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How much does it hurt to be lonely? Mental and physical differences between older men and women in the KORA-Age Study
- Authors:
- ZEBHAUSER A., et al
- Journal article citation:
- International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, 29(3), 2014, pp.245-252.
- Publisher:
- Wiley
Objective: Loneliness has a deep impact on quality of life in older people. This study compared the intensity of and factors associated with loneliness between men and women. Methods: Analyses are based on the 2008/2009 data of the KORA-Age Study, comprising 4127 participants in the age range of 64–94 years. An age-stratified random subsample of 1079 subjects participated in a face-to-face interview. Loneliness was measured by using a short German version of the UCLA-Loneliness-Scale (12 items, Likert scaled, ranging from 0 to 36 points). Multiple logistic regression analysis was conducted to analyze the associations of socio-demographic, physical, and psychological factors with loneliness. Results: The mean level of loneliness did not significantly differ between men and women. However, among the oldest old (those of 85 years and older), loneliness was higher in women. Depression, low satisfaction with life, and low resilience were associated significantly with loneliness, which was more pronounced in men. Living alone was not associated with loneliness, whereas lower social network was associated with a three time higher risk for feeling lonely in both men and women. Conclusions: The extent of loneliness was equally distributed between men and women, although women were more disadvantaged regarding living arrangements as well as physical and mental health. However, loneliness was stronger associated with adverse mental health conditions in men. These findings should be considered when developing intervention strategies to reduce loneliness. (Edited publisher abstract)
Working carers: international perspectives on working and caring for older people
- Editor:
- PHILLIPS Judith
- Publisher:
- Avebury
- Publication year:
- 1995
- Pagination:
- 169p.,tables,bibliogs.
- Place of publication:
- Aldershot
Presents different perspectives on working carers who care for older people. The publication aims to reflect on the different stages in the development of this issue by looking first at the British perspective; then Europe and finally looking at developments in North America.
Re-conceptualising the relationship between de-familialisation and familialisation and the implications for gender equality – the case of long-term care policies for older people
- Authors:
- EGGERS Thurid, et al
- Journal article citation:
- Ageing and Society, 40(4), 2020, pp.869-895.
- Publisher:
- Cambridge University Press
This article explores how far the concepts of de-familialisation/familialisation are adequate to the classification of long-term care (LTC) policies for older people. In the theoretical debate over LTC policies, de-familialising and familialising policies are often treated as opposites. The paper proposes re-conceptualising the relation between de-familialisation and familialisation, arguing that they represent substantially different types of policy that, in theory, can vary relatively autonomously. In order to evaluate this theoretical assumption, this article investigates the relation between the generosity level of LTC policies on extra-familial care, and the generosity level of LTC policies on paid family care, introducing a new multi-dimensional approach to measuring the generosity of LTC policy for older persons. It also explores the consequences of this for gender equality. The empirical study is based on a cross-national comparison of LTC policies in five European welfare states which show significant differences in their welfare state tradition. Data used are from document analysis of care policy law, the Mutual Information System on Social Protection, the European Quality of Life Survey and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. The findings support the argument that de-familialising and familialising LTC policies can vary relatively independently of each other in theory. It turns out that a better understanding of the relationship between LTC policy and gender equality can be gained if analysis of the role of different combinations of extra-familial and familial LTC policies for gender equality take place. The paper brings new insights into the ways welfare states act in regard to their LTC policies. It helps to clarify how the concept of de-familialisation/familialisation can be understood, and what this means for the relationship between LTC policies and gender equality. (Edited publisher abstract)
Unemployment during working life and mental health of retirees: results of a representative survey
- Authors:
- ZENGER Markus, et al
- Journal article citation:
- Aging and Mental Health, 15(2), March 2011, pp.178-185.
- Publisher:
- Taylor and Francis
This paper considers the mental health and satisfaction with life of retirees in relation to the unemployment they experienced during their working lives. The study was based on data from 1396 retired participants aged 60 and over from a representative survey of the German population in 2006. The survey participants were interviewed face-to-face, using 2 screening instruments for anxiety and depression as well as the Questions on Life Satisfaction questionnaire. Analyses of variance were used to test the differences between groups with distinct experiences of unemployment periods. The results showed that retirees with the experience of repeated unemployment during working life reported worse mental health and satisfaction with life. Retirees who had never been unemployed or had only experienced one occurrence of unemployment reported lower anxiety and depression and higher satisfaction with life. Calculated effect sizes were 0.53 for anxiety, 0.42 for depression and between 0.21 and 0.51 for satisfaction with different domains of daily life. Differences between men and women emerged, but similarities dominated. Participants with higher current household incomes were found to be less affected. The article concludes that the experience of repeated unemployment periods during working life is associated with more psychosocial distress in retired men and women.
Differences between men and women in social relations, resource deficits, and depressive symptomatology during later life in four nations
- Authors:
- ANTONUCCI Toni C., et al
- Journal article citation:
- Journal of Social Issues, 58(4), Winter 2002, pp.767-783.
- Publisher:
- Wiley
This article examines gender differences in social relations and resource deficits in France, Germany, Japan , and the United States. These data, from regionally representative samples, indicate few gender differences in quantity or quality of social relations, but that women are more likely than men to experience widowhood, illness, and financial strain. In all countries, more deficits and more negative social interactions are associated with higher levels of depressive symptoms. Among women in France and Japan, but not among men in any country, quality of social relations offsets the negative consequences of resource deficits. Findings suggest that quality of social relations may have important implications for helping people, particularly women, cope with resource deficits common in late life.