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Reciprocity in parent-child exchange and life satisfaction among elderly: a cross-national perspective
- Authors:
- LWENSTEIN Ariela, KATZ Ruth, GUR-YAISH Nurit
- Journal article citation:
- Journal of Social Issues, 63(4), 2007, pp.865-883.
- Publisher:
- Wiley
This study explores the role of intergenerational exchange relationships in the life satisfaction of a cross-national sample of older people. Specifically, it replicates and extends the study by Lee, Netzer, and Coward (1995), which examined the effects of aid exchanged between generations - older parents and their adult children. Social exchange and equity theories serve as the theoretical frameworks for the present research. The current research is based on data collected in the OASIS cross-national five countries (Norway, England, Germany, Spain and Israel) project from 1,703 respondents (75+) living in urban settings. The main results are that the capacity to be an active provider in exchange relations enhances elders' life satisfaction. Being mainly a recipient of help from adult children is related to a lower level of life satisfaction. Filial norms are negatively related to life satisfaction. The study also underscores the importance of the emotional component in intergenerational family relations to the well-being of the older population. Intergenerational family bonds reflect a diversity of forms related to individual, familial, and social structural characteristics. The research highlights the importance of reciprocity in intergenerational relations between older parents and their adult children.
Socio-economic position and quality of life among older people in 10 European countries: results of the SHARE study
- Authors:
- VON DEM KNESEBECK Olaf, et al
- Journal article citation:
- Ageing and Society, 27(2), March 2007, pp.269-284.
- Publisher:
- Cambridge University Press
This study examines associations between quality of life and multiple indicators of socio-economic position among people aged 50 or more years in 10 European countries, and analyses whether the relative importance of the socio-economic measures vary by age. The countries studied were Austria, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland. The data are from the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARE) in 2004. 15,080 cases were analysed. Quality of life was measured by a short version of the CASP-19 questionnaire, which represents quality of life as comprising four conceptual domains of individual needs that are particularly relevant in later life: control, autonomy, self-realisation and pleasure. The short version has 12 items (three for each domain). Five indicators of socio-economic position were used: income, education, home ownership, net worth, and car ownership. A multiple logistic regression showed that quality of life was associated with socio-economic position, but that the associations varied by country. Relatively small socio-economic differences in quality of life were observed for Switzerland, but comparatively large differences in Germany. Education, income, net worth, and car ownership consistently related to quality of life, but the association of home ownership was less consistent. There was no indication that the socio-economic differences in quality of life diminished after retirement (i.e. from 65+ years). Conventional measures of socio-economic position (education and income), as well as alternative indicators (car ownership and household net worth), usefully identified the differential risks of poor quality of life among older people before and after the conventional retirement age.
Modelling an entitlement to long-term care services for older people in Europe: projections for long-term care expenditure to 2050
- Authors:
- PICKARD Linda, et al
- Journal article citation:
- Journal of European Social Policy, 17(1), February 2007, pp.33-48.
- Publisher:
- Sage
As the numbers of older people rise in Europe, the importance of long-term care services in terms of numbers of users and expenditures can be expected to grow. This article examines the implications for expenditure in four countries of a national entitlement to long-tem care services for all older people, based on assessed dependency. It is based on a European Commission-funded cross-national study, which makes projections to 2050 of long-term care expenditure in Germany, Italy, Spain and the UK. The policy option investigated is based on the German long-term care insurance scheme, which embodies the principle of an entitlement on uniform national criteria to long-term care benefits. The research models this key principle of the German system in the other three participating countries, with respect to home care services. The study finds that, if all moderately/severely dependent older people receive an entitlement to formal (in-kind) home care, the impact on expenditure could be considerable, but would vary greatly between countries. The impact on long-term care expenditure is found to be the least in Germany, where there is already an entitlement to benefits; and the greatest in Spain, where reliance on informal care is widespread. This article discusses the policy implications of these results.
Dementia in my family: taking an intergenerational approach to dementia
- Authors:
- HARDING Ed, et al
- Publisher:
- Alliance for Health and the Future
- Publication year:
- 2007
- Pagination:
- 27p.
- Place of publication:
- London
There are around 5.5 million Europeans with dementia. There are more new cases of dementia per year than of stroke, diabetes or breast cancer. With the ageing of the population and no cure in the foreseeable future for dementia, these numbers are bound to increase in years to come. This report helps to promote an intergenerational approach to dementia. The report begins by highlighting key facts about dementia. It then describes the role that the family plays as well as the impact of dementia on the entire family, before moving on to looking at successful initiatives across Europe in which different generations work together to lessen the burden of dementia in their communities. Finally, the book proposes ways in which communities may support all generations as they cope with dementia within their families. The report is based on a workshop held in June 2006 at the European Social Services conference in Vienna.
Mainstreaming ageing: indicators to monitor sustainable policies
- Editors:
- MARIN Bernd, ZAIDI Ashgar, (eds.)
- Publisher:
- Ashgate
- Publication year:
- 2007
- Pagination:
- 850p.
