Living Arrangements and Informal Social Support Among the Elderly

One of the most pervasive patterns in living arrangements observed among today's elderly has been the increasing propensity to live alone. This paper assesses the extent to which living along, living with a spouse, or living with others (no spouse present) affects several dimensions of informal social support. The data for this study are from a 1983 survey focusing on living arrangement choices among elderly persons living in London, Ontario, Canada. Overall, living arrangement is considerably more important as a determinant of instrumental support than social contact. Elders choosing to live alone appear to sacrifice some degree of mutual exchange for privacy and independence. They also tend to rely on friendship to a greater extent than marred elderly or those who co-reside with others. Implications for support services and changes in the family are discussed in the context of living arrangement selection in later life.     

Living Apart Together and Money: New Partnerships,Traditional Gender Roles

Drawing on qualitative interview data from a sample of 54 men and women engaged in living apart together (LAT) partnerships in Belgium (Flanders), this study explored the organization and exchange of money in LAT arrangements. The data showed that the heterogeneity of LAT partnerships is reflected in couples' monetary behavior, with couples who foresee cohabitation (transitional LATs) showing more marriage‐like exchanges of financial support than those who perceive living apart together as a more permanent arrangement (permanent LATs). The economic position of the partners and the importance attached to economic independence and breadwinning mediate the impact of future expectations on the financial practices of LAT couples. The data also showed that traditional notions of gender and coupledom continue to be strongly influential, even in nontraditional types of partnerships.     

Independence in assisted living

The aims of this study were to understand the meaning of independence for residents of assisted living and to identify factors influencing the operationalization of independence in this setting. Qualitative interviews were conducted with 17 providers and 55 residents in 17 assisted-living facilities in Georgia. Data were analyzed by using the grounded theory method. Findings show that assisted-living residents retained a strong value for independence and that independence had multiple dimensions of meaning. Whereas independence in most cases was reduced to performing everyday activities of daily living (ADLs), the multidimensional nature of meaning allowed residents with significant disability both to continue to perceive themselves as independent and to find satisfaction in their remaining abilities. Resident self-care requires significant effort from both residents and providers, but it also has far-reaching potential to help residents maintain intact identities and may hold the key to extending their stay in the assisted-living facility (ALF) environment.     

Personal and Family Correlates of Resilience Among Adolescents Living in Single-Parent Households in Taiwan

ABSTRACT

Based on the responses of 291 Taiwanese adolescents living with single parents, this article examines the personal (gender and academic performance) and family (gender of parent living together and family type) correlates of resilience of the participants with reference to different psychosocial domains. Whereas girls displayed higher resilience in some dimensions of personal and school resilience domains than did boys, boys experienced higher family resilience than did girls. Better academic performance was positively related to effective coping, personal independence, global personal resilience, and parental expectation on academic performance. Adolescents living with single mothers displayed higher personal independence and family resilience than did adolescents living with single fathers. Compared with adolescents not living with any parent or those who lived with both parents after divorce, adolescents living in nuclear and stem families displayed higher positive orientation to older people and experienced higher family resilience.     

Walking the tight‐rope: Balancing independence and security in old age

Life histories of persons in old age reveal that feelings of independence are associated with living in normal housing although institutions provide security. Older persons attempt to maintain an image of the self as independent, sometimes by ‘putting down’ others. The dilemma of old age is the choice between image‐security (by independence) or real security (often with a considerable degree of dependence).     

‘All my worldly goods I share with you’? Managing money at the transition to heterosexual marriage

Studies in the 1980s and 1990s revealed that financial arrangements in marriage tended to disadvantage women, especially those with young children. However, much of that research focused upon relatively well‐established married (or remarried) couples, and we have little insight into the choices that today's newly‐weds are making, or what influences their choices. To address this gap in our understanding, in‐depth, semi‐structured interviews were conducted with forty‐two heterosexual couples on the brink of their first marriage. We explored their monetary practices and the way that they thought about money in the relationship. The results of a grounded theory analysis showed that six couples were pooling all or most of their money, fifteen were using a partial‐pooling system, twenty were using an independent management system (with separate accounts), and one couple had an arrangement where all the money was controlled and managed by one partner. A key factor was perceived ownership of money, and this influenced the extent to which finances were being merged and treated as a collective resource. Other factors included the couple's current living arrangements and beliefs about the importance of sharing and independence within the relationship.     

