Women and family in the later years: findings from the 1990 general social survey (original) (raw)
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Australian Journal of Social Issues, 1984
The ‘graying’ of Australia's population has generated much debate within government, demographic, health and social service circles in recent times. Current and projected shifts in population structure towards greater numbers of ‘dependent’ populations raise a number of complex issues in regard to resource allocation in both income support and service provision. Service issues revolve around questions of whether public or private provision will resolve the care issues for dependent elderly people. It is argued that contrary to popular opinion, family care is well entrenched within the framework of social care, and that the solution of community care, posited in relation to the rising levels of chronic illness and dependency within the elderly population, is actually an attempt to place more responsibility of care on to the family. It is further suggested that family care is, in fact, care by women who themselves are in a state of dependency. Citing evidence from a study conducte...
The International Journal of Aging Health and Movement, 2020
Background: India has begun to feel the burden of an aging society. Aging individuals are now living longer with increasing life expectancy and availability of better health facilities but are also requiring more assistance or care to manage their day to day activities. Objective: This paper examines gender differences in the term of care of older parents in India by studying the expected provision of care by family members. Gender differences in care are important, as the socio-cultural environment of India shapes the role of married children. While married sons are expected to provide long-term care for their biological parents, married daughters have limited scope to do so. This paper examines the level of care of the elderly on basis of gender in the family. Method: To conduct the above-mentioned study the present researcher used both quantitative and qualitative methods. Present study has been conducted based on the 2011 census of Kolkata City in the West Bengal, India, 150 respondents above the age of 55 selected by Purposive sampling, where 75 females and 75 Males have been interviewed. Since most of the respondents were illiterate, therefore direct interview was necessary. Results: The existing condition of the elderly women living in the family were, they feel lonelier, depressive and have a lower level of satisfaction with life. In this context, the need for preserving our tradition of a joint family and the mutual cooperation and understanding between the young and the older generations can be more pressing. Conclusion: The situation calls for concerted efforts of the government, non-governmental organizations, religious institutions and individuals not only to understand but also to solve or at least mitigate the whole gamut of problems resulting from a graying society so that the aged people can lead a dignified and meaningful life.
Introduction: A socialist-feminist approach to aging
Journal of Aging Studies, 1993
Despite the inroads made in understanding and ameliorating many problem areas for the elderly, present gerontological knowledge has not been able to address the variety of problems and differences in the quality of life emerging among diverse categories of elderly. Indeed, because of the overall progress that has been made we can now see that our efforts have fallen short by not considering differences along gender, racial/ ethnic, and class lines. For example, in the last two decades, poverty among the elderly has declined somewhat. However, closer examination by gender and race/ethnicity reveals significant differences in poverty rates. Only 8% of all men are poor; in contrast, 15% of old women are poor, comprising almost three-fourths (71%) of the elderly poor, yet making up only 59% of the aged population . While those most likely to be poor are those who live alone, the risk of poverty is not simply a matter of living arrangements, as demonstrated by the fact that more widows than widowers are poor (Davis, . Further, the relationship of gender and poverty is not expected to lessen in the near future: "[Tlhe proportion of elderly couples and elderly men living alone who are poor or near-poor is expected to virtually disappear. Consequently, by 2020 poverty among the elderly will be almost exclusively a problem among elderly women" (Davis, Grant, and Rowland 1990, p. 45).
