In health and chronic illness, satisfying marriages promote wellbeing and life satisfaction, yet stroke research has focused on either the stroke survivor as the patient or the spouse as a care-giver. Using Pope, Mays and Popay's framework for synthesising qualitative and quantitative methods, we conducted a systematic review and synthesis of 39 peer-reviewed studies to determine what happens to marital relationships after one partner has suffered a stroke. All the articles examined the impact of stroke. Three overarching themes characterise the evolution of marriage after stroke: chaos in the marriage, work to re-establish the marriage and evolution of the marriages. While both the stroke condition itself and the survivors’ need for care undermined the emotional qualities of the relationship for some couples, about two-thirds were able to retain or regain the relationship closeness. As in other chronic illnesses, the relationship closeness and a couple's ability to collaborate contributed to the survivor's recovery and to the satisfaction with life of the stroke survivor and the spouse. Our results underscore the need to consider the quality of, and the qualities of, the relationship between stroke survivors and their spouses. Future research could include a greater focus on qualitative or mixed-methods approaches to explore the interactions between stroke survivors and spouses that impact the wellbeing of both partners.

Over the last few decades in Sweden, the proportion of older people living in the community who receive public home-help services has decreased, even amongst the oldest old. At the same time, the abilities of older people in the activities of daily living have on average improved. This paper reports a study of the changes between 1988/89 and 2002/03 in the allocation and utilisation of public home-help services and in the support and care needs of older people (aged 65 or more years). The aims were to analyse whether the reduction in the percentage of home-help recipients could be explained by a reduction in needs among the older population, whether public home-help services had been targeted at people with greater needs, and whether informal care had increased. It was confirmed that over the 15 years, even after taking needs factors into account, the likelihood of an older person being a recipient of public home care had declined. Home help had clearly been targeted at more needy individuals. Among older women (aged 80+ years) with limitations in the activities of daily living and who lived alone, the proportion that received home help declined and the proportion that received informal care increased, which suggests that informal care had substituted for formal care. The findings indicate that the Swedish welfare system had reduced its commitment to the support of older people who require less intensive care and that, in effect, the concept of need for public social care support had been redefined.

‘Dementia-friendly communities’ herald a shift toward the neighbourhood as a locus for the care and support of people with dementia, sparking growing interest in the geographies of dementia care and raising questions over the shifting spatial and social experience of the condition. Existing research claims that many people with dementia experience a ‘shrinking world’ whereby the boundaries to their social and physical worlds gradually constrict over time, leading to a loss of control and independence. This paper reports a five-year, international study that investigated the neighbourhood experience of people with dementia and those who care for and support them. We interrogate the notion of a shrinking world and in so doing highlight an absence of attention paid to the agency and actions of people with dementia themselves. The paper draws together a socio-relational and embodied-material approach to question the adequacy of the shrinking world concept as an explanatory framework and to challenge reliance within policy and practice upon notions of place as fixed or stable. We argue instead for the importance of foregrounding ‘lived place’ and attending to social practices and the networks in which such practices evolve. Our findings have implications for policy and practice, emphasising the need to bolster the agency of people living with dementia as a route to fostering accessible and inclusive neighbourhoods.

The current generation of older people who are approaching or recently experiencing retirement form part of a unique generational habitus who have experienced a cultural shift into consumerism. These baby boomers are often portrayed as engaging in excessive levels of consumption which are counter to notions of sustainable living and to intergenerational harmony. This paper focuses on an exploration of the mechanisms underpinning the consumption patterns of baby boomers as they retire. We achieve this through an understanding of the everyday practices of grocery shopping which have the potential to give greater clarity to patterns of consumption than the more unusual or ‘extraordinary’ forms of consumption such as global travel. In-depth interviews with 40 older men and women in four locations across England and Scotland were conducted at three points in time across the period of retirement. We suggest that the grocery shopping practices of these older men and women were influenced by two factors: (a) parental values and upbringing leading to the reification of thrift and frugality as virtues, alongside aspirations for self-actualisation such as undertaking global travel, and (b) the influence of household context, and caring roles, on consumption choices. We conclude with some tentative observations concerning the implications of the ways baby boomers consume in terms of increasing calls for people to live in more sustainable ways.

