Gender, marital power, and marital quality in later life

This study uses data from the 1992 Health and Retirement Study to examine gender differences in marital power and marital quality among older adults and to assess whether there are gender differences in the correlates of marital quality and marital power in later life. Results show that women report lower marital happiness, marital interaction, and marital power than do men, on average. These differences persist even after controlling for a number of life-course events and transitions. Further, results show that gender differences are also evident in the relationship of employment, childrearing, caregiving, and health factors with marital quality and power.     

Dimensions of power: older women's experiences with electroconvulsive therapy (ECT)

Older women are particularly prone to being treated for depression, and, despite the controversy surrounding it, electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) has gained popularity as a treatment with this population. Research has examined the physical and cognitive changes associated with ECT but there is little understanding regarding how older women themselves experience this treatment. In order to gain better understanding into the subjective experience of receiving ECT, this qualitative study explored the experiences of six older women who were treated with ECT for a diagnosis of depression, using in-depth personal interviews. Analysis suggests that this experience for these older women could not be understood in isolation. Rather, their stories highlighted the importance of interpreting the ECT experience within a broader context that included the larger depression experience, the dynamics of helping relationships, and the discourse available to them for sense-making. Specifically, the central theme underpinning all of these women's stories was the shifting of power from themselves to others. This paper examines how this occurred and discusses implications for practice.     

Obesity, disease, and functional limitation in later life

Little is known about the effects of obesity late in life. Using data from the Longitudinal Study of Aging and the Assets and Health Dynamics of the Oldest Old Survey, this study finds an increased prevalence of obesity, over time, among those 70 and older. Obesity is related most strongly to limitations in activities of daily living (ADLs) for women and to activities related to mobility. One ADL, eating, has a negative association to obesity. Obesity is associated with an increased prevalence of arthritis, diabetes, and hypertension. These results are cross-sectional and are based on self-reports of height and weight; they must be interpreted cautiously.     

Non-surgical cosmetic procedures: older women's perceptions and experiences

This paper analyzes findings from in-depth interviews with 44 women aged 50-70 regarding their perceptions of and experiences with non-surgical cosmetic procedures such as Botox injections, laser hair removal, chemical peels, microdermabrasion, and injectable fillers. While 21 of the women had used a range of non-surgical cosmetic procedures, 23 women had not. The data are discussed in light of feminist theorizing on cosmetic surgery which has tended to ignore the experiences of older women and has been divided in terms of the portrayal of cosmetic surgery as either oppressive or liberating. We found that some of the women used the procedures to increase their physical attractiveness and self-esteem, others viewed the procedures as excessively risky, and still others argued that the procedures stemmed from the social devaluation of later life. Treatments that involved the alteration of the surface of the body tended to be viewed as less risky than the injection of foreign substances into the body.     

Best friends: the role of confidantes in older women's health

This article explores personal, network, and community contexts in older women's friendships and health. Twenty-six older women (mean age, 67; range 55-85 years) in San Francisco were asked to choose the one individual to whom they felt the closest and then discuss how this individual contributed to their health. Their choices were numerous, diverse, contextual, and circumstantial. Other women were chosen most often; however, this belies the complexity of their choices. Confidants were chosen primarily for expressive reasons, but instrumental reasons proved important too, particularly for lower class women. Older women called upon their closest ties with physical, social, and emotional problems; they were less likely to call upon them with mental, financial, or spiritual concerns. Family members were preferred to friends for direct caregiving; however, some older women felt they would call upon their friends as well. Confidants kept older women healthy by offering advice and encouragement about diet and exercise; by providing meals and transportation; by laughing, talking, and joking with them; by keeping them happy and feeling good about themselves; and, on rare occasions, by offering spiritual guidance. Practical and policy considerations of their choices were discussed.     

A chronology of the study of older women's health: data, discoveries, and future directions

Women have been traditionally ignored in health and medical research. Some reasons for this mentality include a fear of harming a woman's reproductive ability, fear that variations in the menstrual cycle could confound results, fear that a woman's body could not withstand the rigors of clinical research, and an assumption that male and female body chemistry is similar. Thankfully, these fears and assumptions are being challenged and several major data-bases, designed specifically to study women's health, have emerged. The purpose of this paper is to: (1) characterize the major longitudinal studies on women's health, (2) summarize the major discoveries from these studies that are relevant to older women, and (3) pose several future directions for research throughout the paper.     

Subjective well-being in later life: Issues concerning measurement and prediction

This paper reviews the research on the measurement and prediction of subjective well-being in later life. Psychometric data on several gerontological scales are presented in detail. Structural analyses of a variety of measures of subjective well-being are discussed and evidence for a one factor structural solution to subjective well-being is presented. Objective predictors of subjective well-being are discussed with respect to the strength of their relationships to subjective well-being. It is concluded that subjective well-being is the best predictor of itself. Evidence of temporal stability and corss-situational consistency, combined with the evidence of a one factor structural solution, suggests that subjective well-being has trait-like characteristics. Suggestions for future research are presented.     

