Suchergebnisse

This study uses focus groups to explore the nature of consensual unions and the relationship between union type and fertility in Costa Rica. Participants, both men and women, were drawn from two communities, La Cruz in the province of Guanacaste, and Cahuita, in the province of Limon. I hypothesize that women's status, reflecting gender differences in power distribution, is an important determinant of the type of union chosen. Women with a weaker "bargaining position" in their relationships with men (reflected in their socioeconomic status, children from previous unions, age, etc.) are more likely to enter consensual than legal unions, which offer less legal and financial protection. The weaker "bargaining position" of women in consensual unions in turn is likely to affect the "marital relationship" so that women in consensual unions may have less say in fertility decisions than their partners. The results show that while most respondents state that there are no differences between union types in terms of family obligations and responsibilities, women are nevertheless aware that consensual unions may end up providing them with little legal or financial support, and that they and their children risk being left on their own. The greater instability of the consensual union influences fertility in that women appear to use children to create a securer bond within such unions. Further work in this area would benefit from more research into the cultural context within which decisions regarding union formation are made and the constraints on union choice.

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to explore older men's perceptions of the health and wellbeing benefits of participating in men's sheds.Design/methodology/approachQualitative semi-structured interviews with eight men aged 65 and over from men's sheds in London. Interviews were audio recorded and transcribed by hand, and analysis was conducted through coding of the transcripts.FindingsThe results of this study suggested that men's sheds improved older men's perceived level of social interaction, men's outlook, led to self-reported improvements in depression, and all perceived themselves to be fitter since joining. Despite the research being conducted in an urban area, it highlighted the lack of prior community engagement.Research limitations/implicationsThe sample size used in the research was small and may not be representative of other men's sheds in different areas, therefore further research with a larger sample should be conducted.Practical implicationsA health policy dedicated to males which includes the promotion and funding of men's sheds, such as in Ireland, should be considered by the government. In addition, clinical commissioning groups should recognise men's sheds as a non-clinical alternative for their patients through social prescribing in general practice. Finally, in order to achieve the World Health Organisation initiative of creating "age friendly cities" community groups such as men's sheds need to be promoted and further utilised.Originality/valueThere has been little research in the UK.

ABSTRACTSpirituality is positively linked to health and well-being in later life, particularly among older adults of black ethnic groups. However, definitions of spirituality in the literature have largely been theoretically informed, rather than based on the views of older people themselves. We examined the spiritual perspectives of Black Caribbean and White British older adults based on in-depth interviews with 34 individuals aged between 60 and 95 years. Our aim was to develop a spiritual typology to add to an understanding of the process of spirituality in later life. Findings showed that Black Caribbean older individuals mostly defined spirituality in relation to their belief in a transcendent God, whereas White British older individuals tended to draw upon a wider range of spiritual, religious or secular notions. A spirituality typology in later life captured four categories of relationship, between 'God to self', 'self to God', 'self to universe' and 'self to life'. The typology highlights the central role of ethnicity in shaping spiritual perspectives in later life, and identifies the multidimensional nature of spirituality among older adults, reflecting in part a developmental process, although a process which is socially and culturally constructed.

Abstract
Most unretirement research has focused on single countries, indicating that socio-economic advantage and financial need predict unretirement in particular settings. Remarkably, little is known about whether the frequency and predictors of unretirement—returning to paid work after ceasing work at retirement—vary in relation to the country setting. We followed recent retirees over time in Germany, Russia, and the United Kingdom to compare unretirement rates and predictors, and whether financial need predicted unretirement in a middle-income setting rather than in a high-income setting. We harmonized data ex post from four prospective surveys: German Socio-Economic Panel Study (1991–2016), Russian Longitudinal Monitoring Survey (1994–2016), and for the United Kingdom, British Household Panel Survey (1991–2008), and Understanding Society (2010–2015). Unretirement was examined using Cox regression in relation to gender, age, education, health, household income, and financial difficulties. After 20 years of follow-up, the cumulative hazard of unretirement attained 0.20 in German, 0.24 in British, and 0.40 in Russian participants. Unretirement rates were generally higher for retirees who were younger, in better health and had higher household income. Worries about finances did not predict unretirement in Russia; such concerns predicted higher unretirement rates only in fully adjusted models in Germany and the United Kingdom. Since retirees in financial need may have difficulties finding suitable jobs, unretirement is a process with the potential to deepen financial inequality in later life. Variations in unretirement rates and predictors across countries demonstrate the importance of extending unretirement research to incorporate a cross-national comparative perspective.