The social world of assisted living

This study defines assisted living as a unique social world and is based on a 22-month ethnography in three facilities and completion of the program required of certified assisted living facility (ALF) managers in Oregon. The focus was on how daily operations are affected by central values (i.e., independence, choice, privacy) defined by Oregon Administrative Rules (OAR). In their efforts to legitimize this newly constructed social world, proponents and providers have developed a package consisting of a unique vocabulary and two organizational practices, the Negotiated Service Agreement (NSA) and Managed Risk Agreement (MRA). This package is integral to the maintenance of this social world, providing the means for defining and defending assisted living. These organizational tools offer a contemporary perspective on the rights of chronically ill and disabled seniors to make choices about their health care, even choices that might be defined as risky by medical professionals.     

Autonomous Youth? Independence and Precariousness in the Indonesian Underground Music Scene

Indonesia boasts a thriving underground music scene that has become an important element in the identity practices of many urban youth. For dedicated ‘scenesters’, the underground is more than a personal expression of style; it is a way of life, and often a way to make a living. I draw on the concept of ‘precarity’ to examine the underground value of independence (kemandirian) in the context of the precarious position of urban youth in neoliberal Indonesia. The identities and practices of the underground scene are both a reaction against and a reflection of this experience. Scenesters draw on their underground identities, and the autonomous community networks they have established, in order to assert their independence from the demands of capital. However, they also mobilise this independence as the basis for their own entrepreneurial activities, resulting in a nascent tendency towards capital accumulation and class polarisation within the scene.     

The living arrangements of older immigrants from the former Soviet Union: A comparison of Israel and the United States

With the unprecedented emigration from the former Soviet Union (FSU) during the 1990s as context, this study described the living arrangements of older FSU immigrants living in Israel and the US. Living arrangement choices represented an important strategy for coping with the migration process. Census data from Israel and the US were employed to examine the relationships among living arrangements (independent households, multigenerational households, and extended households) and personal characteristics, including duration of residence, Jewish identity, education, and home ownership. Results showed that the less time older immigrants lived in the host country, the more likely they lived in a multigenerational or extended household. The residency length and household relationship was stronger in Israel than in the US. Also, older FSU immigrants who owned their own home and who lived in a metropolitan area were more likely to live in a complex household than in an independent household. We discussed how the economic and social environments in each country contributed to the variability in living arrangement options among these older immigrants.     

Living arrangements and level of care among clients discharged from a scattered-site housing-based independent living program

There is little recent research in the field of adolescent independent living that looks at the specific living arrangements of youth, who at the point of discharge from the child welfare system, had experienced living independently and had access to a choice of housing options. Administrative data and reviews of client records were used in this study to look at the choice of housing option and the change in level of care of 367 young adults who emancipated from the Lighthouse Youth Services Independent Living Program in Cincinnati, Ohio, during the five-year period 2001-2006. Given a range of housing options at the time of discharge, over half (55%) chose an independent living arrangement, including 41% who lived in their own place, either alone (28%) or with a roommate (13%). Only 21% decided to live in someone else's home, including just 7% with one or both birth parents, 10% with some other relative, and 4% with a non-relative. The remaining 24% of youth were discharged from independent living to a more restrictive living arrangement (a.k.a., higher “level of care”, including a residential treatment program, group home, foster care, or supervised independent living program) (11%) or whose whereabouts were unknown (13%). The outcomes of this study suggest that, when presented with a choice of housing options, most of this county's emancipating foster youth would prefer to live on their own, rather than to return to live with their families of origin. The study also suggests that many youth who participate in a scattered-site housing-based independent living program can succeed in leaving care with affordable housing in place and avoid immediate homelessness.     

