In this study we apply a lifecourse perspective to an examination of older adults' attitudes about gender roles and moral issues. The study goes beyond previous research in that it examines the relationships between older adults' attitudes and: (a) experiences in the parental home, (b) people's own marital and work experiences through the entire lifecourse, and (c) the marital and work experiences of their children. The sample consists of respondents aged 55 or more years from the ‘Living Arrangements and Social Networks of Older Adults in The Netherlands’ survey of 1992 and the ‘Longitudinal Ageing Study Amsterdam’. It is shown that a large majority of older adults subscribe to the view that people have the freedom to make their own choices about the issues of voluntary childlessness, abortion and euthanasia. Similarly, most older adults favour equality between men and women. Multivariate analyses show that people's attitudes are generally consistent with their lifecourse experiences. It is found that unconventional lifecourse experiences, particularly with respect to childbearing, associate with more progressive attitudes in late life. The behaviour and lifecourse experiences of their children are also related to older adults' attitudes. Particularly, if their children co-habited, older adults tend to be more progressive. These findings suggest that an important mechanism by which societal change may have affected older adults is through their children's experiences.

The risk of living with dementia and, separately, cancer, increases exponentially with age. However, to date, there is a paucity of research investigating the experiences of people living with both these conditions. This study used semi-structured interviews to explore the decision-making and treatment options for people who live with both dementia and cancer. In total, ten people living with both dementia and cancer (aged 39–93 years) and nine family carers were interviewed. Braun and Clarke's approach to thematic analysis was used together with framework matrices to organise the data. In this article four sequential and descriptive themes are presented. ‘Reaching a diagnosis of cancer’ describes the vital role that family carers play in encouraging the person with dementia to seek an explanation for their presenting (undiagnosed cancer) symptoms to their general practitioner. ‘Adjusting to the cancer diagnosis when living with dementia’ outlines a variety of emotional and practical responses to receiving news of the diagnosis. ‘Weighing up the cancer treatment options’ highlights the different decisions and circumstances that family carers and people living with both dementia and cancer are faced with post-diagnosis. ‘Undergoing cancer treatment’ shares the finding that cancer treatment decision-making was not straightforward and that people living with both dementia and cancer would often forget about their cancer and what procedures they had been through.

Discrimination against old age and work with elderly people are evident in the practices and organisation of caring professions, of which social work may be taken as an example because of its central role in community care provision. This article examines the implications for the status of professional social work with elderly people of recent proposals to develop the role of care manager in place of the case management model developed in Kent and elsewhere. It is argued that such a move derives from managerial concerns, which ignore the likely consequences for retrenching ageism and other forms of discrimination in services for older people. It is concluded that more careful consideration will be required concerning the context in which new professional models are being developed, if these discriminations are not to be reproduced and reinforced, as well as the benefits from case management systems being lost.

This paper is concerned with the nature, usage and potential of the concept of lifestyle. It concentrates on usage in social gerontology and specifically on the way in which it has been used by three teams of American researchers. Its overall aim is to discover guidelines for establishing the lifestyle concept on a sounder methodological footing.

The paper begins with a discussion of diversity within the elderly population and it identifies the need for a systematic conceptual scheme for describing the social life of the individual. It examines the relationship between lifestyle and social class and concludes that they represent complementary rather than competing approaches. The paper goes on to explore three definitions of life-style - as structure, content and meaning - and compares and contrasts these three alternative approaches. The difference between ‘nominal’ and ‘real’ definitions is discussed and the paper ends with a summary account of the way in which the concept has been operationalized in a continuing British study.

This paper considers a dimension of social life that has been largely neglected in the research literature on ageing, older men's involvement with informal associations. These affiliations represent an under-valued resource which may contribute to the quality of life of older men by facilitating social interaction and providing a context for continued social productivity. Using the British Household Panel Survey for 1999, we explore the engagement of men aged 65 or more years with civic groups (such as political parties or voluntary agencies), religious organisations, and sports and social clubs. Involvement in civic and religious groups and sports clubs is common among middle class older men, while social club membership is common among working class men. Only a small amount of these differences can be explained by variations in health, income and access to private transport. Compared with partnered older men, widowers are more likely to be involved with sports and social clubs, while men who are divorced or never married are less likely to be a member of any informal group.

