How long do people want to live? Why do some people want to live a very long time, and others would rather die relatively young? In the current study we examine the extent to which the preference to die young (<80 years, less than average life expectancy) or to live somewhat longer or much longer than average life expectancy (90-99 years or 100+ years, respectively) is related to a person's positive and negative expectations of what their life will be like in old age. We use multinomial regression analysis based on survey data from a large sample of younger and middle-aged adults in the United States of America (USA) (N = 1,631, age 18-64 years). We statistically control for socio-demographic characteristics as well as self-reported happiness and health. We find that having fewer positive expectations for their own old age distinguishes people who prefer to die relatively young, while having fewer negative expectations distinguishes people who want to live beyond current levels of life expectancy. The results provide evidence that pessimistic expectations of life in old age can undermine the desire to live up to and beyond current average life expectancy. The study also provides descriptive data about how young and middle-aged adults in the USA anticipate their own ageing.

Pension receipt in later life is determined by the way in which individuals' pension contributions and circumstances over the lifecourse interact with eligibility rules. Within the British context, such pensions relate to sources such as the State Pension, an occupational or private pension, and Pension Credit. Existing research shows that membership of certain ethnic groups is associated with a lower likelihood of receiving occupational or private pensions. Data from Understanding Society allows us to build on existing evidence by examining the factors associated with the receipt of three different kinds of pension income – State, occupational/private and Pension Credit – among older men and women from separate Black and Minority Ethnic (BME) groups. The results show that belonging to certain BME groups reduces one's chances of receiving the State Pension or an occupational/private pension, but increases the chance of receiving Pension Credit. The gender-specific analysis shows that these results hold true for many BME groups of men, whereas among women, only Pakistani women are less likely than White British women to receive an occupational/private pension. Such findings provide up-to-date empirical evidence that ethnic inequalities in pension protection are still evident and contribute to the increasingly important debate in the United Kingdom and elsewhere regarding migrants' social security and welfare over the lifecourse and in later life.

The concept of participation, introduced through models such as the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health, has become increasingly important in health and social care. However, it has not been consistently defined or operationalised, and there is very limited research into participation in the context of advanced age and disability. This article reports a study which explored participation from the perspectives of community-living people aged over 80 years with physical rehabilitation needs. Using a grounded theory methodology, 11 participants aged 81–96 years were recruited from a National Health Service Trust in the United Kingdom. The main finding was that participation was experienced as the enacting of values. Values provided the motivation for specific ways of participating in life, guided actions and behaviours, and were the means through which participation was interpreted. Commonly enacted values were: connecting with others; maintaining autonomy; affirming abilities; doing the best you can; being useful; maintaining self-identity; and pursuing interests. A process was evident whereby participation was challenged by deteriorating health and losses and the participants adapted (or not) to overcome these challenges. To promote participation in advanced age, health and social care policy and practice must consider the values important to older people. Interventions should be congruent with these values and promote strategies through which they can be enacted.

This paper examines how contextual (conversational) aspects and socially shared meanings might affect the participants' performance on a standardised memory test using the theoretical framework of social representations. A total of 97 members of centres for older adults located in Rome, Italy participated in a screening using the Montreal Cognitive Assessment test. Prior to testing, a group of volunteers had organised a performance focused on events from the distant past, stimulating intergenerational reminiscence. The participants were randomly assigned to one of two conditions. In the first case, prior to administering the test, a psychotherapist talked to each participant about the performance, focusing on ageing and stressing the neutral aspects of its social representations, such as change and time. In the second case, performance was used to concentrate on positive aspects of the social representations of ageing, namely wisdom and experience. In line with the hypothesis, focusing on positive aspects of social representations of ageing (wisdom and experience) versus their neutral aspects (change and time) has resulted in improved performance on a standardised memory test. Practitioners (psychotherapists – experts in psycho-diagnostics) who administered the tests have been involved in the co-construction of the meaning of ageing, discussing a real-life situation: the common experience of intergenerational activity that involved the participants' memories of their urban environment.