Independence: What It Means to Six Disabled People Living in the Community

The hypothesis in this study asserted that independence is an infinitely variable self concept, unique to the individual which concerns control and choice rather than any absolute measure of competence. The study involved interviewing six disabled people who had lived in institutional care for at least three years and had lived in the community for a minimum of one year. The comparative data between life in an institution and living in the community was explored in relation to the concept of independence. The interviewees were able to determine, quite precisely, what independence in the community meant to them. Independence involved choice, control and power in, and over, the management of their lives and the environment in which they lived.     

Do children in foster care receive appropriate treatment for asthma?

Asthma is the most common childhood chronic disease, and children in foster care have the highest rates of chronic conditions of any studied child population. The purpose of this study is to determine whether there are disparities in asthma management and health care utilization between children in foster care and other children covered by Medicaid in the state of Illinois. We use performance measures developed by the state child welfare system as well as those developed by the National Committee on Quality Assurance and used throughout the country. The study sample was drawn from linked administrative data on children in foster care and paid Medicaid claims. In order to determine the influence of living arrangement setting within the child welfare system, children in foster care were further grouped according to whether they lived in a stable home setting, a stable congregate care setting, or other living arrangement. We found that children living in home settings performed better on most performance measures than income-eligible Medicaid children. In contrast, children with asthma living in congregate care were particularly vulnerable as reflected in poor asthma care measurements and high utilization of hospitalizations despite positive performance on indicators of medication use. This population presents a significant challenge to the child welfare and health care delivery systems.     

Autonomy in Assisted Living: Employees’ Perspectives

This focused ethnography explores how employees in assisted living facilities give meaning to the term autonomy, a core value in the mission of assisted living facilities. In-depth interviews were conducted with managerial and front line staff in two assisted living facilities to understand their interpretation of the concept of autonomy and how they felt they enhance the autonomy of the residents. Four interrelated themes capturing the meaning of autonomy emerged from analysis of the interview data: (1) autonomy is synonymous with functional independence, (2) expectations of residents of assisted living are different from residents of nursing homes, (3) rehabilitation is a goal of assisted living, and (4) a tendency to intervene in the best interests of the residents. The implications of the findings are discussed in terms of their potential effect on residents.     

The Impact of the Housing Environment upon the Ability of Disabled People to Live Independently

The independent living (IL) paradigm proposes that the presence of environmental barriers affects critically the level of independence of people with disabilities. This study refines the IL paradigm and evaluates empirically the role that the environment plays in independent living, especially the influence of home adaptations and other housing variables on disabled people and their families. The results of this research indicate that housing adaptations have a variety of impacts upon the productivity of disabled people. Other housing issues are very important to individuals with disabilities, particularly tenants. This paper concludes by presenting implications for theoretical development and recommendations for housing policies which are responsive to the needs of disabled people.     

Parenting and Family Structure After Divorce: Are They Related?

Children are raised in various family structures after a parental divorce. Currently, research including both repartnering and the custodial arrangement when investigating parenting is scarce and mainly proceeds from a maternal perspective, ignoring potential partner effects. Consequently, we investigate differences in parenting after divorce according to family structure (repartnering and custodial arrangement), analyzing a dyadic subsample of the multiactor Divorce in Flanders data set (616 children and parents) using a structural equation model. We conclude that living with a partner has a positive effect on parenting, whereas not living with the child has a relatively negative effect on parenting, regardless of the parental gender.     

Factors Related to the Institutionalization of Older Aged Individuals Using Home- and Community-Based Care Services: Data From the South Korea Long-Term Care Insurance Program, 2008–2013

South Korea introduced a public long-term care insurance (LTCI) program in response to its rapidly aging population. This study analyzed the association between living arrangement and caregiver type with institutionalization in LTCI grade 1 (very severe limitations), 2 (severe limitations), and 3 (moderate limitations) beneficiaries using data from the LTCI cohort, 2008 to 2013. The dependent variable was alteration status from home to institutional care within 1 year of receiving home service. Independent variables were living arrangement and primary caregiver type. The analysis was conducted using the generalized estimating equation model. Higher likelihoods of institutionalization were found in individuals living with a non-family member compared to individuals living with their spouses. Individuals without a caregiver or with a paid caregiver were also more likely to experience institutionalization than individuals with a spouse primary caregiver. Our findings underscore the importance of monitoring identified vulnerable groups of individuals to attain LTCI sustainability and enhance elderly quality of life.     

