lower levels of psychological well-being.

scholarly journals Pathways to Well-Being in Later Life: Socioeconomic and Health Determinants Across the Life Course of Australian Baby Boomers

2015 ◽  
Vol 9 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 49-67 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hal Kendig ◽  
Vanessa Loh ◽  
Kate O’Loughlin ◽  
Julie Byles ◽  
James Y. Nazroo
Keyword(s):  
Life Course ◽  
Baby Boomers ◽  
Later Life ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Health Determinants ◽  
The Life Course

Transgender ageing: community resistance and well-being in the life course

2019 ◽  
pp. 47-62 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vanessa Fabbre ◽  
Anna Siverskog
Keyword(s):  
Life Course ◽  
Lived Experiences ◽  
Empirical Work ◽  
Later Life ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Life Choices ◽  
Transgender People ◽  
Community Resistance ◽  
The Life Course

This chapter explores the intersections of gender, sexuality and age through transgender aging. Using empirical work from both Swedish and U.S. contexts, it examines how heteronormative expectations for human lives are challenged by the identities, lived experiences and life choices of older transgender adults. Further, the chapter draws upon life course and queer perspectives to analyse the role of community-level organizing and resistance as pathways to wellness in later life for transgender people

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