Who Lives Alone During Old Age? Trends in the Social and Functional Disadvantages of Sweden’s Solitary Living Older Adults

2017 ◽  
Vol 40 (9) ◽  
pp. 815-838 ◽  
Author(s):  
Benjamin A. Shaw ◽  
Stefan Fors ◽  
Johan Fritzell ◽  
Carin Lennartsoon ◽  
Neda Agahi
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Old Age ◽  
Policy Implications ◽  
Living Alone ◽  
Mobility Impairment ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Never Married ◽  
Solitary Living ◽  
The Social ◽  
Age Trends

This study identifies specific social and functional disadvantages associated with living alone during old age in Sweden and assesses whether these associations have changed during recent decades. Data came from repeated cross-sectional surveys of Swedish adults aged 77+ during 1992–2014. Findings indicate that several types of disadvantage are consistently associated with the probability of living alone including financial insecurity and having never married for women and having never married and mobility impairment for men. Also for older men, low education has become an increasing strong determinant of living alone. These findings suggest that older adults who live alone are a subgroup that is particularly, and in some cases increasingly, vulnerable with respect to social and functional status. This has important policy implications related to addressing the needs of this growing subgroup as well as methodological implications for studies on the health effects of living alone.

scholarly journals Greater Risk of Negative Health Outcomes of Older Adults Living Alone in Vietnam: A Community Survey

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (21) ◽  
pp. 11115
Author(s):  
Man Thi Hue Vo ◽  
Keiko Nakamura ◽  
Kaoruko Seino ◽  
Thang Van Vo
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Health Outcomes ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
Living Arrangements ◽  
Fear Of Falling ◽  
Living Arrangement ◽  
Community Survey ◽  
Living Alone ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Solitary Living

In modern Asian societies, there has been a shift in the living arrangements of older adults away from living with others. Knowing the health characteristics of individuals living alone can help identify high-risk groups. This cross-sectional study aimed to describe characteristics of the Vietnamese older adults and to investigate the association between living alone and their reported health outcomes by utilizing survey data of individuals aged ≥60 years in Vietnam in 2018. The community survey included questions about sociodemographic factors, living arrangement, and self-reported physical functional status. Multivariate logistic regression was used to examine whether or not living alone was a predictor of health outcomes. Of 725 study participants, 8.9% lived alone. These participants were more likely to be female, aged 70–79 years, living in rural areas, and currently single or previously married. After adjusting for covariates, older adults who were living alone were more likely to have arthritis (adjusted odds ratio [AOR] = 1.95, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.10–3.45), a history of falling (AOR = 2.44, 95% CI: 1.02–5.82), visual difficulties (AOR = 1.89, 95% CI: 1.04–3.41), feelings of loneliness (AOR = 1.95, 95% CI: 1.10–3.47), and high fear of falling (AOR = 1.88, 95% CI: 1.02–3.46). Older adults living alone in Vietnam were at greater risk of negative health consequences than those living with others. Screening and providing adequate social support for this specific population is important in preventing the adverse effects of solitary living among these older adults.

scholarly journals Trends in the Mortality Risk of Living Alone during Old Age in Sweden, 1992–2011

2020 ◽  
Vol 32 (10) ◽  
pp. 1399-1408
Author(s):  
Benjamin A. Shaw ◽  
Lena Dahlberg ◽  
Charlotta Nilsen ◽  
Neda Agahi
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Old Age ◽  
Mortality Risk ◽  
Psychological Health ◽  
Living Alone ◽  
Service Needs ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Time Period ◽  
The Mean ◽  
Nationally Representative

Objectives: This study investigates the association between living alone and mortality over a recent 19-year period (1992–2011). Method: Data from a repeated cross-sectional, nationally representative (Sweden) study of adults ages 77 and older are analyzed in relation to 3-year mortality. Results: Findings suggest that the mortality risk associated with living alone during old age increased between 1992 and 2011 ( p = .076). A small increase in the mean age of those living alone is partly responsible for the strengthening over time of this association. Throughout this time period, older adults living alone consistently reported poorer mobility and psychological health, less financial security, fewer social contacts, and more loneliness than older adults living with others. Discussion: Older adults living alone are more vulnerable than those living with others, and their mortality risk has increased. They may have unique service needs that should be considered in policies aiming to support aging in place.