- Place of publication:
- Aldershot
The Madrid International Plan of Action on Ageing (MIPAA), adopted at the Second World Assembly on Ageing, is the first international agreement that specifically recognises the potential of older people to contribute to the development of their societies. In monitoring its implementation two key approaches are evident: a qualitative bottom-up participatory approach and an approach that uses quantitative indicators to monitor sustainable progress and policies. With the European Centre for Social Welfare Policy and Research, playing a pivotal role in the monitoring of the implementation process, one of its key tasks has been to develop a list of 'indicators of achievement'. This book contains extended and revised versions of policy briefs and background papers that support the implementation monitoring process. The analyses included in these chapters make concrete suggestions towards quantitative indicators, with the aim of assisting national governments in mainstreaming ageing in their policies. The contributors provide an overview of the current situation with respect to population ageing and its consequences and also provide projections for the future. The book also includes the final list of quantitative indicators that arose out of consultations with international experts, related to the four main topics addressed: demography, income and wealth, labour market participation, and social protection and financial sustainability.
Living arrangements, health and well-being: a European perspective
- Authors:
- YOUNG Harriet, GRUNDY Emily
- Publisher:
- Economic and Social Research Council
- Publication year:
- 2007
- Pagination:
- 25p.
- Place of publication:
- Swindon
This project focuses on the possible consequences of different types of living arrangements for the health and well-being of older people, and will be based on analysis of existing data sources. Demographic changes over the last century have led to older age structures throughout Europe, accompanied by major social, economic and family-related changes. There has been a decline in the proportion of older people living with children, and an increase in those living alone. However, substantial differences between countries remain. Research to date indicates that the consequences of different living arrangements for the health and well-being of older people is not clear-cut, and may be influenced by factors including social ties outside the household, socio-economic factors and cultural norms.
Prevalence of depressive symptoms and syndromes in later life in ten European countries: the SHARE study
- Authors:
- CASTRO-COSTA Erico, et al
- Journal article citation:
- British Journal of Psychiatry, 191(11), November 2007, pp.393-401.
- Publisher:
- Cambridge University Press
The EURO–D, a12-item self-report questionnaire for depression, was developed with the aim of facilitating cross-cultural research into late-life depression in Europe. The aim was to describe the national variation in depression symptoms and syndrome prevalence across ten European countries. The EURO–D was administered to cross-sectional nationally representative samples of noninstitutionalised persons aged 50 years (n=22 777). The effects of age, gender, education and cognitive functioning on individual symptoms and EURO–D factor scores were estimated. Country-specific depression prevalence rates and mean factor scores were re-estimated, adjusted for these compositional effects. The prevalence of all symptoms was higher in the Latin ethno-lingual group of countries, especially symptoms related to motivation. Women scored higher on affective suffering; older people and those with impaired verbal fluency scored higher on motivation. The prevalence of individual EURO–D symptoms and of probable depression (cut-off score 4) varied consistently between countries. Standardising for effects of age, gender, education and cognitive function suggested that these compositional factors did not account for the observed variation.
Long-term care for older people: the future of social services of general interest in the European Union: discussion paper
- Author:
- HUBER Manfred
- Publisher:
- European Centre for Social Welfare Policy and Research
- Publication year:
- 2007
- Pagination:
- 47p.
- Place of publication:
- Vienna
The European Centre for Social Welfare Policy and Research released a discussion paper by Manfred Huber in May 2007 called "Long-term care for older people: The future of Social Services of General Interest in the European Union." While the paper acknowledges that unpaid family members provide most of the long-term care in European countries, there are also a number of public programs and services provided to adults with chronic conditions or long-term care needs. The paper examines the financial sustainability of those programs, the quality of care provided, projected staff shortages and other long-term care issues, particularly as they are affected by the aging of the European population.
Relationships between objective and perceived housing in very old age
- Authors:
- NYGREN Carita, et al
- Journal article citation:
- Gerontologist, 47(1), February 2007, pp.85-95.
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
This study aimed to explore relationships between aspects of objective and perceived housing in five European samples of very old adults, as well as to investigate whether cross-national comparable patterns exist. The study utilized data from the first wave of the ENABLE–AGE Survey Study. The five national samples (from the countries Germany, the UK, Sweden, Hungary, Latvia) totalled 1,918 individuals aged 75 to 89 years. Objective assessments of the home environment covered the number of environmental barriers as well as the magnitude of accessibility problems (an aspect of person–environment fit). To assess perceptions of housing, instruments on usability, meaning of home, and housing satisfaction were used. Housing-related control was also assessed. Overall, the results revealed that the magnitude of accessibility problems, rather than the number of physical environmental barriers, was associated with perceptions of activity-oriented aspects of housing. That is, very old people living in more accessible housing perceived their homes as more useful and meaningful in relation to their routines and everyday activities, and they were less dependent on external control in relation to their housing. The patterns of such relationships were similar in the five national samples. It is concluded that objective and perceived aspects of housing have to be considered in order to understand the dynamics of aging in place, and the results can be used in practice contexts that target housing for senior citizens.
Social policy in the European Union
- Author:
- HANTRAIS Linda
- Publisher:
- Palgrave Macmillan
- Publication year:
- 2007
- Pagination:
- 304p.
- Place of publication:
- Basingstoke
- Edition:
- 3rd ed.
Social policy is constantly evolving in the European Union and is closely intertwined with other EU policy areas. This book offers an account of 50 years of social policy formation and implementation across the EU. Since publication of the 2nd edition the EU has enlarged and there has been increased debate about how to adapt its institutional structures to reflect this extended membership. The third edition takes account of the debates about adapting the Union's institutional structures to accommodate different welfare arrangements and the need for more open forms of European governance. Chapters include: developing European social policy; towards a European social model; education, training and employability; improving living and working conditions; family policy on the European agenda; the gender dimension of social policy; policy for older and disabled people; from social exclusion to social inclusion; social policy and mobility; and assessing 50 Years of European social policy.