In western countries, large residential complexes comprising retirement villages and care facilities have become synonymous with specialised housing for older people, but gerontology has tended to view retirement villages and care facilities as separate and different spaces. By researching these spaces separately, gerontology's examination of the development of residential complexes and older people's housing has been hindered. This paper explores the geographies of residential complexes in south-east Queensland, Australia, by employing data from a larger study that utilised Lefebvre's spatial framework, social space. Its specific focus is Lefebvre's concept of representations of space, part of the triad of social space. The paper outlines how the professional knowledge of designers, planners and policy makers shape and frame the place of older people in contemporary society. The findings indicate that professional knowledge is characterised by contradictions, and that business interests sustain stereotypes of older people as either ageless or dependent. Furthermore, spaces designed for older people reinforce historical legacies of separation from the community. This form of built environment can thus be seen as both a cause and effect of ageism. Generally, the lack of attention by gerontology to these spaces has hampered discussion of alternatives for older people's housing in Australia and, importantly, the development of responsive urban and social planning.

This paper examines changes in households with older people in a northern rural area of KwaZulu Natal province, South Africa, between January 2000 and January 2002. The focus is the impact of adult deaths, especially those from AIDS, on the living arrangements of older people. The longitudinal data are from the Africa Centre Demographic Information System. In 2000, 3,657 older people (women aged 60 years or older, men 65 years or older) were resident in the area, and 3,124 households had at least one older member. The majority (87%) of older people lived in three-generation households. Households with older people were significantly poorer, more likely to be headed by a woman, and in homesteads with poorer quality infrastructure than households without older members. By January 2002, 316 (8%) of the older people in the sample had died. Of all the households with an older person, 12 per cent experienced at least one adult death from AIDS. The paper shows that older people, particularly those living alone or with children in the absence of other adults, were living in the poorest households. They were also coping with an increasing burden of young adult deaths, the majority of which were attributable to AIDS.

The World Health Organization claims that mobility is vital to healthy ageing and is the best guarantee of older adults being able to cope and remain in their homes and communities. Mobility enables older adults to maintain their physical health, independence and participation in society. In general, mobility is examined objectively, from a quantitative perspective where mobility is measured as physical movement (e.g. physical activity) and/or travel behaviour (e.g. trips, modes and distances). The predominant focus on the functional aspects of mobility tends to overlook the subjective (e.g. perceptions, attitudes and motivations) and temporal dimensions of older adults’ mobility experiences. Using a constructivist grounded theory methodology, we conducted 24 in-depth interviews with six highly active community-dwelling older adults with low income, aged 65 or over, over a period of four years. Our analysis identified the following themes: maintaining a sense of self, being resourceful, openness to engagement, engaging in superficial contact, experiencing social capital, accessing transportation, leaving the immediate neighbourhood and facing affordability. Findings illustrate that intrapersonal factors, in addition to environmental (built, social and cultural) and temporal-level factors, play a crucial role in mobility. In the future, this gained knowledge can be incorporated into approaches to study the multiple interrelated factors and their interrelations that influence older adults’ mobility.

The article explores the ways in which older workers' career trajectories influenced their exit from or continuity of employment in the Australian information technology (IT) industry. The data were collected through qualitative interviews with 71 employees of 10 small and medium-sized IT firms as part of the cross-country Workforce Ageing in the New Economy project (WANE), which was conducted in Canada, the United States, Australia and several European Union countries (the United Kingdom, Germany and The Netherlands). The analysis revealed that older IT workers' capacity to envisage careers beyond their fifties was constrained by age-based ‘normative’ capability assumptions that resulted in truncated careers, dissuaded the ambition to continue in work, and induced early retirement. The workers' constricted, age-bound perspectives on their careers were reinforced by the rapid pace of technological and company transformations. A structural incompatibility was found between the exceptional dynamism and competitiveness of the IT industry and the conventional age-staged and extended career. The analysis showed that several drivers of occupational career trajectories besides the well-researched health and financial factors predisposed ‘default transitions’ to exit and retirement. The paper concludes with policy and practice recommendations for the prolongation of IT workers' careers and their improved alignment with the contemporary lifecourse.

