Gender and socioeconomic inequalities in health at older ages across different European welfare clusters: evidence from SHARE data, 2004–2015

This study takes a comparative approach to assess whether the association between socioeconomic status (SES) and health in later life differs by gender in a sample of individuals aged 50 and above living in nine European countries (Austria, Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Sweden, and Switzerland). We apply linear hybrid (between-within) regression models using panel data (50,459 observat

The pains and reliefs of the transitions into and out of spousal caregiving. A cross-national comparison of the health consequences of caregiving by gender

Spousal caregiving offers a unique opportunity to investigate how gender shapes the influence of care responsibilities on health at older ages. However, empirical evidence supporting a causal link between the transitions into and out of caregiving and health is mixed. This study investigates the influence of spousal care transitions on the health of older men and women living in 17 European countries. We use

Welbevinden: wat vinden ouderen er zelf van?

Subjectief welbevinden kan worden omschreven als iemands waardering van zijn of haar eigen leven. Meer inzicht in het subjectieve welbevinden van ouderen is belangrijk omdat dit samengaat met een betere ervaren en objectieve gezondheid. In onderzoek over welbevinden van ouderen wordt maar weinig aandacht besteed aan de mening van ouderen zelf

The Associations of Different Social Needs with Psychological Strengths and Subjective Well‑Being

The fulfilment of social needs is essential for human beings to function well and thrive, but little is known about how social needs are differentially associated with types of well-functioning. This study investigates how the three social needs as proposed by Social Production Function theory—the needs for affection, behavioral confirmation, and status—relate to psychological strengths (self-evaluation, hope, and self-regulatory ability), loneliness, and subjective well-being (life satisfaction, positive and negative affect). Moreover, possible mechanisms are explored. Using the first release sample of the LifeLines study (N = 13,301) and four other samples (N = 1094, N = 456, N = 415, and N = 142), we found that the three social needs yielded a robust factor structure, and related differentially to gender and education. Their associations with all three psychological strengths were substantial. Affection need fulfilment related most strongly to both emotional and social loneliness, but the expected stronger association of behavioral confirmation with social loneliness was not found. As expected, affection related most strongly to life satisfaction and least strongly to positive affect, whereas status related most strongly to positive affect and least strongly to life satisfaction. Of all social needs, behavioral confirmation had comparatively the strongest negative association with negative affect. With regard to mechanisms, affection was found to have a partial indirect effect on life satisfaction via self-evaluation, hope, and self-regulatory ability, while status had a modest indirect effect via self-regulatory ability on positive affect. It is concluded that different need fulfillments make unique contributions to different types of well-functioning, implying that a mix of social need satisfiers (i.e. different kinds of social relationships and other social provisions) are needed for individuals to function well. This knowledge may support interventions and

Personal experience of aging in the children of a parent with dementia

Contains fulltext : 64105.pdf (publisher's version ) (Closed access)We investigated whether adults with a parent with dementia experience their personal aging differently than adults whose parents do not have dementia. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 25 adults who had a parent with dementia and 25 controls. We found that, although in a general sense the two groups were quite similar in their personal experiences of aging, there were specific differences. The children of parents with dementia had a health-concept in which there was substantial emphasis on mental health. Moreover, they linked the dementia of their parent to their own aging and worried about developing a dementia syndrome themselves. They also held different attitudes with regard to end-of-life decisions. Finally, participants having a parent with dementia gave more extensive answers to simple questions. This overall response suggests more involvement with growing older and finitude in the children of parents with dementia.19 p

Cognitive representations of future gains, maintenance, and losses in the second half of life

Item does not contain fulltextThe aim of this study is to explore three different developmental dimensions in an aging population. Based on sentence completion responses, the investigation examines personal anticipations of possible gains, maintenance, and losses. Additionally, the effects of age and other personal and situational factors are examined. The study sample consists of 2,934 participants ranging from 40 to 85 years of age, who participated in the German Aging Survey of 1996. Study findings indicate that, to a large extent, the anticipated gains include positive changes in the way of life and increased leisure projects while anticipated maintenance refer to physical and behavioral resources and to life style. Anticipated losses are related to concerns about external living conditions and physical decline. There is a strong association of anticipated gains and maintenance with age, while present health conditions are related to expectations of loss. The implications of the study results for lifespan expectations in the second half of life and for lifespan theory are discussed

Subjective well-being and social production functions

Recent reviews of scientific work on subjective well-being (SWB) reveal disagreements in conceptualization, measurement, and explanation of the concept. We propose Social Production Function theory as a framework to resolve them. Social Production Function (SPF) theory integrates strengths of relevant psychological theories and economic consumer/household production theories, without their limitations (namely, tradeoffs between satisfaction of different needs are not in the first, and goals or needs are not in the second). SPF theory identifies two ultimate goals that all humans seek to optimize (physical well-being and social well-being) and five instrumental goals by which they are achieved (stimulation, comfort, status, behavioural confirmation, affection). The core notion of SPF theory is that people choose and substitute instrumental goals so as to optimize the production of their well-being, subject to constraints in available means of production. SPF theory guides research measurement and explanatory models, and it integrates features of contemporary subjective well-being theories

The personal experience of aging, individual resources, and subjective well-being

Item does not contain fulltextThe personal experience of aging, the resources relevant to it, and the consequences for subjective well-being were investigated in a sample of 4034 Germans aged 40 to 85. The data revealed 3 dimensions of aging experiences as particularly relevant: (a) physical decline, (b) continuous growth, and (c) social loss. Not only being younger but also having better subjective health, higher income, less loneliness, higher education, and greater hope were negatively associated with physical decline and social loss and positively associated with continuous growth. The number of children participants had played no role. All three dimensions of the aging experience were also found to be related to both positive and negative affect and, with the exception of physical decline, to life satisfaction

Das subjektive Alterserleben

0ntbrkt

Persönliche Zukunftserwartungen: Antizipationen von Gewinn, Fortsetzung des Status Quo und Verlust

0ntbrkt