This paper looks at the experience of bereavement in old age in a South Wales locality and traces the immediate and long-term effects it has on the bereaved. It examines various categories of bereavement – death of spouse, death of the mother, death of a child, siblings and friends, with death of spouse as specially significant. In each category it closely relates the experience of bereavement to the nature of the relationship formerly maintained, arguing that the significance of bereavement can only be appreciated within the context of social structure which defines the meaning of these relationships. It suggests that the special position occupied by female networks in the social structure enables old women to cope with the effects of bereavement more successfully than old men. For both old men and old women however, the special position they occupy with respect to contemporary society gives death a particular and unique resonance.

Personhood has been a key influence on the development of person-centred care models in dementia. However, there is ambiguity around the concept and interpretation of personhood, and what it means in practical terms for the delivery of care to people with dementia. This study examines the conceptualisation of personhood within the formal care system for people with dementia in Ireland. A multiple perspective study design examines the experiences of personhood in dementia from the perspectives of people with dementia, family carers and a range of formal carers. Semi-structured interviews with participants were conducted in both community and long-term care settings. Interpretative phenomenological analysis is used to examine the data. A total of 31 participants were interviewed: eight people with dementia, eight family carers and 15 formal carers. There is general consensus on the core elements of personhood among all participants: interests and preferences; lifecourse experiences; social interaction; family; and place. However, there is ambiguity among family carers and formal carers in the interpretation of changes to personhood as the disease progresses. Interpersonal and structural barriers to supporting personhood are identified by all participants. The findings provide guidance on the traits of personhood-enhancing care, including effective communication skills, and the potential of health and social care reform to support the core elements of personhood among people with dementia.

To examine the prevalence and diversity of older adults on primetime television, and age stereotyping in these portrayals, we analysed the contents of 112 episodes of popular American television series aired between 2004 and 2018. We identified 6.6 per cent of characters as aged 65 and older – a slight improvement to the values reported in previous studies. However, older adult characters are still grossly under-represented, considering the actual proportion of older adults in the general population of the United States of America. Further, the typical older character was young-old, male, Caucasian, middle-class, able-bodied and straight – if his sexuality was referenced. Older women still face double discrimination in media representations. In addition, older adult characters with ethnicities other than Caucasian and African American are virtually invisible in primetime fiction series. Similarly, old-old characters, sexual minorities and persons with disabilities are particularly rare among older adult characters in this type of programming. Finally, portrayals of 51.9 per cent of characters included at least some elements of age stereotypes, most of which were positive. The most commonly applied positive and negative stereotypes were found to be the golden ager and the shrew, respectively. The findings are discussed in the context of the dominant discourse of ageing and the potential implications of how various social groups perceive ageing and older adults.

This study analyses the remaking of dementia as a social and cultural phenomenon in the public media discourse in a welfare state Norway. A content analysis was carried out of articles on dementia published in Norwegian paper media from 1995 to 2015. The study combined the tools from quantitative corpus analyses and qualitative critical discourse analyses, making it possible to detect and interpret diachronic changes in the dementia discourse. Although the main focus in Norwegian dementia discourse has changed from the disease to the personhood, the agents defining what it means to live well with dementia continued to be predominantly institutional: non-governmental organisations, municipalities, health-care institutions and politicians. An analysis of the uses of the politically incorrect Norwegian term for dementia, ‘senility’, revealed that this term offered an alternative to the institutionalised dementia discourse and functioned as an unconventional and therapeutic-free space where older people and persons with dementia could use humour to subvert these norms and power relations.

The provisional criteria for age-associated memory impairment (AAMI) attempt to define a potentially treatable decline in mental function found in people over 50 years of age. It is suggested here that the present criteria are likely to apply to a large proportion of those over age 50 in the population. From a psychometric viewpoint the criteria have several short-comings that are detailed. Finally, the social and ethical problems of the wider use of such a diagnosis are adumbrated.