This article explores a range of issues relating to financial management and elderly people with dementia. The law relating to personal finances for those who lack capacity is outlined and discussed with a stress upon its complexity and the key gaps in present coverage. The article goes on to outline findings from research on these issues carried out within a social services authority in the north of England. Professionals were found to have a wide range of anxieties relating to what they felt was the financial abuse of their elderly clients with dementia, as well as more general concern about how best to deal with financial issues for this group on a day to day basis. The financial abuse of elderly people does occur, but the article concludes by arguing that the issues raised by the research are wider for three main reasons. First, relatives and professionals are often ignorant or confused by the options available to them rather than being intent on defrauding elderly people. Second, the desire to hand down and to receive money from the one generation to the next is a powerful force in society and elderly people with dementia may wish their children rather than the state to have their money. And third, fee assessment and collection for this group raise real practical challenges to social services.

A team of seven anthropologists conducted a coordinated, cross- cultural investigation to examine how structural and cultural variables shape the strategies people employ to assure themselves a secure old age. Central to the investigation was the goal of determining how people in the societies involved (Hong Kong, the United States, Ireland, and Botswana) perceive old age and its place in the adult life course, e.g. whether they view old age as an improvement or a decrement compared with other stages of life and the characteristics on which they base their views. The seven sites were selected to ensure broad representation in terms of the key structural variables of scale, complexity, subsistence pattern, residential mobility, and population structure. Both across and within sites people differed in their willingness and ability to discuss the concept of the life course. We attribute this variation to five factors: (i) characteristics of the social field, (2) education, (3) cultural salience of age categorisation, (4) predictability of life events, and (5) variability in timing of normative social or work roles.

It is well known that negative ageing perceptions have various detrimental effects on indicators of successful ageing, but less is known about the role of social support networks and loneliness in ageing perceptions. The objective of this study was therefore to assess the association of social networks, relationship quality and loneliness with negative ageing perceptions in late life. Cross-sectional data on 6,912 adults aged ⩾50 years from the first wave of the Irish Longitudinal Study on Ageing (TILDA) were analysed. Ageing perceptions were assessed with the Brief Ageing Perceptions Questionnaire. Information on social support networks, loneliness and socio-demographics were obtained using standard questions. Depressive symptoms were assessed with the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression scale. Multivariable linear regression was conducted to assess the associations. Social isolation, poor relationship quality (with spouse, children, other family members or friends) and loneliness were all significantly associated with negative ageing perceptions even after adjustment for all potential confounders including depressive symptoms. Our study indicates that targeting integration into social support networks and improving relationship quality may potentially reduce the extent to which older individuals adopt negative ageing perceptions. Future studies with prospective design are warranted to understand the temporal direction and causal association of social support networks and loneliness with negative ageing perceptions.

In the present paper we analyse some of the problems in talk to elders by examining evaluative dimensions of talk in general and of address forms in particular. We first introduce status and solidarity as primary dimensions underlying talk. We briefly review research on attitudes and talk to elders, and develop a framework in terms of status and solidarity for understanding the evaluation of talk to elders. The framework, speech accommodation theory, and politeness theory are then employed in a specific analysis of various aspects of problematic address usage: title and last name v. first name; third person; first person plural; and no-naming. The paper concludes with a discussion of the implications of the analysis for future research, for practical applications, and for the extension and integration of theory