Aging Alone, Gossiping Together: Older Adults’ Talk as Social Glue

2018 ◽  
Vol 74 (8) ◽  
pp. 1474-1482 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stacy Torres
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
New York ◽  
Older People ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Living Alone ◽  
Emotional Intimacy ◽  
Public Places ◽  
The Social ◽  
Formal Organizations ◽  
Negative Reputation

AbstractObjectivesWhile older adults living alone face challenges to maintaining social ties, elders in urban areas also have unique opportunities for daily socializing that can buffer against loneliness.MethodDrawing on 5 years of ethnographic fieldwork among elders in New York City, this study presents empirical insights into the development of supplementary neighborhood-based networks of support for older people living alone and vulnerable to isolation.ResultsThis study finds that elders who lived alone, without close kin, engaged in daily gossip about other older people they encountered as regulars in local eateries. Despite its negative reputation, gossip helped them connect and access less conventional social support close to home. The majority resisted formal organizations, such as churches or senior centers, and thus their interactions in public venues served as an important source of social involvement. In line with Gluckman’s argument (1963), gossip betrayed emotional intimacy and caretaking that connected people who could have fallen off the social radar.DiscussionHigher rates of divorce and lifelong singlehood, coupled with increased longevity, will compel greater numbers of older adults to construct alternative support networks. My findings suggest that more will draw these connections from unconventional venues such as neighborhood public places.

scholarly journals On the Demographics and the Severity of the Social Security Crisis

2016 ◽  
Vol 16 (2) ◽  
pp. 1001-1028
Author(s):  
Emin Gahramanov
Keyword(s):  
Old Age ◽  
Policy Implications ◽  
Policy Responses ◽  
Demographic Challenges ◽  
The Social ◽  
Intertemporal Consumption ◽  
Policy Analysts ◽  
Micro Level ◽  
Pension Benefits ◽  
Changing Demographics

Abstract Changing demographics across the world threatens the sustainability of pension benefits. Yet there is widespread sentiment among some business and policy analysts that in the presence of population ageing, more elderly people would mean more old-age consumption and robust business opportunities across all spending dimensions. In this paper we look at a micro-level analysis of intertemporal consumption/saving behavior, and find that in the presence of notable heterogeneity with respect to the consumer impatience and rationality degree, different demographic challenges and likely policy responses would imply greatly varying and significant consumption changes at old age. We also touch upon the associated issues of welfare analysis and transitional effects and discuss various complexities and challenges for policy implications and economic projections.

scholarly journals Barriers and Motivators of Bicycling by Gender Among Older Adult Bicyclists in the Midwest

2019 ◽  
Vol 47 (1) ◽  
pp. 67-77 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amanda Grimes ◽  
Matthew Chrisman ◽  
Joseph Lightner
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Environmental Factors ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
Ecological Model ◽  
The United States ◽  
Environmental Barriers ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
The Social ◽  
Personal Level ◽  
Barriers And Motivators

Introduction. Physical activity (PA), particularly low-impact activities like bicycling, can improve health in older adults. However, bicycling rates are lower in the Midwest than other regions in the United States. Therefore, it is important to identify unique social, personal, and environmental factors that inhibit or promote bicycling, and how these are associated with PA. The influences of these factors were explored using the social ecological model. Method. A cross-sectional online survey was developed using previously validated local and national bicycling questionnaires, then distributed to Midwestern bicyclists 50 years and older. Exploratory factor analysis was conducted to understand the influences of social, personal, and environmental barriers and promoters on bicycling patterns. All models were conducted separately by gender, and accounted for age, race, education, marital status, income, and employment. Results. Social promoters (B = 0.386, p = .002), such as having friends/family that bicycle were associated with greater PA. Personal promoters (B = −0.311, p = .006) such as needing to lose weight were associated with reduced PA. Environmental factors had no associations with PA. However, individual environmental components, such as number of vehicles on the roads, were significantly associated with PA for both males and females. Females reported more barriers than males. The overall model accounted for 16.1% of the total variance in PA levels. Conclusion. Interventions to promote PA via bicycling in older adults should focus on social factors, while also reducing personal-level factors for males. Interventions for females could focus on reducing specific personal, social, and environmental barriers.