Gender Relations and Applied Research on Aging
The Gerontologist, 2010
As a concept in gerontology, gender appears as lists of traits learned through socialization when theorized at all. I argue for a framework that theorizes the intersections of relations of gender inequality with those of age. This framework holds that men and women gain resources and bear responsibilities, in relation to one another, by virtue of mundane categorization into naturalized stratified groups. Current research shows that this approach allows explanation of gender differences, which appear in many reports but which usually go untheorized, as responses to social inequality. I illustrate applications to research and practice in relation to three areas of old age experiences: financial security, spousal care work, and health. Throughout, I discuss implications of focusing on inequality to enhance our abilities to engage in effective research, practice, and policy for older people, women and men alike. For instance, an understanding of the gender division of labor and workplace discrimination makes clear that financial status in later life cannot be reduced to individual choices concerning paid labor or retirement planning. And understanding that people orient their behaviors to gender ideals allows us to see that men and women perform spousal care in similar and different ways that require varied responses from practitioners; it also reveals contexts in which men engage in positive health behaviors. Finally, I argue that gerontologists interested in facilitating favorable outcomes for old people should consider research and practice that would disrupt, not reinforce, the bases of gender inequalities in later life.
PROBLEMS OF THE AGED – A SOCIOLOGICAL ANALYSIS
A man’s life is normally divided into five main stages namely : infancy, childhood, adolescence, adulthood and old age. In each of these stages an individual has to find himself in different situations and face different problems. Infancy and childhood are periods of dependence. One is normally at the mercy of one’s parents. In the later stage of childhood and during the period of adolescence how circumstances make a few of them delinquents, have already been examined. It is during the adulthood that an individual has to bear the main brunt of life. Old age is comparatively less, from the stand point of the individual problems which are not less significant. In old age physical strength deteriorates, mental stability diminishes, money power becomes bleak and eye sight suffers a setback. It is only for a blessed few, old age may prove to be a stage of contentment and satisfaction. The traditional norms and values of Indian society laid stress on showing respect and providing care for the elderly. Consequently, the older members of the family were normally taken care of in the family itself. The family, commonly the joint family type, and social networks provided an appropriate environment in which the elderly spent their lives. The advent of modernization, industrialization, urbanization, occupational differentiation, education, and growth of individual philosophy has eroded the traditional values that vested authority with elderly. These have led to defiance and decline of respect for elders among members of younger generation. Although family support and care of the elderly are unlikely to disappear in the near future, family care of the elderly seems likely to decrease as the nation develop economically -and modernize in other respects. For a developing country like India, the rapid growth in the number of older population presents issues, barely perceived as yet, that must be addressed if social and economic development is to proceed effectively. Unlike in the western countries, where there is dominant negative effect of modernization and urbanization of family, the situation in the developing countries like India is in favour of continuing the family as a unit for performing various activities (Siva Raju, 2000,2002, 2004). In spite of several economic and social problems, the younger generation generally looks after their elderly relatives. Though the young generation takes care of their elders in traditional societies, it is their living conditions and the quality of care, which widely differs from society to society.
isara solutions, 2016
The obvious needs of elderly persons are related to income, housing, access to service and medical aid. Other needs which characterize the elderly are social protection. prevention of diseases and psycho-social support. They also have higher order needs like self-esteem. a sense of identity. recognition and respect from the young ones. Complete health of an elder, therefore, includes physical, social and mental being.. Religious practices play an important part in supporting the aged. The centers, therefore, make provisions for prayer meetings, satsanga, meditation, yoga practices, bhajans and kirtans. As one ages, one turns sensitive and emotional in approach and expects the people around to respect him/her for the accumulated experience. The aging of population is a process whereby the proportions of children in the population decrease and the proportions of old persons increase. Aging and longevity of life are relatively new phenomena experienced by the developed countries. Due to scientific and technological progress and consequent success of health care measures, the reduction in fertility rate, a relative rise in the economic level and contact with the developed world, the demographic pattern in developing countries is undergoing change. It has already lead to significant increase in life expectancy, and in the proportion and absolute number of the elderly population. This potential for aging exerts influence not only on economic, but also on the family, the community and the state-the three major supporting institutions. Although families continue to remain strong and exert major influences on the behavior of individuals and groups, the effectiveness of family as the most important institution in delivering care is fast reducing. particularly in urban areas where the traditional extended family is slowly disintegrating. The increasing participation of women in the work and preference of young people for nuclear family have further reduced the availability of family support. The gradual breakdown of the extended family system has been creating negative psychological effects such as alienation, loneliness and other emotional stress. What we may be facing is the disintegration of the family as an effective, spontaneous and rich support system and its replacement by a weaker substitute. With the population getting older, the leading support role of the family acquires added significance, even more so because the aged population itself is getting older. With radical changes in family composition and interrelation among members, sharing of problems of ageing with the family and community is difficult. Thus, for elderly, the problems of ageing are increasingly to become an individual affair. Previously family and public sharing helped to defuse the "Private terror" which posed problems to the individual. The psychological consequence of this for the old are obvious.