South Korea's old-age poverty rate is among the highest in the developed world. Confronted with the increasing demand for a social safety net for older people, the South Korean government introduced the Basic Old-Age Pension (BOAP) in 2008. The BOAP is a non-contributory, means-tested pension covering 70 per cent of the elderly population, with monthly benefits amounting to 84 kW (thousand Korean won, approximately equivalent to US $1) for singles and 139 kW for couples. Little empirical research has been conducted, however, to evaluate the effectiveness of the new pension programme in supporting the financial wellbeing of older people. Using data from the 2008–2010 Korea Welfare Panel Study, a panel data analysis is conducted to estimate the effects of the BOAP on three sets of financial wellbeing measures: financial difficulty, monthly consumption and overall financial satisfaction. The results suggest that the BOAP has beneficial effects on the financial wellbeing of older people by improving affordability of basic subsistence items such as heating and nutritious meals, particularly among the older-old group. However, the effects are limited to these few outcomes only; overall financial wellbeing and other important indicators remain unchanged.

The health benefits of regular exercise participation have been widely acknowledged. Drawing upon self-determination theory, the purpose of our study was to identify the motivational profiles for exercise among older adults aged 70 years and older who regularly participated in sporting programmes, and to relate the motivational profiles to health-related quality of life measures (HRQoL). A random sample of 100 older adults (mean age = 75.34 years, standard deviation = 4.89; 57 women and 43 men) belonging to French sports clubs was recruited for the aim of the study. Participants completed a survey including measures of motivation and health-related quality of life, and socio-demographic and health variables. Cluster analyses revealed two distinct motivational profiles among participants: ‘highly self-determined’ (high levels of self-determined motivation and introjected regulation as well as low levels of external regulation and amotivation), and ‘moderately introjected’ (low levels of self-determined motivation, moderate level of introjected regulation and low levels of external regulation and amotivation). Multivariate analysis of covariance (MANCOVA) results revealed that the most self-determined group reported significantly higher values in four domains of HRQoL, namely role limitations due to physical health, bodily pain, social functioning and role limitations due to emotional health (p = 0.01). These data suggest the importance of taking into account the motivational perspective and considering exercise maintenance among older adults as an important public health challenge.

This paper examines the associations between social participation and individual life satisfaction among older adults. It specifically considers the diversity of the practices and social inequalities among this population. For analyses, we used a large survey of individuals of 65 years and older conducted in 2011 in Switzerland (N = 2,727). The first set of linear regression analyses examines Diener's Satisfaction with Life Scale and its association with various indicators of social participation. While the second set of logistic regression addresses the issue of social inequalities by evaluating the impacts of gender, age group, region and education on social participation indicators that are significantly associated with the satisfaction with life score. Our results stressed the importance of combining multiple forms of participation for life satisfaction and shows that some forms are particularly meaningful: in particular, the involvement in associations, visitation of family or visitation of friends/acquaintances and church attendance. When inequalities among older adults are considered, having rich and varied social participation, being involved in associations and maintaining private sociability with non-kin appear more elitist. While institutionalised and/or private sociability types of participation appear particularly significant for older adults’ life satisfaction, the most traditional integration forms – i.e. family and religions – are crucial for the more vulnerable. Implications for active ageing was equally discussed as well.

Key questions in the psychiatric understanding of elderly people are the development of psychiatric morbidity, its phenomenology in old age, the differentiation between ‘normal’ and ‘pathological’ ageing, the interrelatedness of different types of mental disorders, their relation to somatic morbidity, and their consequences in daily life. Under the hypothesis of the de-differentiation of psychopathological features in old age, the relation between depression and dementia is studied. Contrary to most gerontopsychiatric research, the Berlin Aging Study (BASE) permits an analysis of these questions in a heterogeneous and primarily non-clinical community population. Initial data from the first 360 intake assessments and the first 156 intensively studied participants of BASE are presented. Results show that, even in very old individuals, depression and dementia still exhibit clearly distinctive psychopathological features. Prevalence rates in consecutive age groups show an age-related increase for dementia but not for depression. Nevertheless dementia and depression do not seem to be fully independent, because our data indicate a masking or extinction of depressive symptoms by dementia. Finally, both disorders have a similarly significant negative impact on independence, comparable to that of somatic morbidity.

