Handbooks of Sociology and Social Research

Abstract This paper studies the age-group-specific evolutions of inequality of total income among highly and less educated females and males at ages 26–85 from 2005 to 2018 in the United States. In particular, it presents time series of Gini coefficients and associated decompositions by different income components to highlight the contributions of different income sources to inequality in different age groups over time. The results indicate, among others, that especially an increasing number of individuals with zero incomes contributed to the observed increases of inequality among less educated females and males aged 26–45 and 26–55 after the Great Recession, respectively.

The social integration and health of migrant older adults are more vulnerable compared to their local counterparts. While previous research has explored the impact of social participation on the quality of life of migrant older adults, the mechanisms driving these effects remain unclear. This study examines this relationship emphasising the mediating role of self-efficacy. Using longitudinal data from the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study Waves 3–4, lagged regression and instrumental variable methods were applied. Internal migrants aged 60 and over with valid data in both waves were included as the analytical sample (N = 1,349). The average frequency of community-level social participation and the number of grandchildren were used as instrumental variables. The results showed that social participation generally enhanced the quality of life for migrant older adults, however the effects varied depending on the type of participation. Simple socialising, intellectual activities, and group activities positively affected quality of life, while grandchild caring had a detrimental impact. Self-efficacy mediated the relationship between social participation and quality of life among migrant older adults, mitigating some negative effects of social participation. These findings highlight the importance of expanding opportunities for social participation and boosting self-efficacy through targeted interventions to enhance the well-being of migrant older adults.

Abstract Since the 2008 economic recession, and in the wake of the health and energy crises, many countries have experienced growing precarization, forcing their governments to implement policies to alleviate increasing inequality suffered by the most disadvantaged groups. In this study, we show how this process has affected older people in Spain and Argentina. In particular, we want to determine whether there has been an increase in food insecurity (FI) during this period in two countries that, on paper, recognise the fundamental right of everyone to enjoy adequate food in all its dimensions and also have specific plans for active and healthy ageing. Based on a compilation and comparative analysis of socio-demographic, food and health indicators and policies/programmes targeted at this age group, we describe the profile and main needs of older people, as well as the mechanisms in place to guarantee (or not) this right. We discuss the different conceptions of food security in the two countries, along with the nature and scope of the measures adopted. We conclude that although food security (FS) policies are very different in Spain and Argentina, what they have in common is the absence and/or insufficiency of specific mechanisms for identifying the impact of growing precarization on food practices and health, and those most affected in terms of gender, social class or ethnic origin. We highlight the need to develop intersectional studies capable of diagnosing and detecting FI situations among older people and counteracting possible forms of ageism arising from this lack of knowledge.

This study focuses on identifying the personal, social and economic factors associated with experience of insecurity, financial instability, lack of access to medical care and lack of social support among older adults in Brazil. Using data from the Brazilian Longitudinal Study of Aging (ELSI-Brazil), panel and stacked logistic regressions were estimated, incorporating differential coefficients to assess potential changes between the two surveys. The main findings indicate that non-white individuals, those with a negative self-assessment of health, and residents of neglected environments have a higher odds ratio of experiencing feelings of insecurity, financial insecurity, and lack of access to medical care. Conversely, the marginal increase in age was inversely related to both types of insecurity and lack of medical care. Furthermore, social interaction with friends and relatives was identified as a protective factor against the four vulnerabilities studied.

Accessible environments may facilitate age-friendly communities that promote health and community participation among older adults. Senior centres are one community resource that offer diverse services for older adults to support their physical and social well-being. However, little research has examined senior centre accessibility. This study interviews six older adults (M = 72 years) about their perceptions of accessibility at a senior centre. Thematic analysis yields two themes, ageing identity and barrier dismissal, which contribute to an overarching theme: barrier normalization. Beliefs about ageing and value of the senior centre may lead participants to normalize inaccessibility as part of ageing or a minor inconvenience. This perpetuates ideologies suggesting barriers are a personal problem, while minimizing the role environmental factors play in facilitating health and participation. Accessibility is a key characteristic for developing age-friendly communities that support healthy, active living among older adults. Barrier normalization may introduce challenges to reducing environmental factors and, subsequently, achieving sustainable, age-friendly communities.

