Purpose of the Study: We compare the close family resources of Baby Boomers (BBs) to previous cohorts of older adults at population level and then examine individual-level cohort comparisons of age-related trajectories of informal care availability from midlife into old age. Design and Methods: Population data from the U.S. Census and from the…

Purpose of the Study: Our study provides a national portrait of the Baby Boom generation, paying particular attention to the heterogeneity among unmarried Boomers and whether it operates similarly among women versus men. Design and Methods: We used the 1980, 1990, and 2000 Census 5% samples and the 2009 American Community Survey (ACS) to document…

Purpose of the study: This study examines how employment status (worker vs. retiree) and life course influences (age, gender, and marital status) are associated with time spent on daily household chores. Second, this study assesses whether the associations between daily stressors and time spent on daily household chores differ as a function of…

Purpose of the Study: We aimed to investigate whether social capital (obtaining support through indirect ties such as from neighbors) and social cohesion (interdependencies among neighbors) within neighborhoods positively affect the well being of older adults. Design and Methods: This cross-sectional study included 945 of 1,440 (66% response rate)…

Purpose of the Study: This study examines health-risk behaviors among "Baby Boomer" caregivers and non-caregivers. Design and Methods: Data from the 2009 California Health Interview Survey of the state's non-institutionalized population provided individual-level, caregiving, and health behavior characteristics for 5,688 informal…

Purpose: As part of an ongoing effort to analyze the distributional implications of potential policy reforms to the U.S. Social Security system, we consider the widely discussed reform of earnings sharing. Such an approach has been viewed as a way to "update" Social Security's family benefits based on marital status and as a means to…

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to assess the association between Adult Day Health Center (ADHC) participation and health-related quality of life. Design and Methods: Case-controlled prospective study utilizing the Medical Outcomes Survey Form 36 (SF-36) to compare newly enrolled participants from 16 ADHC programs with comparable…

Purpose: Valuation of life (VOL) represents a construct capturing active attachment to life put forward by M. P. Lawton (e.g., 1999). As old and very old individuals may differ in terms of endorsement and with respect to what makes a life worth living, the present study investigated whether mean levels and the explanatory value of…

Uses data from two studies to reevaluate some images about the never married elderly. Data suggest that never married elderly are not necessarily socially isolated, may experience some loneliness, do not have uniform attitude concerning possibility of marriage, and suffer from the effects of loss in late life. (Author/NB)

Purpose: The purpose of this article is to describe the projected use for long-term-care services through 2012. Design and Methods: We constructed a static-component projection model using age, function, and other covariates. We obtained enrollee projections from the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) and combined these with nursing home and…

Examined economic consequences of widowhood for both men and women over time and compared their financial well-being to that of a matched group of continuously married couples. The findings of this longitudinal study indicated that the loss of a spouse had negative economic consequences for both widows and widowers relative to continuously married…

Compared parent care experiences of 5 groups of 492 daughters: married, remarried, separated/divorced, widowed, never married. Women with husbands had more socioemotional and instrumental support, much higher incomes, less financial strain from caregiving, and less depression than other groups. They felt their own particular marital status made…

Examined the relationship between marital status and job involvement in women retired from nonprofessional careers (58 ever married women and 22 never married women). Results showed that marital status affected the form of these women's work careers but not the quality of their work role participation. (JAC)

Compared correlates of retirement satisfaction for married and widowed rural women. Increase in voluntary association memberships and health were predictors of retirement satisfaction for both groups. Other predictors of satisfaction included financial adequacy, frequency and certainty of aid from friends for married women, and maintenance of…

Examined seasonal migration in a sample of northeastern older adults (N=1279). Seasonal migrants were more likely married, retired, and reported higher levels of income and education. Most migrated to destinations in the southeast because of better climate and recreational opportunities. (Author/JAC)