The aim of this study was to document the perceptions of elders in six Caribbean countries about ‘active ageing’ and on the basis of their reports to make recommendations to improve their situation. Data were collected principally through 31 focus group discussions conducted in both urban and rural areas. Comparative analysis was carried out of the qualitative information, focusing on three components of ‘active ageing’: health and social services access and use, social support, and economic circumstances. Most of the participants were women, aged 60–79 years, of lower socio-economic status and from urban areas. Large disparities in the responses of Caribbean societies to population ageing were indicated, as well as unequal opportunities to obtain health care and social services, public transport, income and food by both socio-economic status and location. Home-care services are either insufficient or non-existent. Some elders receive social and financial support from relatives while others fear isolation and face deprivation. Social participation varies by place, physical condition, financial situation, association membership, and transport opportunities. Social protection benefits do not provide adequate income and some older people face food insecurity. It was concluded that a comprehensive and multi-sectoral approach using the ‘active ageing’ framework should be implemented to ensure a healthy ageing process.

The social division of welfare literature emphasises the extent to which occupational-pension provision is distributed on the basis of class and gender. As most previous commentators have at least implicitly recognised, however, a significant proportion of less advantaged people are covered. This paper argues that the patterns of access and their distributional consequences must be considered more systematically, and that in this context, the diversity of employers' pension schemes are investigated. When this is done, it emerges that in the United Kingdom, the spread of occupational provision beyond the most privileged workers means that some vulnerable individuals avoid poverty in retirement. At the same time, however, the main determinant of which less advantaged people are covered and which not is chance. While class and gender are important predictors of who receives occupational pensions, access for the disadvantaged arises mainly as an accident of an employment decision made for reasons unrelated to savings or pensions criteria. This paper argues that the implication is that unsustainable justice-based arguments are currently used by policy makers to sanction the current distribution of UK pension incomes. The paper concludes by discussing the implications of the findings for the appropriateness of recent UK policy proposals and for international debates about pension reform.

Large surveys of the general population's perceptions of the neglect and mistreatment of older people are few. This article provides evidence about the public's awareness of ‘elder abuse’ at a time of considerable media and political interest in the subject in many countries. It presents the findings of a survey of 1,000 adults' knowledge of the neglect and mistreatment of older people in the UK. Descriptive and multivariate analyses were used to examine: variations in the perception of the existence of neglect or mistreatment of older people, the perceived relative prevalence of knowing an older person who had been subject to such experiences, the type and place of such experiences and knowledge of sources of help in such circumstances. The key findings are that older people believed that there is less neglect and mistreatment of older people than younger people, that women perceived more than men, and that there were regional variations in these perceptions. One-quarter said they knew an older person who had experienced neglect or mistreatment, and such reports were most likely among the middle aged and women. The most frequently reported locations of abuse were care homes and hospitals, and the most commonly reported form was inadequate or insufficient personal care. Most people said they would contact social services or paid carers if they encountered neglect or mistreatment. The findings are discussed in the light of increased policy attention to the safeguarding of vulnerable adults, and the implications for research, practice and campaigning organisations are considered.

The purpose of this study was to explore musical taste patterns in old age. Having musical tastes, defined as individual preferences for certain musical genres, has been theorised as being a relational tool, something that can be used to negotiate social situations and interpersonal exchanges with others. Taste not only helps to make sense out of the endless array of products available on the cultural menu, but is also through consumption and display a way of signalling group membership, social location, identity and self. These concepts are important throughout the lifecourse, yet relatively unexplored in later life. What are the taste patterns of older adults and how do they compare to the musical preferences of other age groups? To address these questions we analysed data from the United States national Survey of Public Participation in the Arts (SPPA), a repeated cross-sectional survey, for the years 1982, 1992 and 2002. In each year, musical tastes displayed a positive relationship with age up to 55 years of age. The results indicate that across the three survey years, at older ages there was a negative relationship between tastes and age. We offer explanations for these results using theories from the sociology of culture and social gerontology.