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Living conditions and life satisfaction of older Europeans living alone: a gender and cross-country analysis
- Authors:
- GAYMU Joelle, SPRINGER Sabine
- Journal article citation:
- Ageing and Society, 30(7), October 2010, pp.1153-1175.
- Publisher:
- Cambridge University Press
This paper investigated the influence of living conditions on the life satisfaction of older Europeans living alone. Data were from the first wave of the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARE), which includes a single-item question for life satisfaction and a large set of health, family and socio-economic indicators. A lower proportion of women living alone declared themselves to be satisfied with life compared to men. When inequalities in living conditions were accounted for, the difference disappeared, but some determinants of life satisfaction differed for men and women and varied among countries. No limitations in daily activities, a high level of education, participation in leisure activities and an older age increased life satisfaction for both men and women living alone. The existence of a child influenced the life satisfaction of men. Income level or home ownership had an impact for women. A north-south difference was observable only for women living alone: all other things being equal, women had a higher probability of declaring themselves satisfied with life in northern European countries than in the south, and their life satisfaction was strongly linked to the socio-cultural context.
Are Scandinavian countries different? A comparison of relative incomes for older people in OECD nations
- Author:
- HAYNES Philip
- Journal article citation:
- Social Policy and Administration, 45(2), April 2011, pp.114-130.
- Publisher:
- Wiley
Using case-based methods this research examines the provision of pensions and income support for older people in OECD countries, to see whether Scandinavian countries are qualitatively different to other OECD nations. The study also looked at whether Scandinavian countries for a separate cluster that defines their coverage for women. Scandinavia can be clearly identified in a separate cluster, but it is not alone and other countries also share its similarities. Scandinavia emerges in a cluster that provides more income replacement and protection for women. In part, this is reinforced by the high rate of labour participation by women in Scandinavian countries. However, there is little evidence of Scandinavian countries retaining noticeable differences and divergence in income protection policies for men.
The implementation of elder-care in France and Sweden: a macro and micro perspective
- Authors:
- JÖNSSON Ingrid, et al
- Journal article citation:
- Ageing and Society, 31(4), May 2011, pp.625-644.
- Publisher:
- Cambridge University Press
This paper presents results from a comparative project in France and Sweden to study access to social care when older persons become dependent. The aim of the study was to study the entrance into dependence as a process, looking at how the need of help and support over time is attended to and by whom. The paper starts with an overview of elder-care at the institutional level in the 2 countries. The study comprised interviews with older people in each country: 10 single people and 6 couples in Sweden; and 12 singles, 7 couples, and 2 sisters living together in France. Interviews were also held with a small number of administrators and adult children. The focus was to identify ways of co-operation between actors, such as public eldercare providers, family members, and help provided by profit and non-profit organisations. The results shed light on how policies are implemented on the local level and put the focus on who actually does what and when for older persons with care needs. The different roles played by the state, the family, the market and civil society are examined. Family members in France take on a more active role both as co-ordinators of care and as actual caregivers. The study shows that gender and social class remain associated with caring but that such differences are much larger in France than in Sweden.
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.
The World Health Organisation perspective on gender, ageing and health
- Author:
- KALACHE Alexandre
- Journal article citation:
- Ageing International, 24(4), Spring 1998, pp.39-48.
- Publisher:
- Springer
- Place of publication:
- New York
The World Health Organisation (WHO) Ageing and Health Program has adopted the notion of gender as a key perspective to it's programme components. In this article the author cites health and ageing examples from Japan, Africa and other nations to demonstrate why there is a need for increasing recognition of gender differences.
Hazardous drinking in people aged 50 years or older: a cross-sectional picture of Europe, 2011–2013
- Authors:
- BOSQUE-Prous Marina, et al
- Journal article citation:
- International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, 32(8), 2017, pp.817-828.
