Purpose: This study reports on how very old (VO) Finnish people without dementia perform in the Western Aphasia Battery (WAB) and two verbal fluency tasks and which demographic factors predict the performance. Method: The study included fifty 80- to 100-year-old community-dwelling Finnish speakers with no dementing illnesses or speech-language…

The humanist and critical principles of educational gerontology attribute different goals to education in later life. Self-Actualization is the goal of humanist educational gerontology, while empowerment, emancipation, and social change are the goals of critical educational gerontology. Liberal arts education is dominant in later-life learning.…

This study explored drivers of participation in job-related lifelong learning (LLL) among low-educated mature-aged employees and compared them across four Nordic countries. Workplaces can be low-threshold, effective arenas for development of their skills in work and learning. The paper builds on the Bounded Agency Model and theories of learning…

The lack of sex difference in left-handedness in Scandinavian countries reported by Papadatou-Pastou, Martin, Munafo, and Jones (2008) is questioned. We investigated the sex difference in left-handedness in two Finnish, one Norwegian, and one Swedish population-based sample not included in the Papadatou-Pastou et al. (2008) meta-analysis. The…

Purpose: Due to population aging, the need for long-term institutional care is increasing. We study the potentially modifiable sociodemographic factors that affect the rate of entry into and exit from long-term care. Design and Methods: A 40% sample from the population registration data of Finns aged 65 and older living in private households at…

This article reviews and presents research findings on the relationships between parenthood and health over the life span. Existing research shows lacunae. The links between reproductive behavior and longevity generally focus on family size rather than contrasting parents and nonparents. Studies of marital status differentials in survival…

The prevalence and implications of childlessness in old age are compared across nine major surveys in seven countries: Australia, Finland, Germany, Japan, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Specifically, the researchers examine indicators of the well-being and resources of childless men and women, compare them to their…

The article focuses on findings that were replicated across several countries and considers their relevance for future older adults. Key findings are that (a) childlessness makes more of a difference in men's than in women's lives, (b) never-married women are a childless category with particularly favorable characteristics, and (c) childless…

This article provides a commentary on a set of five other articles reporting European and Canadian studies of loneliness among seniors. It places those works involving Canadian, Dutch, Finnish, and Welsh samples in the larger context of research on loneliness; offers reflections on the methods and findings reported in the articles; and addresses…

This article focuses on the ways in which patterns of marriage and fertility shape older people's involvement in community groups and their support networks. The data are from Australia, Finland, Germany, Israel, Japan, the Netherlands, Spain, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Findings show that childless older adults, regardless of…

A person-oriented approach was used in a study of age identification among community-dwelling older people. The study was based on 8-year follow-up data; 843 persons aged 65-84 were involved in the first phase of the study, and 426 persons aged 73-92, in the second phase. Loosely, on the basis of the distinction between successful, usual, and…

The mental health, adaptive behaviour and intellectual abilities of people with Down syndrome (n=129) were evaluated in a population-based survey of social and health care records. Females had better cognitive abilities and speech production compared with males. Males had more behavioural problems than females. Behaviour suggestive of attention…