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…

This study organized a participatory action research team of four street life-oriented Black men to examine attitudes toward opportunity in a community sample of street life-oriented Black men ranging between the ages of 16 and 65. Data were collected in the form of 371 surveys and two group interviews. Most of the data collection took place…

Studied American images of Japanese aging in Americans (N=40) living temporarily in Japan and Americans (N=120) living in Chicago and Honolulu. Results suggest that Americans idealize Japanese old age; that this idealization reflects Americans' ambivalence about dependence across the life cycle; and that this idealization is not limited to laymen.…

Examines factors related to differing trends in development of services for older persons in the United States and West Germany. Traces differing historical development of two countries and relates development to structure of services for elderly; role of professionals in developing services; and relative emphases on primary, secondary, and…

Norwegian and U.S. nursing students (n=207) completed Kogan's Attitude toward Old People scale. Despite few differences in mean score, only in the United States were age, educational level, experience with elders, and work preference correlated with scores. Despite positive attitudes about the elderly, both groups expressed a preference for…

Purpose: The purpose of this article is to estimate the effect of obesity on both the length of life and length of nondisabled life for older Americans. Design and Methods: Using data from the first 3 waves of the Asset and Health Dynamics Among the Oldest Old (AHEAD) survey, this article develops estimates of total, active, and disabled life…

A number of studies have found that primary control declines in old age and is lower in Asian countries, while secondary control increases in old age and is higher in Asian countries. We examined whether these patterns may be due to the mediating influence of interdependence. In a sample of 557 young and old adults in Japan and the United States,…

Several national trends are converging to impact adult education today. First, the increasing presence of adults in higher education is accentuated by the expansive Baby Boom generation who are demanding greater access to the higher education system in the United States. Second, regarding workforce and economic development in the 21st century,…

This study examined the issues of income adequacy and responsibility for the care of older adults, comparing the opinions of people in the United States and Sweden concerning these issues. Results from a Swedish national sample of 1,005 telephone interviews in 1986 were compared with results from an American national sample from 1981. The findings…

This bulletin presents detailed income and expenditure data for 1984 from the interview component of the ongoing Consumer Expenditure Survey. Data in this bulletin are for the urban population. Text tables include the following: (1) annual expenditures of urban consumer units, and percent change in consumer expenditures, Interview Survey and…

This report presents results of an interview study made by the National Institute of Senior Centers (NISC), a program of The National Council on the Aging, Inc. (NCOA). Thirty Centers were selected for on-site study. The criterion was a program directed to older adults, meeting at least once weekly on a regularly scheduled basis and providing some…

For many years gerontologists have discussed the consequences of advances that have lengthened lives but have been less successful at improving the quality of those lives. While this debate continues, the resulting demographic shift in the age profile of the United States threatens to overwhelm our ability to care for those who most need…

As the number of Mexican American elders increases, their care becomes pressing. We sampled filial responsibility expectations of Mexican American college students to expand culture specific knowledge and found physical proximity to elders an important expectation. However, although some respondents adhere closely to the traditional Mexican value…

A cross-cultural content analysis of 2,295 prime-time television ads--859 ads from the United States and 1,436 ads from South Korea--was conducted to examine the differences in the portrayal of older people between U.S. and Korean ads. In two countries, the underrepresentation of older people in ads was found in terms of proportions of the actual…

This document contains presentations on the state of social services and care for the aging in Taiwan, Hong Kong, and the United States given at the 1986 International Conference on Social Service and Aging Policies. Included are a conference statement by T. H. Li, remarks by Shui-teh Hsu, the major of Taipei, and these presentations: (1)…