Living Arrangements and Quality of Life Among Chinese Canadian Elders

This paper examines the role of living arrangements in thequality of life of community-dwelling Chinese elders (aged 65 andover) currently residing in Vancouver and Victoria, BritishColumbia. Data are based on a random sample of 830 persons[response rate = 71.5%], who were interviewed in their homes inthe language of their choice in 1995–96. Three dimensions ofquality of life – satisfaction, well-being and social support –are examined for married men and women [living with spouse alonevs. living intergenerationally] and widowed women [living alonevs. living intergenerationally]. Few differences are found formarried persons, especially women; for widows, living alonesignificantly reduces quality of life in a number of areas.Regression analyses indicate that living arrangements are not asignificant predictor of life satisfaction or well-being formarried men and women. For widows, living arrangements determinewell-being but not life satisfaction.Overall, age, health status, and social support (havingfriends/confidante) are better predictors of quality of life forelderly Chinese Canadians than are living arrangements. Findingshighlight the importance of: empirically distinguishing maritalstatus and living arrangements in studying the quality of life ofelders; not homogenizing Chinese Canadian seniors with regard toliving arrangements; and focussing on Chinese elderly widows wholive alone as a group at risk of low well-being.     

Residential independence among older persons: community and individual factors

The objective of this study is to evaluate an expanded version of the resource model of living arrangements among older persons. This expanded model includes community-level measures of geriatric health services and housing market conditions. We employ the first two waves of the National Survey of Families and Households to test static and longitudinal fixed effects models of residential living arrangements. We find that residing in areas with higher levels of geriatric health care services increases the likelihood of residential independence, net of other contextual factors and individual characteristics. Our results show that housing market conditions are not related to levels of or changes in residential independence when control variables are included in the models. The results for the individual-level resource variables show that persons with greater economic resources, more children, and better functional status are better able to maintain independence and are less likely to die or live in a nursing home. This study shows the utility of expanding on micro-level approaches to understanding community living arrangements among older persons. Future investigations should include measures of the policy environment, transportation constraints and opportunities, and a more complete array of indicators of health and social services oriented toward helping elderly persons maintain their independence.     

Residential Segregation, Nativity Status, and Hispanic Living Arrangements in Later Life

This study examined the relationship between residential segregation in metropolitan areas and the living arrangements of middle-aged and older Hispanics. We specifically considered whether the relationship between residential segregation and living arrangements was different depending on nativity status. This study also explored whether measures of assimilation were related to living arrangements. Using data from the 2000 Census Public-Use Microdata Sample (5 %), our multilevel logistic regression models showed that residing in metropolitan areas with higher residential segregation indexes of evenness, isolation, and clustering was related to an increased likelihood of living in a co-resident household versus an independent household. We discovered that the relationship was in the same direction for US-born and foreign-born Hispanics but the relationship was stronger for US-born Hispanics. Finally, we found that as assimilation increased, so did the likelihood of living independently and that persons living in the ten largest immigrant gateway cities were most likely to co-reside as compared to live independently. These results underscored the importance of developing theoretic models of ethnic group living arrangements that include characteristics of both individuals and the community.     

Changes in the propensity to live alone: Evidence from consecutive cross-sectional surveys, 1960–1976

The rise in the proportion of single persons living alone in the United States over the last several decades has been explained in two ways. A consumer demand explanation suggests that increases in income and the ability of persons to afford the desired privacy and autonomy of single person households account for the rise. An alternative explanation suggests that norms, residence rules, and tastes have become more supportive of nonfamilial living arrangements in post-industrial societies and that the proportion of persons living alone would have increased substantially even if income had not risen. Previous evidence for these explanations comes from cross-sectional or aggregate data; this paper tests alternative predictions of the explanations using individual-level survey data from three time points—1960, 1970, and 1976. In contrast to predictions of the consumer demand explanation, the results show that major increases in the proportion of single persons living alone are unexplained by increases in income and other individual-level characteristics of respondents. Although the effect of income on living alone has been constant over time, the existence of significant additive effects of time is consistent with alternative explanations of structural changes in propensity to live alone.     

城市老年人居住方式意愿研究——以北京、天津、上海、重庆为例

利用2005年全国老年人口健康状况调查问卷数据对四个直辖市老年人居住方式意愿进行实证研究。结果显示,实际居住方式、人口因素、经济因素等对大城市老年人居住方式意愿有着显著的影响,健康因素则是通过经济特征对居住方式意愿发生作用的。     

Living Alone over the Life Course: Cross-National Variations on an Emerging Issue

The increasing proportion of persons living alone has come to be emblematic in many ways of modern Western societies because it represents the importance conceded to the individual and to individual goals at the expense, basically, of the family. Solo living has been interpreted within the context of changing values and preferences, changing personal and conjugal realities, and the changing work contexts so often associated with the Second Demographic Transition. We know little about patterns and trends in living alone over the life course in much of the world because most research to date has concentrated on regional and national portrayals or on living arrangements in later life. This study provides a systematic look at the differences in living alone by age and sex in 113 countries. Our aim is to understand the extent to which behavior differs around the world and the implications this has for society. We also examine the relationship between trends in living alone and levels of human development. Results are taken from three massive datasets: census and survey microdata from IPUMS-international, Demographic Health Surveys, and EU-Labor Force Surveys.     

