Mrs. Wendy Scott/Social and Behavioral Science

"Love is Blind"

"Love makes the world go around"

"Love is a many splendored thing"

"True love never dies"

"Love at first sight"

"Love conquers all"

Assignments for the week of April 16-20

Monday: finish notes in chapter 12.

Wednesday:  begin notes in chapter 13.

Friday:  continue chapter 13.

Chapter 14

Marriages and Families in Later Life

Characteristics of Later-Life Families

They are multigenerational

70% of midlife couples are part of four generation families (nearly 4% of all households in the US)

They have a lengthy family history

 They experience a number of new life events for which they may have little preparation

Such as grandparenthood, retirement, and widowhood

The Sandwich Generation

Middle-aged parents must meet the challenges of their own lives, those of their adult children who cannot make it alone financially, and the needs of their aging parents.

In 2000, 10.5% (nearly 4 million) of young adults age 5 to 34 lived with their parents.  They are called the boomerang generation.

Men are almost twice as likely to live with their parents than women.

3 factors affecting the level of parental satisfaction of living with adult children

Younger siblings

The parents who were still caring for younger children at home report greater satisfaction when adult children return home.

Employment status

Parents were more likely to be satisfied when adult children return home when the child was working.

Grandchildren

When the adult children have their own children, stress is likely to increase, as the grandparents often assist in the care of their grandchildren.

Diversity in the Family Life Cycle

The US culture has always emphasized youth thus negative stereotypes of the elderly have developed.

Ageism:  the application of negative stereotypes and discriminatory treatment to elderly people.

Social gerontology:  the study of the impact of sociocultural conditions on the process and consequences of aging.

Changing Age Norms

Age norms ( the expectations of how one is to behave at any stage in life) currently show signs of being less restrictive than in the past and a shift toward a loosening of age-appropriate standards of behavior.

Today, it is not unusual for women to marry for the first time in their 20s, 40s, or even 60s.

Women are older now when they have their first babies.

Divorced and remarried men are beginning new families in their 40s and 50s.

College students today are anywhere between 18 and 70, and may stay in school as long as 8 years.

Some people are beginning new careers in their 70s.

Defining “Old”

Some define “old” as being the age of 65, which is when the government ( in 1935) decided a worker could receive full Social Security benefits.

Functional age (referring to an individual’s physical, intellectual, and social capacities and accomplishments) is more important than chronological age.

People grow old at different rates.  One person may be “old” at 60, whereas another is “young” at 75

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Age Categories of the Elderly

The young-old:  are 65 to 74

The middle old: are 75 to 84

The old-old: are 85 and older

The older population itself is changing at a rapid rate.

In 2000, the young-old group was 8 times larger than in 1900, the middle-old group was 16 times larger, and the old-old group was 34 times larger.

Gender and Marital Status

6 out of 10 older Americans are female.

The majority of young-old are married but the rate is much lower for women than for men.

Black males are the least likely to be married.

Fewer elderly, black women are likely to be married.

Older women from every racial and ethnic group are more likely to experience poverty than men.

In 1994, the median income of female householders living alone was $10,899.00, while that of a man was $19,168.00.

Marital Status of Persons Aged 65 and over, 2000

Race, Ethnicity, and Class

In 2000, the overall composition of the population 65 and older in the US is expected to be 83.6% white, 8% African American, and 2.4% Asian/Pacific Islander, and less than 1% Native American/Eskimo/Aleut.

Together, people of color make up approx. 16.4% of the elderly population
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Due to higher fertility rates and immigration, the numbers of people of color are increasing at a faster rate than those of the white elderly.

Whites have a higher life expectancy than other races and ethnic groups.

Social class accounts for many of the differences between groups.

Poverty Among the Elderly

A smaller proportion of elderly are poor today than in the past, but poverty remains a problem for many (10% in 2000).

The poverty rates for people of color are 2 to 3 times higher.

The AARP has successfully lobbied to resist all attempts at cuts in programs for the elderly.

Poverty Status of the Elderly by Race and Latino Origin, 1959-2000

Housing Patterns

77% of those who live independently own their own home.

64% of African Americans and 59% of Latinos own their own home.

The homes are usually old and require a lot of maintenance.