The Red Hat Society: Exploring the role of play, liminality, and communitas in older women's lives

There is an extensive literature on play. Yet, the role of play in older adults' lives has received limited attention. Strikingly absent is research on play and older women. Missing from the literature is how older women use play as a liminal context for social interaction and communitas. This is odd because by 2030 one in four American women will be over the age of sixty-five. The primary purpose of this study is to explore the roles of play, liminality, and communitas in older women's lives. The focus is the Red Hat Society, a social group for women over age 50 that fosters play and fun. Using qualitative interviews with focus groups and participant observation of a regional Red Hat Society event, the study highlights some of the strengths and weaknesses of current conceptualizations of play, liminality, and communitas.     

The determinants and patterns of married women's labor force participation in Korea

The present study investigates the determinants and patterns of married women's labor force participation in Korea. Married women's employment in Korea is largely determined by age, urban residence, household characteristics of the husband's socioeconomic status, family income, fertility, and the lagged effect of work. Older age, rural residence, inferior household economic condition, and recent work experience are the major positive causes of married women's participation in the market work. On the other hand, younger women with preschool children, who currently reside in urban areas, enjoying better household economic conditions (due to higher socioeconomic status of husbands and/or higher family income) are the groups of women with the smallest probability of working in the market. Married women's employment pattern in Korea shows a pattern typical of less-developed and low-income countries in two aspects: married women working and characterized by a low level of education; the difference between urban and rural areas in terms of work participation pattern is remarkable. Although Korea belongs to the advanced group of currently industrializing countries, she lags behind with other developing countries in terms of married women's employment. Moreover, it is difficult to predict in advance that Korea would have similar experiences as those of contemporary advanced countries.     

Nativity and older women's health: constructed reliance in the health and retirement study

Gender and nativity are known risk factors for physical and economic dependency. Immigrant women are particularly disadvantaged because of their greater lack of social and economic resources. In this study, we investigate how women immigrants coordinate and utilize various support systems as they approach retirement age, as well as how choices and constraints affect their physical wellbeing. Experiences throughout the life course play a role in the maintenance of health, but the pre-retirement years are particularly crucial to the establishment of patterns of reliance to be used in later life. We examine the effects of economic resources, social support, and family ties (as well as several exogenous variables) on women's physical health using data from the Health and Retirement Survey. For the women in this study, demographic characteristics, such as Hispanic ethnicity and low education are strong risk factors for poor health. Findings also indicate that reliance patterns across resource domains do not differ significantly by nativity and that both economic and familial resource access significantly lessens the risk of poor health for both native and foreign born women.     

Separate taxation and married women's labor supply: a comparison of West Germany and Sweden

This paper uses Swedish and German micro data on wages, hours of work and human capital related variables for German and Swedish couples. When separate taxation was introduced in Sweden in 1971, incentives for married women to supply more labor to the market, was an important argument. A comparison with the behavior of German women, who are confronted with the high marginal taxes of split taxation, is a way of evaluating this policy. Effects of the specific tax systems are incorporated in logit analysis or married women's labor force participation. German and Swedish regressions differ significantly. Children are for example a major detering factor for German women's labor force participation but not for Swedish women.I have received helpful comments on earlier versions of the paper from Wim Groot, Christof Helberger, Notburga Ott, Robert J. Willis, participants at the European Society for Population Economics Conference and referees of the Journal of Population Economics, as well as participants of seminars at the Universities of Amsterdam, Aarhus, Frankfurt and Chicago.     

Determinants of quality of rural life in Nigeria: The women's view

This study investigated rural women's perception of quality of life. The study attempted to determine (a) the extent to which rural women in Nigeria actually understand the term “quality of life’, (b) the components of a good quality of rural life in Nigeria and (c) to compare the present quality of life with that enjoyed by the last generation. Based on a sample survey of 308 rural women in eleven villages in Oyo State; the study found that the ability to have plenty of children, good health, wealth and good personality were highly perceived as measures of essential components of quality of life in rural areas. Overall, the women indicated that their present living conditions in rural areas were better than the conditions in which the last generation lived.     