中国老年人的居住安排与变化:2000～2006

基于中国老龄科学研究中心2000年、2006年两次全国性的调查数据,对我国老年人居住安排的特征与变化趋势进行分析。结果表明,虽然三代同住目前仍是我国老年人最主要的居住安排形式,但该比例正在下降,同时只与配偶同住的比例上升。考察不同特征老年人的居住安排特点以及老年人的居住意愿,以期为家庭养老、社区照料服务等方面的研究以及相关政策的制定提供支持。     

The living arrangements of new unmarried mothers

We use data from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study to describe the living arrangements of new, unwed mothers and to examine the selection process that underlies choices of living arrangements. Our analysis goes beyond previous studies by examining a wide diversity of living arrangements for a homogenous sample of recent unwed mothers and by using information on both parents' demographic and human capital characteristics and the quality of their relationships. We find that about half the new unwed mothers are cohabiting at the time their children are born, and only 17% are living alone. We also find that mothers' choices of living arrangements are significantly related to parents' human capital, the quality of their relationship, and the cost of housing.     

The dynamics of single mothers' living arrangements

Using a four-way definition of living arrangements (independent, live with parents, cohabit, share with others) and data from the 1990 Survey of Income and Program Participation, I find that single mothers have a 26 percent probability of switching living arrangements at least once during a 32-month period. Mothers living independently are the least likely to change arrangements, and those sharing housing with individuals other than a boyfriend or parents are the most likely toswitch. Having lived for a longer period of time in any of the four arrangements decreases the probability of switching. Among those who change living arrangements, there appear to be some patterns of transition. Mothers living with their parentstend to move into either independent households or those that they share with individuals other than an unrelated man. If they leave, mothers who lived with their parents tend not to move back into their parents' household, at least withinthe time period examined. Women who share with others or cohabit tend to cycle between their current living arrangement and living independently. Among those who switch living arrangements, mothers who do not live independently tend to have transitions into independence or other arrangements which increase the probability they will choose independence in the future.     

A longitudinal analysis of household and nonhousehold living arrangements in later life

Most explanatory models of living arrangements in later life link the decision process surrounding choice of living arrangement to personal resources such as income and health. Applications of these models, however, are based for the most part on cross-sectional rather than longitudinal data. In this paper we examine living arrangements in later life among the nonmarried population aged 55 and over, using data from the Survey of Income and Program Participation. We observe individuals as they change living arrangements, die, or become institutionalized. Our results suggest that economic resources dominate the decision-making process in transitions across different household arrangements, whereas health is most important in explaining institutionalization.     

Living Arrangements of the Elderly in Fiji,Korea, Malaysia,and the Philippines

Using logit techniques and data from surveys of the elderly conducted in 1984 under the auspices of the World Health Organization, this article investigates socioeconomic, cultural, and demographic determinants of living arrangements of the elderly. Having a spouse or children with whom to live has important effects on living arrangements. The results provide only weak support, however, for hypotheses based on modernization theory and point to the need for detailed data on transitions in living arrangements and for information about the younger generation as well as the older generation, both of which are involved in deciding who lives with whom.     

我国老年人居住安排状况分析--基于2012年中国家庭追踪调查数据

文章使用2012年中国家庭追踪调查数据（ CFPS2012）,分别从空间维度、人口学维度和社会学维度对我国老年人居住安排状况进行分析。结果显示,“只与配偶同住”是我国老年人最主要的居住方式;未与子女同住老年人与其子女的空间距离存在城乡差异;与年龄增长相对应的丧偶概率的提高是影响老年人居住安排的重要因素;与儿子同住的老年人比例远高于与女儿同住的比例;老年人受教育程度与居住安排存在相关性。     

中国老年人的居住方式与其婚姻状况的关系分析

基于追踪调查数据,运用随机效应Probit模型分析老年人的居住方式与其婚姻状况的关系及其在不同性别和不同年龄段上的差异。研究发现,丧偶对老年人的居住方式存在显著影响,老年人在丧偶后更可能与子女同住。然而,在控制配偶照顾因素后,丧偶对老年人居住方式的影响却大幅下降。从性别和年龄上来看,丧偶对女性老年人居住方式的影响大于男性老年人,对高龄老年人的影响大于低龄老年人。同时,研究还发现,在控制人口特征、社会经济以及健康状况变量之后,未观测到的个体异质性对老年人居住方式存在显著影响。     

Living arrangements of older malaysians: Who coresides with their adult children?