There is limited research on the living arrangements of older adults with disabilities, especially research that combines household composition and housing characteristics. This paper addresses that gap with two complementary sets of logistic regression models: first, estimating the odds of disability by household composition and housing type and, second, estimating the odds of disability by living arrangement within gender and age sub-groups. Data come from the 2012 American Community Survey (N = 504,371 respondents aged 65 and older), which includes six measures of disability: cognitive, ambulatory, independent living, self-care, vision and hearing. Living alone, with children or with others was associated with higher odds of any disability, compared with living with a spouse only. Compared to those living in a single-family home, living in a mobile home or other temporary structure, or large apartment building was associated with higher odds of disability. Having a disability was associated with lower rates of living with a spouse only, alone, in a single-family home or in a small or mid-sized apartment building and higher rates of all other living arrangements. Sub-group analyses revealed differences in the relationship between living arrangements and disability by gender and age group. This information provides a baseline from which to observe trends in living arrangements and disability for older adults in the United States of America.

The current paper seeks to explore whether there are differences in leisure patterns among men and women aged 50 and above, and whether the characteristics of one's country of residence influence these patterns. Data were obtained from the first wave of the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARE 2004/5), as well as from the database of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. The research population comprised 7,769 men and 9,337 women aged 50 and above from 11 European countries. Three clustered-robust logistic regression models examined the likelihood of participating in one or more of three leisure activities: going to sport or social clubs, participating in a course or educational class, and volunteering. Three Blinder–Oaxaca decompositions were used to examine gender gaps in participation in each activity. At the micro level, the results showed that men were more active than women and that men were also less influenced by the observed characteristics. In addition, retirement only increased the likelihood of participating in sport club activities for men. At the macro level, the country's expenditure on culture and recreation was found to contribute significantly to women's participation in leisure activities, especially those in which most of the participants are men. In addition, macro variables as a whole were found to reduce the contribution of the observed micro characteristics. The main conclusion of the study is that the macro factors, especially the country's expenditure on culture and recreation as a percentage of the Gross Domestic Product, contribute substantially to reducing the gender gap in participation in leisure activities in older age.

Australian providers of aged care are facing a rapidly ageing population and growth in demand for services. Beyond a sheer increase in consumers and major regulatory changes from Federal Government, many customers are becoming progressively discontented with a medically dominated model of care provision. This period of turbulence presents an opportunity for new entrants and forward-thinking organisations to disrupt the market by designing a more compelling value offering. Under this line of inquiry, the researchers conducted a qualitative content analysis study of over 37 Australian aged care organisations, clustering providers into six business model typologies. The study revealed that providers of aged care are becoming increasingly aware of emerging customer needs, and, in addressing these needs, are seeking to establish innovative models of care provision. This paper therefore presents a future model of care, along with implications for practice and policy.

Against the background of population ageing and increasing cultural diversity in many Western countries, the study examined differences and similarities between Australian-born people and Chinese immigrants in their relationships with adult children. The specific research questions were: (a) are there differences between these groups in the nature of parent–child relationships; and (b) if there were differences, did these differences reflect the Confucian concept of filial piety among older Chinese immigrants. The solidarity–conflict model and the concept of ambivalence were used to quantify parent–child relationships. Data from 122 community-dwelling people aged 65 and over (60 Australian-born and 62 Chinese-born people) were collected using standardised interviews. There were significant differences between the two groups for all relationship dimensions except associative solidarity. Compared to Australian participants, Chinese participants were more likely to live with their children. However, when they did not live with their children, they lived further away. They were also more likely to receive, but less likely to provide, instrumental help. Finally, they reported higher levels of normative solidarity, conflict and ambivalence, and lower levels of affectual and consensual solidarity. The differences in solidarity dimensions persisted when socio-demographic variables were controlled for. The study revealed complex differences in the nature of older parent–child relationships between Australian-born people and Chinese immigrants. Some of these differences, such as more prevalent multigenerational living among older Chinese immigrants, likely reflect the strong influence of filial piety among this group. However, differences in other dimensions, such as lower levels of consensual solidarity, might be associated with the Chinese participants’ experience as immigrants. This study also highlights the usefulness of the solidarity–conflict model as a theoretical framework to understand the nature of parent–child relationships among older Chinese immigrants.