Objectives. Grandparents play an important role in looking after grandchildren, although intensive grandparental childcare varies considerably across Europe. Few studies have explicitly investigated the extent to which such cross-national variations are associated with national level differences in individual demographic and socio-economic distributions along with contextual-structural and cultural factors (e.g., variations in female labor force participation, childcare provision, and cultural attitudes).

Methods. We used multilevel models to examine associations between intensive grandparental childcare and contextual-structural and cultural factors, after controlling for grandparent, parent, and child characteristics using nationally representative data from the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe.

Results. Even controlling for cross-national differences in demographic and socio-economic distributions, contextual-structural factors play an important role in explaining grandparental childcare variations in Europe. In particular, higher levels of intensive grandparental childcare are found in countries with low labor force participation among younger and older women, and low formal childcare provision, where mothers in paid work largely rely on grandparental support on an almost daily basis.

Discussion. Encouraging older women to remain in paid work is likely to have an impact on grandchild care which in turn may affect mothers' employment, particularly in Southern European countries where there is little formal childcare.

Many countries have been working on revising their long-term care (LTC) policies to meet the increasing demand for care. Generally, little attention is paid to the potential (unintended) consequences of LTC policies for inequality among care users or informal caregivers. Saraceno previously explicitly argued that differences in care use and provision depend on the type of LTC policy, and that policies with contrasting consequences for inequality can be implemented at the same time. We call upon future research to empirically test the impact of different types of LTC policies on socio-economic inequalities in care. To stimulate and facilitate such research, our aims are to outline theoretical arguments for the differential impact of LTC policies on socio-economic inequalities in care and to create macro-level indicators for different types of supportive LTC policies in European countries over time. Our study's research question is: Can we find and capture different dimensions of LTC policies in macro-level indicators that are comparable over countries and time? In particular, we focus on supported familialism (for example, informal caregiver support), supported defamilialization through the market (for example, in-cash benefits for care users), and defamilialization through public provision (for example, availability of beds in residential care). Besides a summary of the literature on LTC policies and how they may affect socio-economic inequalities in care, we outline our search process for macro-level LTC indicators and present descriptive information on the different types of LTC policies and their correlations. We discuss the difficulties that arise when translating theoretical insights about different types of LTC policies into high-quality measures for many countries and time points.

Our study examines the contribution of genetic and environmental factors (both shared and unique) to frailty, measured using the Rockwood Frailty Index (FI) in a sample of twins from the St Thomas' UK Adult Twin Registry. The FI was based on 39 items of potential health deficit. Study participants were 3,375 volunteer adult twins (840 monozygotic and 802 dizygotic twin-pairs) 40.0–84.5 years old. First, we used structural equation modeling to estimate the relative contribution of genetics and of the shared and unique environment to variance in FI adjusted for age. In a second analysis, multiple linear regression was used to examine variance in FI as a function of father's occupational class (a component of shared environment and a measure of childhood socioeconomic status [SES]), adjusting for age, birth weight, marital status, and health behaviors (smoking, alcohol consumption, and physical activity). Statistical analyses were conducted using IBM SPSS® Version 22 software and Mx open source software. Findings showed that 45% (95% confidence intervals [CIs] 30–53%) of the inter-individual variation in FI was heritable and 52% (95% CIs 47–57%) was due to the individual's unique environment. Multiple linear regression also showed a small but statistically significant inverse association between father's occupational class and FI, mediated by one's own educational attainment and birth weight. Our results indicate that frailty is both genetically and environmentally determined. Thus, its prevention and management call for a multifaceted approach that includes addressing deleterious environmental factors, some of which, like childhood SES, may act across the life course.

This exciting collection presents an in-depth, up-to-date analysis of the unprecedented phenomenon of increasing numbers of grandparents worldwide, co-existing and interacting for longer periods of time with their grandchildren. The book contains analyses of topics that have so far received relatively little attention, such as transnational grandparenting and gender differences in grandparenting practices. It is the only collection that brings together theory-driven research on grandparenting from a wide variety of cultural and welfare state contexts - including chapters on Europe, North America, Africa, Asia and Australia - drawing broad lines of debate rather than focusing at a country level. Building on the success of 'Contemporary grandparenting', edited by Virpi Timonen and Sarah Arber, this book further deepens our understanding of how social structures continue to shape grandparenting across a wide range of cultural and economic contexts. The book is essential reading and reference for researchers, students and policy-makers who want to understand the growing influence of grandparents in ageing families and societies across the world