- Publisher:
- Wiley
Objective: To assess gender and age differences in hazardous drinking and to analyse and compare the factors associated with it in men versus women, and in 50 to 64-year-old versus ≥65-year-old people in Europe. Methods: Cross-sectional study with data from 65,955 people aged ≥50 years from 18 countries (SHARE project, 2011–2013). The outcome variable, hazardous drinking, was calculated using an adaptation of the AUDIT-C test. Several individual (sociodemographic, life-style and health factors) and contextual variables (country socioeconomic indicators and alcohol policies) were analysed. The prevalence of hazardous drinking was estimated by each exposure variable. To estimate associations, multilevel Poisson regression models with robust variance were fit, yielding prevalence ratios and their 95% confidence intervals (95%CI). Results: Overall, the prevalence of hazardous drinking was 21.5% (95%CI = 21.1–22.0), with substantial differences between countries. The proportion of hazardous drinking was higher in men than in women [26.3%(95%CI = 25.6–27.1); 17.5%(95%CI = 17.0–18.0), respectively], as well as in middle-aged people than in older people [23.6%(95%CI = 23.0–24.3); 19.2%(95%CI = 18.6–19.8), respectively]. At the individual level, associations were found for migrant background, marital status, educational level, tobacco smoking, depression and self-perceived health. At the contextual level, hazardous drinking was associated with gender inequalities in society (only in women) and alcohol advertising regulations (both genders). Conclusions: One in five people aged ≥50 years in the countries studied is a hazardous drinker, with large differences by countries, gender and age group. Interventions and policies aimed at preventing or reducing alcohol use in this population should account for country, gender and age differences, as well as individual characteristics. (Publisher abstract)
Politics of defamilialization: a comparison of Italy, Japan, Korea and Spain
- Authors:
- ESTEVEZ-ABE Margarita, NALDINI Manuela
- Journal article citation:
- Journal of European Social Policy, 26(4), 2016, pp.327-343.
- Publisher:
- Sage
This article investigates the politics of ‘defamilialization of care’ in four familialist countries – Italy, Japan, Korea and Spain – during the past 15 years. By ‘defamilialization of care’, the authors refer to those public policies, which aim at reducing the care responsibility of the family – both for the young and the old. They build upon the existing literature on new social risks by highlighting the role of those macro-political institutions such as electoral systems and government types in order to demonstrate that there are two very different types of politics of defamilialization: (1) election-oriented and (2) problem-oriented. The authors attribute different policy outcomes in the four familialist countries to their specific institutional configurations rather than to partisan government composition or different cultural orientations. (Edited publisher abstract)
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.
Sex and gender discrimination within EU pension system
- Author:
- LEITNER Sigrid
- Journal article citation:
- Journal of European Social Policy, 11(2), May 2001, pp.99-115.
- Publisher:
- Sage
Drawing on the philosophical differentiation between sex and gender, this article focuses on structural mechanisms of gender discrimination within European pension systems. For this purpose, the article distinguishes between two dimensions of the gender category: the work behaviour dimension and the care dimension. It is argued that the differentiation between employment and family work on the one hand and specific living arrangements on the other is structurally implemented within old age security systems. The comparative analysis of pension systems in the 15 EU member states gives an idea about national varieties of structural gender differentiation.
Effects of age and gender on elderly suicide rates in catholic and orthodox countries: an inadvertent neglect
- Authors:
- PRITCHARD Colin, BALDWIN David
- Journal article citation:
- International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, 15(10), October 2000, pp.904-910.
- Publisher:
- Wiley
When compared to suicide rates in the general population, it may be expected that elderly suicide rates would be lower in Catholic and Orthodox societies than in non-Catholic or non-Orthodox countries because of religious affiliations and extended family traditions. National suicide rates in the general population were compared with rates in the sub-population of those aged over 75 years. Proportionately, there are significantly higher suicide rates in elderly men in Catholic and Orthodox countries, compared to rates in other countries, with a trend for similar findings among women. There may be important implications on health and social policy and clinical practice in the efforts to reduce suicide rates among elderly people.