Globally, the population is ageing, and transnational migration has increased the number of persons aged 60 + from ethnic minority backgrounds in Western countries, highlighting the need for culturally focused care. Compared to the general population, ethnic minority groups access and utilise care services less frequently, and there is limited evidence on ethnic migrant adults and their caregivers' experiences of caregiving and care providing. We used Arksey and O’Malley’s (2005) scoping review framework to explore ethnic migrant adults and their caregiver’s experiences and perceptions of caregiving and service use in Western countries. Six databases: CINAHL, Web of Science, PsycINFO, PUBMED, Embase, and Family and Society Worldwide were searched from inception till June 2022. Articles were screened for inclusion using title/abstract and full-text screening. Forty-six (46) studies were included in the final analysis, and three themes emerged: positive experience, negative experience, and barriers to giving and receiving care by ethnic migrant older adults and their caregivers in Western countries. The findings of this review could potentially inform and enhance foundational discussion regarding inclusivity and diversity in care provision for ethnically diverse ageing populations in Western countries, and it will potentially inform ageing policies and future research on ethnic migrant older adults’ care.

AbstractRecreational spaces, such as local parks, are important public spaces for the community to engage in various activities. With the global ageing population, the concept of multigenerational recreational spaces has become popular in recent years with the aim to design active spaces to cater for all age groups, including older people. However, designing multigenerational spaces that enable safe usage by older people can be challenging due to the competing interests and needs of different age groups. This paper is a reflective narrative describing four case studies of multigenerational outdoor spaces in Melbourne, Australia with the inclusion of age-friendly equipment and analysing parks layout and design using aerial imagery data. Factors impacting safe usage of the space by older people were identified and discussed. The main challenges identified in the recreational case study areas included: proximity of the seniors’ exercise area relative to children’s play-spaces, accessibility, layout of the area, and surrounding features which can pose potential safety risks for older people or be a deterrent for visiting the parks. The information described in this paper provides practical learnings relating to park layout, proximity of different spaces, and strategies that may be required to be implemented to facilitate safe usage of the space by older people for better multigenerational design. A national recreational age-friendly policy is also needed to provide overarching guidelines to assist local governments in the design and delivery of inclusive multigenerational recreational spaces.

AbstractThe development of social activities specifically tailored for older adults needs to be grounded in a comprehensive understanding of the effects of these activities from multiple perspectives. The present study applies thematic analysis to examine experts’ views and experiences regarding the effects of social activities on older people of different ethnic backgrounds and various abilities in Russia. The results suggest that participation in such activities benefits the everyday personal development of older participants. The experts involved in organising and developing social activities also noted that family relationships may be enhanced through the participation of older adults due to changes in their lifestyles, opportunities to fulfil new social roles and related improvements in communication between family members. Social activities not only address stereotypes about older adults’ abilities but also affect the understanding of mature beauty in new ways while creating a more fulfilling environment for older people by better meeting their interests and needs. Regardless of the specific activity, older people’s participation facilitates the transmission of culture and traditions across generations, cultivates an image of older adults as valuable sources of information and provides a more comprehensive and inclusive conceptualisation of ageing within society. The experts who were interviewed for this study recommended that decisions about developing social activities be made with older adults rather than without considering their opinions, supporting horizontal connections and allowing the heterogeneity of older adults.

AbstractThe prevalence of falls in older individuals worldwide is around 26.5%. There is an urgent need to identify factors antagonistic to advanced age-related falls regarding personal safety, family or nursing care time, and healthcare costs. The aim of the study was to examine the relationship between functional fitness, mental health indicators, and the risk of falling (ROF) in older adults. Thirty-eight older adults (60–94 years; 66% female) were tested individually with the Fullerton Functional Fitness Test (FFFT) after completing five instruments gauging resilience, well-being, satisfaction with life, happiness, and perceived stress. We measured the ROF with the Berg Balance Test. All objective and subjective measures correlated significantly with the ROF. Bayesian linear regressions revealed that complex movement coordination accounted for 68.8%, while resilience accounted for 48.5% of the variance in the ROF. Moreover, resilience was also a mediator between complex movement coordination and ROF. These results suggest that complex movement coordination-developing and resilience-enhancing training strategies might be beneficial in reducing the ROF in older adults.

