‘Hearing the Real Stories about the Issues at Hand’: Politically Active Elders Engage Bachelor in Social Work (BSW) Students in Influencing Social Policy

This article focuses on the successes and challenges experienced by a social work program offering experiential learning opportunities to bachelor in social work (BSW) students. As part of the BSW Experiential Learning (BEL) Program, policy students collaborated with politically active older adults to develop compelling letters to the editor of a newspaper and influential letters to state-level legislators concerning policies impacting older adults. Using a two-year quasi-experimental design, one section of the course paired students with older adults while the other section served as the control group. Although no significant differences were found in influencing student interest in working with older adults, students paired with older adults showed greater confidence in and learning of the content. Lessons learned from this experience and implications for future implementation will be detailed.     

Patterns of change in religious service attendance across the life course: Evidence from a 34-year longitudinal study

Although a number of studies have uncovered evidence of age differences in religious involvement across the life course, there has been a lack of long-term longitudinal data to test the extent to which these differences are due to changes within individuals over time. This study tracks trajectories of change in religious service attendance using data collected longitudinally over the course of up to 34 years, between 1971 and 2005, and in ages ranging from 15 to 102. Piecewise growth curve modeling was used to examine changes in the patterns of age-related change in three distinct developmental periods: the transition from adolescence to young adulthood, middle adulthood, and older adulthood. Attendance showed an average pattern of quadratic decline in adolescence, stability in middle adulthood, and a quadratic pattern of more rapid increase followed by decrease over the course of older adulthood. These results suggest that developmental factors play a role in changing patterns of religious participation across the adult life course, and may account for some of the apparent differences between age groups.     

Alzheimer's Disease and Older Women

The graying of America suggests that dementia will become "the epidemic of the 21st century." First described in 1907, Alzheimer's Disease (AD) accounts for an estimated two-thirds of all dementia. AD currently has no cure, thus causing a major drain on health care and family resources. Compared to men, women are uniquely affected by AD due to their gender-associated increased risk, longer life span, and roles as caregivers within families and institutions. Living successfully with dementia requires medical and behavioral interventions to manage disruptive symptoms, knowledge to optimize environmental conditions, and caregiver support and savvy to avoid burnout. Strategies for maximizing functioning in older women living with AD are provided.     

Determinants of Engagement in Paid Work Following Social Security Benefit Receipt Among Older Women

ABSTRACT

Work behavior among older men approaching or following retirement has received considerable research attention over the past two decades, but research on older women's work behavior is still in its incipient stage. Based on data from the 1982 New Beneficiary Survey (NBS) and the 1991 New Beneficiary Follow-up (NBF), this study analyzes the extent and determinants of employment among women who received their first Social Security benefits between 1980 and 1981. More than one fourth of the women continued to work or rejoined the labor force following their first Social Security benefit receipt. Financial need was found to be the primary reason for and the most significant determinant of women's continuing work or (re)entry into the labor force. But the level of education, health, spouse's work status, and previous work history were also found to be significant determinants of the likelihood and duration of their employment following Social Security receipt.     

Self-Management of a Chronic Illness: An Exploratory Study on the Role of Spirituality Among Older African American Women

ABSTRACT

Living with a chronic illness is an experience characterized by changes in self-management behavior. Few studies have addressed the role of spirituality in the self-management of a chronic illness among older African American women. The purpose of this exploratory study was to understand the role of spirituality in the self-management of chronic illness. Data from a sample of 10 African American women were collected from semi-structured interviews and analyzed for common themes through narrative analysis. Four themes emerge from the linkage of spirituality and self-management. Understanding this experience will assist public health providers in creating culturally appropriate health education interventions.     