It has been argued that older people's civic engagement has benefits for both individuals themselves and the community more broadly. Removing barriers to participation is, therefore, essential. However, the multi-dimensional nature of civic participation, as well as the different issues raised by recruitment and retention, complicate this. This study explores the barriers to retention of Spanish older people in political organisations, as one important type of participation that has received little attention in the literature to date. A total of 192 people aged 65 and over and actively engaged in three kinds of political organisation participated in this study. Participants answered an open-ended question regarding perceived barriers to continued involvement. Results show a range of reasons for potential future disengagement from political organisations. These barriers fit into three overarching categories related to changes in means, motives or the opportunity context for participation. Means-related barriers were by far the most frequently identified type of barrier. Both the type of organisation and some socio-demographic and participatory characteristics have an impact on the reasons respondents indicated they may potentially stop participating in future. Results suggest the necessity of a more nuanced and multi-faceted approach to understanding barriers to participation. Particularly, the development of retention strategies by political organisations should take into account the specific characteristics of the individuals and organisations they are targeting.

How to respond to an ageing society has become an increasingly important question, for employers, workers and policy makers. Here we critically engage with that debate, arguing that future approaches to the relationship between work and age should take into account multiple influences on older worker behaviour, including the combination of economic, lifecourse and personal priorities. We consider the international consensus that has emerged about the primacy of work as the solution to what to do with a long life. We then address the uncertain nature of work as it affects older workers, and discuss the commodification of time in relation to a productivist approach to demographic ageing and the attitudes of older workers themselves. A tension is noted between pressures for continuity and discontinuity within the adult lifecourse which is often eclipsed within a policy discourse that tends to focus on continuity as a route to social legitimacy. Thinking about life-time as a meta-narrative, a tension between existential life priorities and commodification, may help to explain the ease with which ‘live longer–work longer’ policies both dominate and obscure the potential of a long life. Finally, we examine the implications for work–life balance and suggest this needs to be radically re-thought when addressing the purpose of a longer working life and the promise of a long life in general.

Policy makers are concerned about the socio-economic consequences of population ageing. Policies often rely on estimations of support ratios based solely on the population age structure. We estimate Generational Support Ratios (GSRs) considering health heterogeneity of the population age 60+ and education heterogeneity of their offspring. We explore the effect of a public policy that changes the education of a targeted sub-group of women when they are young on their health once they become older, taking into account changes in demographic processes (i.e. marriage, fertility, offspring's education). We used the model presented by Kye et al. for the Korean context and examine the Mexican context. Our paper has three objectives. First, by applying this framework to the Mexican context we aim to find that improvements in women's education may mitigate the negative consequences of population ageing directly and indirectly through subsequent demographic behaviours that altogether affect GSRs. Second, by making a cross-national comparison between Korea and Mexico, we aim to quantify how policies of educational expansion have different impacts in contexts in which the population age 60+ have universal access to health care compared to contexts in which access to health care is selective. Third, by comparing cross-nationally we aim to show how differences in family processes across countries alter the pathways through which improvements in education affect GSRs.

A number of studies stress the importance of positive mealtime experiences for nursing home residents. However, the components that comprise an ideal nursing home meal remain unclear, reflecting the ambiguity of whether nursing homes should be framed as institutions, domestic settings or a type of hotel. In this study, nursing home meals were viewed as situations that the involved parties could continuously modify and ‘work on’. The aim was to analyse how the staff and residents shaped mealtimes by initiating frames and acting according to established social scripts. The study was based on semi-structured interviews with staff and residents and on ethnographic data, consisting of 100 hours of observations at two nursing home settings in Sweden. The analysis revealed how staff and residents interactively shaped meals using institutional, private or restaurant frames. There were three important findings: (a) an institutional meal frame was dominant; (b) there were substantial difficulties in introducing private frames and established private scripts for meals, since such meal versions are personal and not easy to transport into collective settings; (c) successful creation of private or home-like meal situations illustrates an often overlooked skill in care work. Making meals as ‘care-free’ as possible can be viewed as a way to operationalise the goal of providing a non-institutional environment in nursing homes.