Families,social life,and well-being at older ages

As people age, many aspects of their lives tend to change, including the constellation of people with whom they are connected, their social context, their families, and their health—changes that are often interrelated. Wave I of the National Social Life, Health, and Aging Project (NSHAP) has yielded rich information on intimate ties, especially dyads and families, and on social connections generally. Combined with extensive biological and other health measures, NSHAP enables researchers to address key questions on health and aging. We begin with recent findings on intimate dyads, then move to social participation, and finally to elder mistreatment. Among dyads, we find that whereas sexual activity drops sharply with age for both women and men, gender differences in partner loss as well as psychosocial and normative pressures constrain women’s sex more than men’s. However, surviving partnerships tend to be emotionally and physically satisfying and are marked by relatively frequent sex. In contrast to sex, nonsexual intimacy is highly prevalent at older ages, especially among women. Older adults are also socially resilient—adapting to the loss of social ties by increasing involvement with community and kin networks. Despite these social assets, older adults remain vulnerable to mistreatment. Overall, these findings yield a mixed picture of gender-differentiated vulnerabilities balanced by proactive adaptation and maintenance of social and dyadic assets.     

Korean patterns of women's labor force participation during the period, 1960-1980

"This article investigates how the patterns of Korean women's labor force participation have changed during the 1960s and the 1970s, [periods] of rapid economic development and social changes. The discussion focuses on the comparison of three sets of cross-sectional data derived from the 1960, 1970 and 1980 [Republic of Korea] censuses. Although not dramatic, the gross rates of women's labor force participation show an upward trend. A very high and rapidly increasing rate of rural women's labor force participation did not result in a big increase in the total rate because of the significant rise in the proportion of the population living in urban areas. However, the employment structure and patterns of women's labor force participation have changed significantly, especially in urban areas."     

Biographical sketches of elderly African-American women in later life

The research concerning the African-American elderly is limited, since this group is made up of less than eight percent of the entire U.S. population. Due to discriminatory practices in the U.S., based on race and gender, the African-American elderly woman has some unique issues facing her in old age. This paper will present three qualitative interviews of African-American women from age 65 to 100. These biographical sketches will report how these women dealt with family traditions, lifestyle changes, and growing old in their lives. Their perceptions of personal joys and frustrations, plus attitudes about how race, not gender, was a significant factor in their lives, will be reported. Education and religion were life-long strengths in their lifestyle.     

Economic development and labor force participation of older persons

The effect of economic development on labor force participation rates of older men and women is examined using national data for 134 countries. The analysis provides new insights into the evolution of retirement patterns with rising personal income, slowing population growth, the aging of the population, and shifts in the composition of employment. The analysis indicates a negative relationship between per capita income and labor force participation rates. This relationship is stronger for older men than for older women and is most apparent among middle income countries. An older population is associated with lower participation rates for older men and higher widow rates produce higher participation rates among older women. Industrial changes such as a decline in the proportion of the labor force employed in agriculture lower the proportion of older persons in the labor force. Finally, national social security policies are shown to impact the proportion of older persons that remains in the labor force.     

Gender, resources across the life course, and cognitive functioning in Egypt

In this article, I evaluate the life-course determinants of cognitive functioning among 1,003 women and men aged 50 and older in Ismailia, Egypt. Three questions motivate this analysis: (1) Do older women have poorer cognitive functioning than do older men?; (2) Do cognitive resources accrued in childhood and adulthood have net positive associations with later-life cognitive functioning for women and men?; and (3) To what extent do differences in the amounts and effects of women’s and men’s cognitive resources account for gaps in their cognitive functioning? Compared with men, women have lower Modified-Mini Mental Status Exam (M-MMSE) scores for overall cognitive functioning. Cognitive resources in childhood and adulthood are jointly associated with the M-MMSE score. About 83% of the gender gap in mean M-MMSE scores is attributable to gaps in men’s and women’s attributes across the life course. Gender gaps in childhood cognitive resources—and especially schooling attainment—account for the largest share (18%) of the residual gender gap in cognitive functioning.Preferential investments in the human resources of boys have been common to many resource-poor settings (King and Mason 2001; Lloyd 2005), and the effects of such investments on gender gaps in child health are known (e.g., Hill and Upchurch 1995). Less well known is the extent to which gender gaps in resources that are accrued across the life course account for gender gaps in later-life health, despite known gender differences in the risks of illness, disability, and death. Demographic research on later-life health also has focused on physical conditions, even though dementia and neuropsychiatric disorders account for a large (~3%) and growing share of the disease burden worldwide (World Health Organization [WHO] 2007).This article assesses the determinants of cognitive functioning among older women and men (e.g., those aged 50 and older) in Ismailia, Egypt. It explores whether and to what extent (1) women have poorer cognitive functioning than men, (2) cognitive resources in childhood and adulthood have net positive associations with cognitive functioning for women and men, and (3) differences in the amounts and effects of women’s and men’s cognitive resources account for differences in their cognitive functioning. Egypt is a superb setting in which to conduct this work because of long-standing gender gaps in opportunities across the life course (e.g., Yount 2001; Yount and Sibai forthcoming) and poor knowledge about their potential effects on later-life cognitive functioning.