Mistrust and Self-Isolation: Barriers to Social Support for Older Adult Methadone Clients

Objectives: The purpose of this study is to explore barriers to the use, maintenance, and expansion of social supports in older adult methadone clients. Methods: The data for this analysis were derived from a qualitative study of the needs of aging methadone clients. Data were collected through face-to-face interviews with 24 methadone clients over the age of 50. Results: A lack of trust was identified as a principal barrier to the use, maintenance, and expansion of the social supports of older adult methadone clients. Causes of this mistrust include issues associated with aging, past traumatic experiences, and difficult personal relationships. Implications: These findings imply that addressing the issue of self isolation and recognizing the reason older adult methadone clients engage in this behavior is a key element in getting this specific population to use, maintain, and foster healthy social supports. A common phrase echoed throughout the interviews is that a person cannot trust anybody. Because of this mistrust, some clients keep to themselves by electing to self-isolate and decline to use, maintain, or foster new relationships. As a result, these individuals are less likely foster and/or engage in healthy social relationships, which are a key component of substance abuse treatment and abstinence maintenance.     

Problem Gambling and the Circumstances Facing Older People

Local gambling venues are an important contemporary context for older people's gambling in many parts of the world typically being more accessible to this segment of the population than traditional, centralised gambling venues, such as casinos. This study, undertaken in South East Queensland, analyses older people's electronic gaming machine (EGM) behaviour and motivations, specifically in the context of licensed social and recreational clubs-a popular local gambling venue in many parts of Australia. The study gathered data via a postal survey of 80 managers of licensed clubs, interviews with Gambling Help services and a survey of 414 people aged 60+ who regularly play EGMs, self-administered on site at local clubs. The analysis undertaken suggests that certain age-related circumstances of older people-such as being without a partner, having a disability that impacts on everyday activities, having a low annual income, and no longer participating in the workforce-are associated with higher overall levels of motivation for playing EGMs and greater reliance on EGMs to meet social, recreational and mental health needs. Over a quarter of the older people surveyed (27%) reported drawing on their savings to fund their EGM gambling. Certain categories of older people, including those who were without a partner and those with a disability, were more likely to report drawing on their savings to fund EGM play and betting more than they could afford to lose, pointing to age-related vulnerabilities older people may experience to the negative impacts of gambling given the greater likelihood of their dependency on smaller, fixed incomes. The explanatory contribution of a range of demographic and motivational variables on problem/moderate risk gambling status was computed via a logistic regression model. Younger age (60-69), male gender, single marital status and being motivated to play EGMs to experience excitement and to win money all emerged as significant predictors in the model.     

我国人口老龄化与老年旅游的新发展

中国不到20年的时间便进入了发达国家近百年才出现的人口老龄化状态,人口老龄化的问题日益突出,这不仅是一个经济问题,而且还是一个社会问题。但人口结构的变化为老年旅游市场的开拓和发展带来了新的契机。本文在前人研究的基础上,根据我国人口老龄化的特点,深入研究了老年旅游市场目前存在的问题,并对以后的新发展进行预测,旨在指导老年旅游业的快速、高质量的发展。     

我国老年人消费需求和老年消费品市场研究

随着老年人口数量的增加,老年人口的需求在社会总需求的比重也逐渐上升,为老年消费品市场的发展创造了良好的条件。但是我国老年消费品市场的现状却与这种发展趋势不相适应。因此,我们应当看到老年消费品市场的规模和增长潜力,重视并大力发展老年消费品市场。     

“She was buried in her purple dress and her red hat and all of our members wore full ‘Red Hat Regalia’ to celebrate her life”: Dress, embodiment and older women's leisure: Reconfiguring the ageing process

There is a significant literature on women's dress and clothing, women's dress and identity, and women's dress and body image. However, the way that dress shapes the self, gives public meaning to the body, and situates it within culture—its embodiment—is understudied. Older women's voices on how dress-up in leisure contexts is linked to embodiment are absent. Using data from an online survey of the Red Hat Society®, a leisure-based social group with over 1 million members, we examined the relationship between older women's dress and embodiment. Data analysis revealed three themes: 1) Dress and embodiment, doing “dress-up”; 2) Dress and embodied subjectivity, linking the personal with the social; and, 3) Dress and perceptions of ageing, fashioning to freedom. We extend the embodiment and leisure literatures by: (a) including older women's viewpoints on dress; (b) understanding linkages between embodiment and older women's leisure; and, (c) illustrating how public displays of dress contribute to older women's development.