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Between social networks and formal social services
- Authors:
- LITWIN Howard, AUSLANDER Gail K.
- Journal article citation:
- Ageing and Society, 8(3), September 1988, pp.269-285.
- Publisher:
- Cambridge University Press
Reports a study of the social networks of recent applications to the social welfare bureaux of Jerusalem. Beyond review of the relevant study variables as reflected in the literature, and an overview of Israeli social services for the aged, addresses why the social networks of the elderly claimants turned to formal assistance.
The inter-relationship between formal and informal care: a study in France and Israel
- Authors:
- LITWIN Howard, ATTIAS-DONFUT Claudine
- Journal article citation:
- Ageing and Society, 29(1), January 2009, pp.71-91.
- Publisher:
- Cambridge University Press
This study examined whether formal care services delivered to frail older people's homes in France and Israel substitute for or complement informal support. The two countries have comparable family welfare systems but many historical, cultural and religious differences. Data for the respondents aged 75 or more years at the first wave of the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARE) were analysed. Regressions were examined of three patterns of care from outside the household: informal support only, formal support only and both formal and informal care, with the predictor variables including whether informal help was provided by a family member living in the household. The results revealed that about one-half of the respondents received no help at all (France 51%, Israel 55%), about one-tenth received care from a household member (France 8%, Israel 10%), and one-third were helped by informal carers from outside the household (France 34%, Israel 33%). More French respondents (35%) received formal care services at home than Israelis (27%). Most predictors of the care patterns were similar in the two countries. The analysis showed that complementarity is a common outcome of the co-existence of formal and informal care, and that mixed provision occurs more frequently in situations of greater need. It is also shown that spouse care-givers had less formal home-care supports than either co-resident children or other family care-givers. Even so, spouses, children and other family care-givers all had considerable support from formal home-delivered care.
Does early retirement lead to longer life?
- Author:
- LITWIN Howard
- Journal article citation:
- Ageing and Society, 27(5), September 2007, pp.739-754.
- Publisher:
- Cambridge University Press
It has been claimed, but not empirically supported, that early retirement leads to longer life. The present investigation addressed this question using data from a 1997 Israeli national household survey of adults aged 60 or more years linked to mortality records from the national death registry, for 2004. The study examined the association between early retirement and seven-year all-cause mortality among the population of older Jewish Israelis who were employed prior to or at baseline (N=2,374). Both the timing of retirement and the reasons for exit from the labour force were considered in the analysis. The initial hazard regression models, adjusted by gender and reason for retirement including poor health, showed that early retirees indeed had lower mortality risk ratios than respondents who had retired ‘on time’. When additional variables were controlled in the final analytic model, however, the association between early retirement and mortality was not supported. Older age, male gender, and having been diagnosed with one or more of five major illnesses were all associated with greater risk for mortality. Medium level education and being employed at baseline were associated with lesser mortality risk. Nevertheless, the timing of retirement, viz. early versus normative exit from the workforce, was not related to survival. In sum, the respondents who had prematurely exited the labour force did not benefit from disproportionately longer lives when compared with the respondents who retired ‘on time’.
A multivariate examination of explanations for the occurrence of elder abuse
- Authors:
- LITWIN Howard, ZOABI Sameer
- Journal article citation:
- Social Work Research, 28(3), September 2004, pp.133-142.
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
Aims to determine the relative strength of 4 major explanations for the rise of elder abuse among a population in transition from traditional to modern culture. Compared a sample of 120 abused elderly Arab Israelis with a control group of 120 nonabused older adults from the same background. Abuse status outcome was regressed in a hierarchical logistic procedure on indicators of sociodemographic status, dependency, modernisation, and social integration. Results underscored the multiple explanations for elder abuse in the study population and the predominance of the combined factors of modernisation and social integration.
The provision of informal support by elderly people residing in assisted living facilities
- Author:
- LITWIN Howard
- Journal article citation:
- Gerontologist, 38(2), April 1998, pp.239-246.
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
Examines factors facilitating support giving to members of the social network by elderly Jewish persons residing in assisted living facilities in Israel. A support provision score was regressed on two sets of background control variables: personal characteristics and housing factors; social network variables; and an exchange measure - perceived available support. The hierarchical multivariate results revealed that it was principally the perceived support measure along with two personal characteristics (younger age and non-religious orientation) that explained the variance in the support provision score. The findings underscore the importance of reciprocity within the informal networks of this population.
Social network type and morale in old age
- Author:
- LITWIN Howard
- Journal article citation:
- Gerontologist, 41(4), August 2001, pp.516-524.
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
The aim of this research was to derive network types among an elderly population and to examine the relationship of network type to morale. Secondary analysis of data compiled by the Israeli Central Bureau of Statistics was employed, and network types were derived through K-means cluster analysis. Respondents' morale scores were regressed on network types, controlling for background and health variables. Five network types were derived. Respondents in diverse or friends networks reported the highest morale; those in exclusively family or restricted networks had the lowest. Multivariate regression analysis underscored that certain network types were second among the study variables in predicting respondents' morale, preceded only by disability level. Classification of network types allows consideration of the interpersonal environments of older people in relation to outcomes of interest. The relative effects on morale of elective versus obligated social ties, evident in the current analysis, is a case in point.