scholarly journals Objectively-Measured Neighbourhood Attributes as Correlates and Moderators of Quality of Life in Older Adults with Different Living Arrangements: The ALECS Cross-Sectional Study

2019 ◽  
Vol 16 (5) ◽  
pp. 876 ◽  
Author(s):  
Casper Zhang ◽  
Anthony Barnett ◽  
Janice Johnston ◽  
Poh-chin Lai ◽  
Ruby Lee ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Quality Of Life ◽  
Older Adults ◽  
Hong Kong ◽  
Living Arrangements ◽  
Local Environment ◽  
Living Alone ◽  
World Population ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Objectively Measured

With an ageing world population, preservation of older adults’ health and quality of life (QoL) is paramount. Due to lower levels of physical functionality, older adults are particularly susceptible to local environment influences, especially those living alone and lacking family support. Using generalised additive mixed models, we examined associations and confounder-adjusted associations between objectively-measured neighbourhood attributes and QoL domains in 909 Hong Kong Chinese elderly community dwellers. Most examined neighbourhood attributes were not associated with QoL in the whole sample. Neighbourhood residential and entertainment density was curvilinearly and/or linearly related to specific QoL domains. Number of parks was negatively associated with social QoL and having well-treed parks with higher levels of social QoL. Older adults living alone in neighbourhoods with poor access to destinations and few activities in parks showed lower environmental and/or social QoL than their counterparts. Neighbourhood built environment characteristics do not seem to impact Hong Kong older adults’ physical and psychological QoL. Medium-to-high density, well-ordered neighbourhoods with optimal mixes of well-treed public open spaces and services meeting their daily needs may significantly contribute to social and environmental QoL in this population and appear particularly important to those living alone.

scholarly journals FACTORS ASSOCIATED TO SUBJECTIVE WELLBEING IN OLDER ADULTS

2017 ◽  
Vol 26 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ximena Alvarado San Román ◽  
Maria Cecilia Toffoletto ◽  
Juan Carlos Oyanedel Sepúlveda ◽  
Salvador Vargas Salfate ◽  
Katiuska Lidice Reynaldos Grandón
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Life Satisfaction ◽  
Subjective Wellbeing ◽  
Social Indicators ◽  
Perceived Health ◽  
Cross Sectional Study ◽  
Perceived Health Status ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Factors Associated ◽  
The Social

ABSTRACT Objective: identify the factors associated with subjective wellbeing in older adults. Method: analytical, cross-sectional study developed in Chile. The sample consisted of 20,351 seniors, who answered a question on overall life satisfaction in the National Socio-Economic Survey, 2011. Subjective wellbeing was correlated with health, demographic and social indicators. Comparisons of averages, correlations and regressions were applied using the software Statistical Package for the Social Sciences 20. Results: life satisfaction was associated with increased age; being male; participation in social organizations; being married or living as a couple; having higher education level; higher income; good perceived health status and better health care. Conclusion: according to the age and income predictors, it can be concluded that, over the years, life satisfaction is reinforced, but in combination with adequate perceived health and income, which permit an excellent quality of life.

On the origins of ageism among older and younger adults

2009 ◽  
Vol 21 (6) ◽  
pp. 1003-1014 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ehud Bodner
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Old Age ◽  
Social Identity Theory ◽  
Defensive Strategy ◽  
Younger Adults ◽  
Age Related ◽  
The Social ◽  
Self Worth ◽  
Suitable Framework ◽  
Middle Aged Adults

