Suchergebnisse

In the face of persistent health inequalities in later life, the objective of the study is to examine whether distinct forms of health lifestyles and individual or collective social capital predict the probability of health resilience among a cohort of men and women aged 65 and older from lower social classes. A longitudinal study design based on four waves of the German Socio-Economic Panel (2002 to 2008) was employed. The study cohort included 2,075 participants. Analyses were performed using hierarchical-linear models, cluster analyses and binary logistic regressions. The main outcome measures were health-related quality of life, based on a modified SF12, and a dichotomised measure for health resilience based on the SF12 scores. A social gradient was observed for the physical health of men and for the mental health of women, respectively, with participants from lower social classes reporting lesser scores of health-related quality of life compared to participants with higher socioeconomic status. Regarding the physical resilience of elderly men, a moderate health conscious lifestyle was the most pronounced predictor (OR=9.5, p<0.1%). Social capital did not elevate the probability of physical resilience among men. Mental resilience of women was strongly associated with a health conscious lifestyle as well as a moderate health risky lifestyle (OR=4.2, p<0.1% in each case). Quantitative aspects of social capital, like an above average number of friends and close relatives, were positively associated with mental resilience of elderly women (OR=1.9, p<0.1% and OR=1.3, p<5%, respectively). The data provides evidence that health conscious as well as moderate health risky lifestyles and quantitative aspects of individual social capital serve as protective factors for health resilience among older men and women with low socioeconomic status. The findings could be used as guidelines to promote health resilience among the elderly in lower social classes and thus to reduce health inequalities in later life.

Despite increasing research, the diversity of role transitions and the interplay between productive roles among older adults are still not adequately understood. This also applies to labor force participation and family care at the transition to retirement. In order to narrow this research gap, this article examines the diversity of transitions/continuities between employment and informal family care among older adults in Germany. Based on role theory and disengagement approach, a typology of transitions/continuities between employment and informal family care was created using data from three waves of the study "Transitions and Old Age Potential" (TOP) over a period of six years (2013-2019). Transitions/continuities between labor market participation and family roles can be described empirically in terms of four main types: role substitution, role expansion, role extension, and dis-/nonengagement. These can be broken down further into subtypes, which reveals the diversity of role transitions/continuities among older adults and suggests different causal relationships. Continuity and fluctuation are found to coexist, with strong evidence for either episodic or gradual/fluid patterns of role transitions. Time commitment in productive roles has a noticeable influence on transition/continuity types. However, the impact of sociodemographic, occupational and personal predictors suggests that labor market-related inequalities and subjective preferences are also influencing the transitions between employment and family care. The findings are innovative in terms of a theory-based typology of role transitions/continuities that offers new insights into the diversity of role transitions and their determinants among older adults not only in Germany, but also in other countries with aging populations.

In an aging work society, the transition to retirement represents a crucial passage in status for older adults. The conditions and the forms of the age-related status transition have changed substantially in Germany over recent decades. Thus, in addition to "indirect" retirement paths from various forms of non-employment, there is an increasing tendency to continue paid work beyond the regular retirement age limit. Moreover, older adults volunteer in civil society and are engaged within the family after retirement. These activities, together with prolonged labor market participation, form a central dimension of old age potential that can be a societal as well as an individual benefit. The aim of this paper is to review the current state of research, provide an overview of basic concepts as well as to advance the discourse on the transition to retirement and the potential of older people in Germany. One focus is on the labor market participation of older adults, even beyond the legal retirement age limit. In addition, we emphasize the interaction between different productive activities with regard to complementary or substitute relationships. These considerations are united in the concept of unretirement, which complements the traditional concept of retirement. A modified Rubicon model of action is presented as a heuristic framework for further empirical research on the labor market participation of older adults.

The follow-up survey for the Transitions and Old Age Potential (TOP) study took place from November 2015 until February 2016. Of the 3,897 the willing respondents from the first wave of 2013, three years later interviews were completed with 2,501 persons. In content, the second wave of TOP focuses on the transitions to retirement, the realization of activity intentions, particularly on the labor market, as part of a multi-stage model of action as well as on the changes in the potentials of older adults over the course of time. Like the first wave, the follow-up survey was also conducted by the Umfragezentrum Bonn (uzbonn) on behalf of the Federal Institute for Population Research (BiB). In addition to measures for reducing the bias from panel mortality and for increasing coverage, longitudinal weighting methods were used that, among other aspects, adjusted for selective response probabilities in the second wave.

Im Auftrag des Bundesinstituts für Bevölkerungsforschung (BiB) in Wiesbaden führte das Umfragezentrum Bonn (uzbonn) im ersten Quartal 2013 eine Befragung zu den Übergängen in den Ruhestand und den Potenzialen der 55- bis 70-Jährigen am Arbeitsmarkt sowie in der Zivilgesellschaft und der Familie durch. Hierzu wurde eine für die deutschsprachige Wohnbevölkerung in dieser Altersgruppe repräsentative Festnetzstichprobe nach dem Gabler-Häder-Design gezogen und mittels CATI-Verfahren telefonisch befragt. Den Interviews lag ein standardisiertes Erhebungsinstrument zugrunde, das in Zusammenarbeit mit Kooperationspartnern aus unterschiedlichen Disziplinen (unter anderen Psychologie, Gerontologie, Wirtschaftswissenschaften) entwickelt wurde. Die durchschnittliche Länge der Interviews betrug 40 Minuten. Insgesamt wurden 5.002 Personen befragt.