What cognitive functions are associated with passive suicidal ideation? Findings from a national sample of community dwelling Israelis
- Authors:
- AYALON Liat, LITWIN Howard
- Journal article citation:
- International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, 24(5), May 2009, pp.472-478.
- Publisher:
- Wiley
This study aimed to identify the specific cognitive domains associated with passive suicidal ideation (e.g. thoughts of being better off dead). A cross sectional, national based study of 1,712 individuals over the age of 50. Outcome measure, passive suicidal ideation, was evaluated by the question, in the past month, have you felt that you would rather be dead?, taken from the Euro-D. Cognitive domains assessed were time orientation, verbal learning, verbal recall, word fluency, and arithmetic. After adjusting for demographic and clinical information, those reporting passive suicidal ideation were significantly more likely to have impaired performance on the time orientation task. None of the other cognitive domains were associated with passive suicidal ideation. Clinicians working with older adults need to be aware not only of demographic and clinical information, but also of cognitive functioning and more specifically, time orientation, as a potential determinant of passive suicidal ideation. Possibly, cognitive domains that are less affected by education and prior learning (e.g. time orientation) have a unique association with passive suicidal ideation.
Network type and mortality risk in later life
- Authors:
- LITWIN Howard, SHIOVITZ-EZRA Sharon
- Journal article citation:
- Gerontologist, 46(6), December 2006, pp.735-743.
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
The purpose of this study was to examine the association of baseline network type and 7-year mortality risk in later life. The authors executed secondary analysis of all-cause mortality in Israel using data from a 1997 national survey of adults aged 60 and older (N = 5,055) that was linked to records from the National Death Registry up to 2004. Six network types - diverse, friend focused, neighbour focused, family focused, community–clan, and restricted - were then considered in the analysis, controlling for population group, sociodemographic background, and health factors. Network types were associated with mortality in the 70-79 and 80 and older age groups. Respondents located in diverse and friend-focused network types, and to a lesser degree those located in community–clan network types, had a lower risk of mortality compared to individuals belonging to restricted networks. It is concluded that gerontological practitioners should address older adults' social networks in their assessments of clients. The parameters used to derive network types in this study can serve toward the development of practical network type inventories. Moreover, practitioners should tailor the interventions they implement to the different network types in which their elderly clients are embedded.
The association between activity and wellbeing in later life: what really matters?
- Authors:
- LITWIN Howard, SHIOVITZ-EZRA Sharon
- Journal article citation:
- Ageing and Society, 26(2), March 2006, pp.225-242.
- Publisher:
- Cambridge University Press
This paper reports a study of the complex associations between older people's participation in activities and their wellbeing in later life using data from a national sample of 1,334 Jewish-Israeli retirees. Confirmatory factor analysis substantiated a division of the activities into solitary, formal and informal categories, as postulated by activity theory. The outcome measure, the latent construct wellbeing, was compiled from scores on the 12-item General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12), a global measure of life satisfaction, and a measure of satisfaction with the use of time. The analysis also examined the influence of socio-economic status, health status and the quality of inter-personal relationships. ‘Social relationship quality’, also a latent construct, was a composite of measures of satisfaction with children, friends and neighbours and a self-rated loneliness scale. Path analysis using structural equation modelling was employed. The results showed that when the quality of social relationships was taken into account, the amount of activity had no independent effect on the respondents' wellbeing. Moreover, it was social relationship quality, a facet of informal activity that has generally been neglected in activity research, that emerged as the most influential variable in the association between activity and wellbeing. Thus, the findings provide empirical backing for the assertion that the quality of social ties matters more than activity participation per se as predictors of a good old age.
Social networks, ethnicity and public home-care utilisation
- Author:
- LITWIN Howard
- Journal article citation:
- Ageing and Society, 24(6), November 2004, pp.921-939.
- Publisher:
- Cambridge University Press
This article examines the relationships between support networks, ethnicity and the utilisation of formal care services, taking into account background characteristics and functional health status among 3,403 older people in Israel. Data were drawn from a national survey in 1997 of people aged 60 or more years. The outcome variable was the use of publicly-financed personal care or homemaking services. About 15 per cent of the study population made use of such home care. Six informal support network constellations were identified by applying cluster analysis to key criterion variables that reflect the inter-personal milieu. The resultant network types were: community-clan, family-focused, diverse, friend-focused, neighbour-focused, and restricted networks. Binary logistic regression revealed that the use of formal home-care services was significantly associated with a respondent's age, gender, functional level and informal support network type (Nagelkerke R2=0.39). No association was found between home-care utilisation and a respondent's ethnicity (Arab, Jew, and new Russian immigrant), income or education. The results show that publicly-financed formal care services were utilised more frequently by older-old persons, women, functionally impaired individuals and people embedded in the neighbour-focused and restricted networks (and to a lesser degree, in the diverse and friend-focused networks). Neighbour-focused and restricted network types were characterised by fewer informal support resources at their disposal than the other types. Thus, formal home care was sought more often in cases in which the informal sources of support had less capacity to provide ongoing informal care.