This paper assesses provision for older people affected by homelessness in England, giving regard to research findings, such as those developed through a pathways model, which show that the experiences of this group are qualitatively distinct when compared to younger households. Current conceptualisations of older age held by Local Authority Housing Option Service professionals are considered, alongside factors relating to government policy and resource issues. It was found that some practitioners adopted an age-blind approach when assessing older groups, despite this being contrary to policy guidance on assessing vulnerability in England. Further, services and housing options aimed at older groups were viewed as inadequate due to a mixture of lack of awareness, targeting and resources. It is concluded that assessment of vulnerability based on older age is complex, as whilst gerontological discourse may discourage viewing age as a number, homelessness scholars stress that rooflessness causes poor health conditions consistent with premature ageing. It is therefore asserted that policy makers must focus greater attention to developing suitable provision for older service users and look to incorporate a richer conceptualisation of how older age may impact upon the homelessness experience.

This paper develops a sociological critique of the pre-eminence of humanism in dementia care policy and practice. Throughout the centuries, humanism has served as something of a double-edged sword in relation to the care and treatment of people living with progressive neurocognitive conditions. On the one hand, humanism has provided an intellectual vehicle for recognising people with dementia as sentient beings with inalienable human rights. On the other hand, humanist approaches have relied upon and re-enforced normative understandings of what it means to be human; understandings that serve to position people with dementia as deficient. Two posthumanist approaches to dementia care policy and practice are explored in this paper: transhumanism and critical posthumanism. The former seeks, primarily, to use advances in 21st-century technologies to eradicate dementia. The latter seeks to de-centre anthropomorphic interpretations of what it means to be a person (with dementia), so as to create space for more diverse human–non-human relationships to emerge. The paper concludes with some tentative suggestions as to what a critically posthumanist approach to dementia care policy and practice might look like, as we move closer towards the middle of the 21st century.

Among the societal and health challenges of population ageing is the continued transport mobility of older people who retain their driving licence, especially in highly car-dependent societies. While issues surrounding loss of a driving licence have been researched, less attention has been paid to variations in physical travel by mode among the growing proportion of older people who retain their driving licence. It is unclear how much they reduce their driving with age, the degree to which they replace driving with other modes of transport, and how this varies by age and gender. This paper reports research conducted in the state of Queensland, Australia, with a sample of 295 older drivers (>60 years). Time spent driving is considerably greater than time spent as a passenger or walking across age groups and genders. A decline in travel time as a driver with increasing age is not redressed by increases in travel as a passenger or pedestrian. The patterns differ by gender, most likely reflecting demographic and social factors. Given the expected considerable increase in the number of older women in particular, and their reported preference not to drive alone, there are implications for policies and programmes that are relevant to other car-dependent settings. There are also implications for the health of older drivers, since levels of walking are comparatively low.

This paper empirically evaluates the wellbeing of elderly individuals ‘left behind’ by their adult migrant children in Moldova. Using data from a nationally representative household survey conducted in 2011–12 in Moldova, the wellbeing outcomes of elderly individuals aged 60 and older with and without adult children living abroad are compared (N = 1,322). A multi-dimensional wellbeing index is constructed on the basis of seven indicators within four dimensions of wellbeing: physical health, housing, social wellbeing and emotional wellbeing. Probit regressions are used to predict the probability of an elderly individual being considered well in each indicator and then on total index level. The results reveal that elderly persons with an adult migrant child have a higher probability of being well in one physical health indicator. Following correction for the selectivity of migration using an instrumental variable approach, however, the migration of an adult child is no longer found to predict significantly the wellbeing of their elderly parents in any dimension, suggesting that migration bears limited consequences for elderly wellbeing.