Unsettled Future: Older Women—Economics and Health
Feminist Issues, 1987
Gender and minority status are key in explaining differences among the aged in terms of economic and health issues that they confront. Significantly, the situation of older women is not a result of old age, but is a result of lifelong patterns of socioeconomic and gender stratification in the larger society. The social origins of older women's disadvantaged status are not mysterious; they reside in the institutions and structures of the family (the informal sector), the labor market, and social policy (both parts of the formal sector). Each of these areas has received independent study; however, the consequences for older women flow from the complex and often subtle interrelationships among and across these social institutions (Estes, Gerard, and Clark 1984). Women's family roles, including caregiving activities, directly affect their economic status. Not only does economic status directly affect access to health care, but also economic status is associated with health status. Because of the complexity of these institutional interrelationships which adversely affect women, the resolution of the economic and health issues facing older women cannot be achieved by providing services alone. Certainly a more comprehensive and integrated health and social service delivery system is needed not only by older females, but also by all individuals being asked to provide caregiving in the growing number of three-and four-generational families. Access, availability, and financing of services remain vitally important. However, the analytical framework proposed here acknowledges the link between income and health needs in a life-course perspective, delicately balancing health and well-being. For women, this raises the need for broad-based solutions that address sex, race, and age discrimination in the labor market, unequal pay for jobs of comparable
2019
The purpose of this paper is to examine the impact of the public long-term care (LTC) system on children’s consciousness of duty to look after their older parents. Since the Second World War, the role of family has been continuously reviewed in many welfare capitalist countries. In Japan, public universal coverage of pensions was established in 1961. It reduced the financial burden for each family of supporting older parents, while the role of family as caregiver was maintained strongly especially for women. Since the economic bubble burst in 1990, dual-earner households have increased. This has made it difficult for families to supply unpaid work, that is, caring for older parents informally. In response to this change in social conditions, public LTC insurance was introduced to reduce the burden for families as caregivers and to stimulate labour participation for women. However, we still find it is mainly women who are forced to leave their work due to caring for older parents wit...
The " Real " Old Age and the Transition between the Third and Fourth Age. My paper focuses on the relation between chronological age and health. I understand health decline as an indicator of the transition into the fourth age. Currently the definition of the fourth age has been somewhat unclear. Some of the authors consider the fourth age as a synonym of the oldest-old and they define individuals in the fourth age based on their chronological age, mostly between 75 and 80 years. From the perspective of social gerontology, however, such a view is insufficient. Fourth-agers might be characterized especially by the loss of agency, ability to care and to make decisions about themselves. The SHARE data analysis for the Czech Republic confirmed the connection between health decline, frailty and chronological age, but it is not easy to define the exact boundary of the fourth age. Ageing is undoubtedly very individual. The frequently used boundary of 75 years seems to be unsuitable since frailty and general health decline occur more after 80 in men and women. Although the quality of life of older adults declines apparently with age, the decline is more affected by health status than chronological age. Health and quality of life are significantly influenced by the cultural and economic capital of older adults. Older adults with basic education and low income are more at risk of poorer health and lower quality of life. There are also significant gender differences. Women are more fragile, the analysis of the impact of income and education showed, however, that the relationship of gender, health and quality of life is much more complicated. To reach higher quality of life, women benefit from higher income more than men, higher education, however, brings greater benefit to men. Generally, structural factors seem to intervene in health and quality of life significantly.