More than two-thirds of Malaysians age 60 or older coreside with an adult child. Data from the Senior sample of the Second Malaysian Family Life Survey (MFLS-2) are used to investigate which “seniors” (persons age 60 or older) live in this way. The analysis generally supports the notion that coresidence is influenced by the benefits, costs, opportunities, and preferences for coresidence versus separate living arrangements. For example, married seniors are more likely to coreside with adult children when housing costs are greater in their area or when the husband or wife is in poor health. This finding suggests that married parents and children live together to economize on living costs or to receive help with household services. Unmarried seniors who are better off economically are less likely to live with adult children, presumably because they use their higher incomes to “purchase privacy.”     

National and subnational projections of elderly living arrangements: An application of the net transition probability macrosimulation model

Recently, McDonaldet al. (2006) outlined a new method of projecting living arrangements, households and dwellings at the national and subnational level, using quinquennial census data. The purpose of this paper is to apply this new simulation method to project the composition of elderly living arrangements at the national and subnational level in Australia over the period 2001 to 2016. This study presents projections of living arrangements for Temporal Statistical Districts within New South Wales and for Australia as a whole. Results show a strong increase in the number of the elderly living alone, particularly elderly males. The rate of growth in lone-person households is particularly strong in coastal and regional New South Wales, underlining the importance of capturing subnational differences in probabilities of births, deaths, migration and household movements when producing regional projections of living arrangements. This paper concludes by considering implications of the findings and potential uses of the net transition probability method.     

老年人口居住安排与居住意愿研究

文章基于2011年中国社会状况调查数据,分析城乡老年人口居住安排现状及居住意愿。研究结果表明,老年人口家庭规模日益缩小,老年空巢家庭数量不仅在城市大幅提高,农村的独居老人家庭比例也在持续上升。在老年人理想居住方式方面,能否自理对老年人的养老意愿产生很大影响。在生活可以自理时,老年人以居家养老为主,希望独居的比例较高;在生活不能自理时,城市老人希望到机构养老和与子女同住的比例提高。此外,婚姻状况、教育程度、居住地类型、生活费来源等对养老的居住安排有显著影响。     

The Consequences of Reproductive Failure: Dependence,Mobility, and Mortality among the Elderly of Rural South Asia

This paper examines the proposition that the economic mobility of persons in rural South Asia is affected by their reproductive outcomes: specifically, that reproductive failure (defined as the failure to rear a surviving son) entails material loss. Underlying this proposition is the notion that sons in this setting constitute an important source of insurance against the risk of income insufficiency in old age and in a variety of other contingencies. Analysis of data on living arrangements of the elderly in several rural South Asian communities and histories of asset gain and loss suggest that the consequences of reproductive failure include higher mortality risks and a high probability of property loss, that these consequences are more severe for women than for men, and are considerably more severe in rural Bangladesh than in the sampled areas of rural India.     

Can we study the family environment through census data? A comparison of households,dwellings, and domestic units in rural Mali

Are ‘statistical households’, as defined in national censuses, able to describe the family environment in Africa? Do they correspond to the family units that individuals identify with? To address this issue, we build on a follow-up survey in south-east Mali, which links national censuses with local censuses at the individual level (N?≈?28,000 census observations). Three cross-sectional snapshots of family arrangements are compared: households recorded in national censuses, and family economic units and residential units recorded by local censuses. The national census household data appear poorly suited to documenting family living arrangements. They do not account for family economic units or residential units, but are highly conditioned by a normative representation centred on the nuclear family. Therefore, they fail to describe the complexity and diversity of people’s living spaces, making particular types of living arrangements invisible and increasing the likelihood of omitting individuals who do not fit into a nuclear model.     

Utilizing relationship matrices to better understand the diversity of household arrangements among romantic couples: A cross-country example

Changes in families over the past thirty years have created methodological challenges for research on family variation. Some argue that standard survey methods used for collecting data on families have been outpaced by the transformation of families and hence estimates of family variation are maccurate and opportunities for cross-country comparisons of family variation are hampered. This situation is rectifiable through greater use of relationship matrices. This underused data collection method can precisely portray family variation and facilitate cross-country comparisons. To illustrate the method’s usefulness for family research, relationship matrices data on young persons from Australia and the United States are exploited to: depict individuals’ living arrangements; identify patterns in partnering and childbearing; describe demographic diversity across types of couples; and compare family variation across countries.     

Social security, economic growth, and the rise in elderly widows’ independence in the twentieth century

The percentage of elderly widows living alone rose from 18% in 1940 to 62% in 1990, while the percentage living with adult children declined from 59% to 20%. This study finds that income growth, particularly increased Social Security benefits, was the single most important determinant of living arrangements, accounting for nearly one-half of the increase in independent living. Unlike researchers in earlier studies, we find no evidence that the effect of income become stronger over the period. Changes in age, race, immigrant status, schooling, and completed fertility explain a relatively small share of the changes in living arrangements.