An estimated 20% of the elderly live in dwellings that are substandard.

Those who rent usually live in apartments, including public housing of various quality.

The demolition of single-room occupancy (SRO) hotels has led to homelessness among some elderly people.

When the elderly are forced to relocate, the result if often trauma, confusion, grief, and a sense of helplessness and isolation.

The elderly do not want to live with their children and few do.

98% of whites, 83% of African Americans, and 72% of Mexican Americans prefer to live independently.

Those that do, live with a daughter.

Because of economic need and a cultural emphasis on the extended family, race and ethnicity affect housing decisions.

Widowed Asian American women and men are more likely to live with their adult children.

Latinos were second group most likely.

Among the old-old, African Americans are more likely to live with their children.

Adjustment to Retirement

With the establishment of Social Security in 1935, the institution of retirement became part of the national culture.

In 2000, the elderly made up 3% of the US labor force.

4.2 million people 65 and older, (1.8 million women and 2.4 million men) were working or actively seeking work.

Types of Retirement

Single or traditional retirement:

One spouse, usually the husband, has been employed and thus only one spouse retires from paid employment.

Dis-synchronized – husband initially:

The husband retires before his wife.

Dis-synchronized – wife initially:

The wife retires before her husband.  Very rare. Usually due to health problems or to take care of an older relative.

Synchronized retirement:

Both the husband and wife were employed, and they retire at the same time.

Intergenerational Relationships

Studies have shown that 50 to 60% of older people with children have at least one child within 10 minutes of their home.

Substantial assistance in the form of financial aid, goods, and services flows in both directions.

Most adult children and their elderly parents like one another and express satisfaction with their relationships.

Mother-daughter relationships tend to be particularly close.

Families, not the government or taxpayers, provide the bulk of care for the elderly across all cultural groups.

Nearly 80% of disabled elderly people who are not in health care institutions depend in whole or in part on family and friends for support.

Families of color, especially among the poor, have developed a wider range of informal support systems (such as family, friends, neighbors, church members) than have whites.

Categories of Grandparenting (Neugarten and Weinstein)

Formal:

Grandparents follow what they see as a prescribed role for grandparents.

Fun Seeker:

Interaction is characterized by informality and playfulness.

Distant Figure:

Interaction is limited to holidays and special occasions.

Surrogate Parent:

Grandparents assume caretaking responsibilities.

Reservoir of Family Wisdom:

Grandparents are the dispensers of special skills or resources.

Styles of Grand-parenting (Cherlin and Furstenberg)

Remote:

Grandparents interact infrequently and maintained a ritualistic or purely symbolic relationship with their grandchildren.

Companionate:

Grandparents had an easygoing, friendly style of interaction with their grandchildren.

Involved:

Grandparents took an active role in rearing their grandchildren, exerted substantial authority, and imposed definite and sometimes demanding expectations.

Unplanned Parenting

In a growing number of cases, grandparents assume sole responsibility for their grandchildren.  They become surrogate parents.

More than 4.5 million children are living in 2.4 million grandparent-headed households in the year 2000.

As a direct result of the incapacity of the middle generation to care for their children, grandparents are increasingly taking on this role.

Reasons:  parental unemployment, poverty, disease, substance abuse, AIDS, incarceration, or divorce.

Great-Grandparenthood

4 generation families have become more common, and great-grandparents are the result.

Most great-grandparents expressed positive feelings about the experience, but they have little contact with their great-grandchildren.

The Child-Free Elderly

Being child-free is a predictor of social isolation in later life.

child-free elderly have fewer social contacts.

Child-free elderly women have a greater chance of becoming institutionalized than any other group.

Sibling Relationships

Sibling relationships are valuable because they share a history and because these are potentially the longest lasting relationships an individual will ever have.

70 to 80% of all elderly adults have at least one living sibling.

Contact with siblings in later life is strongly related to feelings of social and psychological well-being.

5 types of sibling relationships
(a Canadian study)

Intimate:  17%

Congenial:  28%

Loyal:  35%

Apathetic:  10%

Hostile:  10%

Health and Illness

A common fear about growing old is the loss of health and independence.

In 1999, 74% of older adults rated their health as good or excellent.