Worldwide approximately 3.6 million people aged 50 and older are living and ageing with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). Few studies have explored successful ageing from the insider perspective of those living well and ageing with HIV. This study draws upon the lived experience and wisdom of older, HIV-positive adults living in Ontario, Canada in order to understand their views and strategies for successful ageing. This qualitative study involved semi-structured interviews with 30 individuals age 50 years and older who are HIV-positive. Purposive sampling techniques were used to recruit individuals who shared their experiences of successful ageing. Constructivist grounded theory coding techniques were used for analysis. Themes related to successful ageing included resilience strategies and challenges, social support and environmental context. Stigma and struggles to maintain health were identified as impediments to successful ageing. Models of successful ageing must take into account the potential for a subjective appraisal of success in populations suffering from chronic and life-threatening illnesses including HIV. Practitioners can draw upon organically existent strengths in this population in order to provide intervention development for older adults around the world who are struggling to manage their HIV.

Caring for a patient with dementia is a stressful life event, and care-givers carry a heavy psychological burden. However, the extent to which care-givers are affected by the stressful aspects of care-giving may depend on a variety of factors. This study examined the relationships between cognitive emotion regulation strategies, social support and depression among Turkish dementia care-givers. Research questions explored whether different coping strategies and social support were related to levels of depression, as well as whether social support moderated this relationship. We used a hierarchical multiple regression analysis consisting of three blocks as the primary statistical technique to examine our expectations. In total, 141 dementia care-givers (108 women, 33 men) were recruited to the study. The mean age of the sample was 59.74 years old (standard deviation = 12.70). Hierarchical regression analysis indicated a significant negative main effect for positive refocusing strategies and significant positive main effects for catastrophising and blaming others. Social support moderated the relationships between catastrophising, rumination and symptoms of depression. Our results show that cognitive emotion regulation strategies and social support can play significant roles in alleviating care-giver depression. In the light of these results, it may be suggested that interventions focusing on the effects of positive refocusing, catastrophising and blaming others, as well as providing social support, may be helpful in alleviating depression in care-givers.

Within the United Kingdom (UK), assisted living technologies are mostly provided through statutory health and social care services following assessment of individual need and application of eligibility criteria. This paper describes the first UK study to explore and develop business approaches and innovations required to make electronic assisted living technologies more accessible to consumers in their fifties and sixties. A robust mixed-method approach was used including a large sample size for a consumer survey, triangulation of methods and confirmation of research findings through validation workshops. This three-year study makes significant and original contributions to understanding consumer needs in this rapidly changing market and offers unique insights into the needs and wants of people aged 50–70. Analysis shows significant differences between consumer and business perceptions, indicating that marketing is not closely aligned to consumers' needs and is affecting the development of the market. New approaches to consumer-led business models are presented to improve information and marketing aimed at 50–70-year-old consumers. A ‘Broker/Independent Advisor’ business model showed most potential for meeting the needs of both consumer and business stakeholders. Findings support future development of an assisted living consumer market to meet growing levels of need and demand, and to offer greater consumer choice of mainstream technologies to enable people to age in place.

This paper concerns the social divisions of later life. Although research in this field has focused on class, gender and, more recently, sexuality as sources of division in later life, the division between the fit and the frail has tended to be ignored or viewed as an outcome of these other divisions. This paper challenges this assumption, arguing that corporeality constitutes a major social division in later life. This in many ways prefigures a return to the 19th-century categorisation of those ‘impotent through age’, whose position was among the most abject in society. Their ‘impotence’ was framed by an inability to engage in paid labour. Improved living standards during and after working life saw age's impotence fade in significance and in the immediate post-war era, social concern turned towards the relative poverty of pensioners. Subsequent demographic ageing and the expanding cultures of the third age have undermined the homogeneity of retirement. Frailty has become a major source of social division, separating those who are merely older from those who are too old. This division excludes the ‘unsuccessfully’ aged from utilising the widening range of material and social goods that characterise the third age. It is this social divide rather than those of past occupation or income that is becoming a more salient line of fracture in later life.