ABSTRACTBackground: Ageism is apparent in many social structures and contexts and in diverse forms over the life cycle. This review discusses the development and consequences of ageism toward elderly people by others of any age, according to the Terror Management Theory (TMT) and the Social Identity Theory (SIT).Method: A systematic search of the literature was carried out on the social and psychological origins of ageism in younger and older adults.Results: Studies on the reasons for ageism among older adults point to attitudes that older adults have toward their own age group, while studies on ageism in young adults explain it as an unconscious defensive strategy which younger adults use against death anxiety. In other words, TMT can serve as a suitable framework for ageism in younger adults, and SIT appears to explain ageism in older adults.Conclusions: A dissociation of the linkage between death and old age in younger adults can be achieved by changing the concepts of death and old age. For older adults, it is recommended to improve self-worth by encouraging social contacts in which older adults contribute to younger adults, weaken the effects of age stereotypes in TV programs, and prepare middle-aged adults for living healthy lives as older adults. However, these conclusions should be regarded with caution, because several key areas (age related cues, activated cognitive processes, impact of death awareness on ageism) need to be investigated in order to validate this understanding of the origins of ageism among younger and older adults.

Poverty in old age: evidence from Hong Kong

2016 ◽  
Vol 38 (1) ◽  
pp. 37-55 ◽  
Author(s):  
LIH-SHING CHAN ◽  
KEE-LEE CHOU
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Hong Kong ◽  
Old Age ◽  
Response Rate ◽  
Living Alone ◽  
School Level ◽  
Stratified Sample ◽  
Old Age Poverty ◽  
The Government ◽  
Distribution Of Income

ABSTRACTThe Hong Kong population will age rapidly over the next three decades and the entailing problem of old-age poverty will put the Hong Kong government to test. While the government has been using a solely income-based measurement, the main purpose of this study is to assess poverty rates among Hong Kong's older population in terms of both income and consumption-based measurements by using both relative and absolute concepts of poverty. It also examines the association of socio-economic and household characteristics with elder poverty rates. A two-stage stratified sample design was adopted. A total of 4,306 older adults were personally interviewed in their homes, yielding a response rate of 66.2 per cent. This study contributes to the larger study on poverty in Hong Kong by revealing how income and consumption poverty rates may differ among older adults. Older adults who were both income and consumption poor were more likely to be female, widowed, living alone and to have received less than an elementary school-level education. They possessed very few assets and were most likely financially dependent on family support and welfare payments. To understand fully the economic wellbeing of older adults in Hong Kong, this study proposes that joint distribution of income and consumption poverty can better identify and explain the demographic characteristics of the poor older adults. Implications of the study are discussed based on the neo-liberalist approach that the Hong Kong government has taken in welfare provisions.

scholarly journals Quality of life among older adults resident in long-stay care facilities

2012 ◽  
Vol 20 (6) ◽  
pp. 1186-1195 ◽  
Author(s):  
Luciano Magalhães Vitorino ◽  
Lisiane Manganelli Girardi Paskulin ◽  
Lucila Amaral Carneiro Vianna
Keyword(s):  
Quality Of Life ◽  
Physical Activity ◽  
Older Adults ◽  
Epidemiological Study ◽  
Social Relationships ◽  
Leisure Activity ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
The Social ◽  
Care Facilities

OBJECTIVES: to evaluate the older adults' perceptions of their quality of life (QoL) in two long-stay care facilities in Pouso Alegre and Santa Rita in Sapucaí, in the State of Minas Gerais, Brazil , and to identify the sociodemographic and health variables which interfere in this perception. METHOD: a cross-sectional epidemiological study of 77 older adults resident in institutions. The instruments used were: personal characterization; WHOQOL-bref and WHOQOL OLD. RESULT: the highest average obtained in the instruments was: the "Social Relationships" domain in the WHOQOL-bref (68%) and the "Sensory abilities" aspect in the WHOQOL-OLD (73.7%). The variables age, sex, physical activity and level of schooling have a significant correlation with the WHOQOL-bref and the variables sex and leisure have the same with the WHOQOL OLD. CONCLUSION: older adults who are younger, with higher levels of schooling and who undertake physical and leisure activity have, on average, better perceptions of their QoL. The older adults' QoL in this study had higher rates than that reported in the literature and was similar to that in the community. The results suggest the need to train those involved with older adults in institutions so that they may develop strategies which promote the adaptation, adjustment and maintenance of QoL.

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