26% rated their health as fair or poor.

42% of African Americans and 35% of Latinas/os were more likely to describe their health as fair or poor  than were older whites (26%)

Older people who describe their health as fair or poor are more likely to die within the next 5 years as those who reported good or excellent.

Chronic conditions, illness, and injury can impact mental health and lead to depression.

In 1998, 15% of persons aged 65 to 79 had symptoms of severe depression, compared with 21% of persons aged 80 to 84 and 23% of persons aged 85 and older.

Alzheimer’s disease (a progressive, degenerative disease of the brain and the most common form of dementia) affects approx. 10% of persons over 65 and nearly 50% of those over 85.

A person with Alzheimer’s lives an average of 8 years and as many as 20 years or more from the onset of symptoms.

The Spouse as Caregiver

Wives make up the majority of spousal caregivers, who often become the ‘hidden patients’.

Although spousal caregivers may have the greatest need for assistance in fulfilling this role, they receive less assistance from family and friends than other caregivers.

Spouses may become overwhelmed by the demands (both physical and mental) of care-giving.

Adult Children as Caregivers

It is estimated that 5 million adult children (22%) are currently caring for their parents.

This role is most frequently filled by daughters.

The kind of help that caregivers provide is often mediated by social class.

Middle-class adult children provide more emotional support and financial aid.

Children from lower-socioeconomic classes are more likely to provide direct care themselves.

The Stresses of Care-giving

Caring for an elderly relative can lead to financial hardship and can jeopardize the caregiver’s own health.

The most severe consequences tend to be the psychological and emotional stress that comes from seeing formerly strong and independent parents become dependent as well as from the restrictions on the caregiver’s time and freedom.

Many daughters quit their jobs in order to be caregivers.

This can put emotional and financial strain on their own family.

“Granny dumping”, taking the elderly to a hospital emergency room and abandoning them, occurs on an average of 8 times a week.

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  Stages of Widowhood

• Encounter:

From 3 months to a year

Physical and emotional problems

Some become obsessed with the deceased spouse, seeking her or his presence by visiting places they frequented together or using her or his personal belongings.

• Respondence:

This can be a very painful time, as reality sets in and those widowed confront their unmet needs for attachment, nurturance, and reassurance.

The deceased spouse might be sanctified or idealized.

• Emergence:

The moving on process necessitates an acknowledgement of their new identity as single and a focus on the present and the future rather than the past.

• Transformation:

Creation of a new life.

Many feel stronger for having survived and grown.

Percent of Population Aged 65 and over Who are Widowed

Special problems for widows are the changes in their self-identity and changes in their financial situations.

Special problems for widowers are:

 that men are not as accustomed to  dealing with day-to-day domestic chores

They have fewer contacts with their families and receive less social support

They have higher rates of mental illness and depression as well as death and suicide during the 1st year.

Beyond Widowhood

Many widowed people return to school, take up a hobby, do volunteer work, travel, and in some cases, remarry.

The changes in women tend to be internal.

They become more self-confident, assertive, independent, and willing to satisfy their own needs.

Men focus more externally.

Become more aware and appreciative of their friends and relationships.

Lesbian and Gay Elderly

Roughly 1 to 3 million Americans 65 or older are lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgendered.

By 2020, the estimate is that there will be approx. 4 million.

Lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgendered  experience additional problems when a significant other dies.

Unlike heterosexual couples, LGBT does not receive Social Security survivor benefits.

Without careful estate planning or health directives, the death or disability of an unmarried partner may leave the other partner without legal protection regarding property or other benefits

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Implications for Social Policy

As the elderly population increases, greater pressure will be put on the health care system. (In 2000, approx. 14% or 39 million Americans, did not have health insurance).

This will result in groups of elderly:

Those who are vital and healthy as  a result of their high-quality health care

Those who are ill or disabled because of their history of inadequate health care.

The kinship structure will change as it will contain more elderly than younger members.

As a result, there will be a greater need for both informal care-giving (family and friends) and formal care-giving (adult day-care, visiting nurses, housekeeping services).

Chapter 14 Review

Read chapter summary on page 453.

Check definitions in notes.

Answer questions for study and reflection on page 453 and 454.

I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.