Parental co-residence,shared living and emerging adulthood in Europe: semi-dependent housing across welfare regime and housing system contexts

Transitions to adulthood not only represent a key period for individual development but also contribute to processes of social stratification. Growing evidence has pointed to increased complexity, postponement and individualization in transition dynamics. Previous research has focused on trends in school-to-work transitions and family formation; however, the central role of housing represents an interrelated process that is less understood. As pathways to adulthood have diversified, many young people experience partial independence in one sphere while continued dependence in others. Semi-dependent housing, either through parental co-residence or shared living, can be an important coping mechanism. Using the European Survey on Income and Living Conditionst, the research investigates the role that semi-dependent living plays within emerging adulthood across varied European contexts. The data suggests that the extent and type of semi-dependent housing varies substantially across EU15 countries. The findings indicate that levels of housing independence can be partly explained by welfare regime context while the propensity for shared living appears correlated with affordability in the rental market. Although socio-cultural and economic trends play an important and interrelated role, the study argues that housing dynamics of young adulthood and the role of semi-dependent living is fundamentally shaped by the context of the housing system and welfare regime.     

A qualitative analysis of factors related to late life independence as related by the old-old and viewed through the concept of locus of control

The purpose of this research was to better understand what factors a sample of independent living oldest-old people believed contributed to their late-life independence. Participants selected from a list of Medicare recipients were interviewed in their homes and asked to identify factors that they felt were responsible for their ability to remain independent in late-life. Content analysis was used to analyze the data. Locus of control emerged as a useful conceptual framework for describing the data. Five styles of locus of control were identified. The fifth style, Integrative Locus of Control, suggested that the oldest-old may integrate multiple styles of internal and external locus of control. Family members and service providers can encourage independence by respecting the oldest-olds' abilities to make decisions, solve problems, and resolve conflicts, while concurrently acknowledging and providing for their identified needs.     

Reunifying Versus Living Apart Together Across Borders: A Comparative Analysis of sub‐Saharan Migration to Europe

This article studies the process of reunification in Europe among “living apart together across borders” (LATAB) couples of African origin (DR Congo, Ghana, and Senegal). Couple reunion is conceived as a multilevel process, wherein state selection (through immigration policies in destination countries) interacts with self‐selection (at the couple level), under influence of the social context at origin. Based on event history analyses of the MAFE project, empirical results show that LATAB is a majority and durable living arrangement for sub‐Saharan migrants, that the odds if reunifying depend on gender and inter‐generational relationships, and that restrictive contexts at destination do not deter couple reunion.     

The Quality of Life of People 12 Years after Resettlement from Long Stay Hospitals: users' views on their living environment, daily activities and future aspirations

We report service users' views on three important domains of their quality of life in the community 12 years after resettlement for long-stay hospitals. These concerned their living environments, daily activities and future aspirations. We asked a series of open questions as part of a structured interview with service users with learning disabilities (n = 196) and mental health problems (n = 102). The study is the longest reported follow-up of deinstitutionalisation in the UK and one of the longest anywhere in the world. The most frequently self-reported positive aspects of users' quality of life were the living environment, the social milieu and independence. The most frequently mentioned problems occurred within the social milieu and included bullying, the social regime, the physical aspects of the accommodation, and the personal feelings of loneliness and boredom. The most preferred activities were outings, education and work, relaxation and leisure. The most disliked activities were household chores and having nothing to do. About half those interviewed did not or could not answer a question about their future; those who did mentioned a wish for greater independence, more outings and personal and sexual relationships. We remark on some implications for services and for staff training.