This study assesses trends in regular (i.e., at least weekly) sports participation among people aged 55 + in the Netherlands. It also examines later-life sports participation differences between native Dutch people and their counterparts in four groups with a non-Western migration background (Turkish; Moroccan; Surinamese; Dutch Caribbean), and on how such differences developed between 2003 and 2020. Logistic regression analyses of population-based repeated cross-sectional survey data (n = 4,362) showed that regular later-life sports participation increased substantially between 2003 and 2020. Older people in all migrant groups considered were less likely than native Dutch people to participate in sports regularly. KHB decomposition analyses indicated that the rise in later-life sports participation between 2003 and 2020 and the lower sports participation rates of people of Turkish and Moroccan origin could partly be attributed to differences over time and between groups in educational attainment. Models with interaction terms were furthermore estimated to assess how ethnic differences in sports participation developed over the observed period. These models showed that the sports participation gap between people of Moroccan origin and native Dutch people became smaller between 2003 and 2020. Nevertheless, native Dutch people remained the group most likely to participate in sports regularly.

AbstractThe World Health Organisation’s (WHO) Healthy Aging framework describes healthy aging as the maintenance of functional capacity in older adults. However, aging is a heterogeneous process influenced by genetics, lifestyle, and environmental factors, leading to variations in experiences of functional capacity among adults. In this study, Latent Class Analysis (LCA) classified groups of individuals based on their health and functional capacities. Adults from Northwest Ethiopia (n = 845) aged ≥ 60 years old, were interviewed about their cognition, mental health, social support, independence, and sensory functioning. LCA identified three groups, reflecting “high-“ (47.5%); "moderate-" (37.3%); and "low-functioning" (15.2%) participants. Compared to low-functioning individuals, high-functioning individuals were less likely to be aged 80+ (RR = 0.61; 95% CI: 0.46, 0.80), lonely (RR = 2.34; 95% CI: 1.72, 3.18), but more likely to report normal nutritional status (RR = 2.05; 95% CI: 1.47, 2.86), no multimorbidity (RR = 1.18; 95% CI: 1.06, 1.32), living in an urban area (RR = 1.12; 95% CI: 1.03, 1.22), and financially independent (RR = 1.24; 95% CI: 1.03, 1.49). Notably, almost half of the sample was classified as high functioning, comparable to findings from other developing countries. Those individuals in the high-functioning group who did not meet the WHO criteria for functional capacity across all domains did not differ from those individuals who did meet all the WHO criteria. This positively demonstrates that older adults do not need to be functional across all dimensions to experience healthy aging.

The emergence of the 2019 novel coronavirus had a profound impact on social and healthcare structures. Public health and social assistance systems were confronted with demands that had never been seen before, necessitating the implementation of efficient coordination with all public sectors. This integrative documentary review employed a qualitative approach to examine the legal-health framework that was developed at both the regional and individual levels to safeguard the well-being of older adults in Central American countries during the 2020–2021 biennium. The review provides a comprehensive examination of regional and national guidelines, health regulations, situational and epidemiological bulletins, national and regional strategies, technical recommendations, and sectoral protocols. The management of the pandemic among the older adult population revealed both shortcomings and achievements. These were contingent upon the approach taken, which was not collective despite the setting of regional goals during the health crisis. Ideological and political arguments that were not aligned with the scientific approach brought significant challenges to the region, with the impact being more pronounced according to the place of residence.

AbstractIn an ageing and ever lonelier society, volunteering based on intergenerational relationships is becoming an increasingly salient form of support, but also a valuable leisure activity. With the help of thematic analysis, the study explored (1) how young adult volunteers working with seniors perceive their work and (2) what encouraged them to take up the volunteering role and what makes it easier or possible for them to remain active. Interviews were conducted in Poland in 2020 with 10 volunteers aged between 22 and 35 (6 women, 4 men) who had experience of working with seniors during the year preceding the study. Seven issues emerged from the analysis: the context in which volunteering began; personal characteristics of the volunteer; daily difficulties of the elderly; keeping the senior company in transience and loneliness; attachment and relationship between the volunteer and the elderly person(s); personal benefits of involvement in volunteering; social benefits of involvement in volunteering. The results were discussed in the light of the volunteer process model and the types of volunteers’ motivations. Several volunteers also pointed to the role of volunteering not only in building a norm of reciprocity in relationships with seniors, but also more broadly in the society.