In recent years, economic and social historians have made increasing use of anthropometric records (principally, records of human height and weight) to investigate changes in human health and well-being. This paper summarises some of the main findings of this research and demonstrates the remarkable increases in human height which have occurred during the course of the present century. The paper also examines the relationship between changes in average height and changes in life expectancy. Although most of the evidence assembled by anthropometric historians has been derived from records relating to schoolchildren and young adults, their work has profound implications for the study of health in old age. The concluding section examines the relevance of this work to current debates on the decline of mortality, the ‘compression of morbidity’ and the future of social policy.

As part of a suite of policy documents on older people's issues, the ‘New Labour’ British government has published a joint housing and health strategy, Quality and Choice for Older People's Housing. In this they attempt to map out the problems facing older people. The strategy also suggests that among the solutions there should be more opportunities for older people to make choices and for their deeper involvement in housing matters. This paper sketches the background to this strategy and reviews the literature to determine whether there is a foundation of dialogue with older people on housing issues. While there have been increasing efforts to build socially inclusive processes, particularly in the major ‘regeneration’ programmes, it is still the case that older people are usually excluded. The core of the paper is a case study from the Better Government for Older People programme which explored the process by which older people worked alongside professionals to remodel a local authority dwelling. An analysis of the dialogue provides a window onto the self conceptions of professionals. Older people gained as individuals and as a group from the housing project, and were able to develop collective influence through a representation role. Learning by the local authority was more incremental. The paper ends with a discussion of the broader lessons for service providers.

This study estimates the effect of increases in age on 16 health problems that affect paid work for men and women in the United Kingdom. The analysis is based on a sample of the United Kingdom household population from the Office for National Statistics Labour Force Survey of 2007. Using multinomial logit regressions, the results reveal considerable diversity in the relationships between age and the reported prevalence of health problems that affect work. In particular, problems with heart, blood and circulation, arms and hands, legs and feet were strongly related to age, while difficulties in seeing and hearing, skin conditions and allergies appeared not to be more prevalent among older workers than younger employees. Regarding gender differences, it was found that, in general, women's health-related ability to participate in work was less affected by age, but that they suffered particular problems with arms and hands, skin conditions, allergies and depression. Finally, the study analyses the non-linear effects of unit increases in age. Such analysis may usefully identify the ages (or inflection points) at which ageing intensifies its effects on occupational health. These findings point to the importance of intervention at the appropriate time, when preventive measures may avoid the exacerbation of the health problem.

Across the United Kingdom, new build and remodelled ‘extra care’ schemes are being developed in many areas on the assumption that they offer older people with care needs an alternative to residential care. This paper reports an evaluation by a multi-disciplinary team of 10 extra-care schemes remodelled from sheltered housing or residential care units. The evaluation audited buildings and identified social and architectural problems. No two schemes in the sample were alike; some aimed for a dependency balance and others set a dependency threshold for admission. The three criteria used for assessing eligibility were the number of paid care hours the older person had at home, their property status and the type of disability. This article focuses on the wide variation in assessing eligibility for an extra-care place and on some social consequences of remodelling. A number of tenants remained in situ during the remodelling process in six of the schemes. Building professionals were unanimous that retaining some tenants on site caused significant development delays and increased the remodelling costs. There was also a social price to pay. ‘Old’ tenants resented their scheme changing into extra care and were hostile towards ‘new’ tenants who had obvious needs for support. In some extra-care schemes, ‘old’ tenants were refusing to participate in meals and all social activities.

The Chinese government encourages the promotion of community-based older people centres as a way to use space rationally, improve social inclusion and support older residents’ everyday lives. This exploratory study is the first to examine in depth the contradictory and consistent attitudes and suggestions of residents of different age groups for the design of an inclusive community-based centre for older and younger people in China. An integrative mixed-methods approach was used. In the quantitative phase, 270 older adults (⩾60 years) and 250 younger adults (<60 years) from Harbin were asked to complete questionnaires (older adults’ response rate = 87.0%; younger adults’ response rate = 87.2%). In the qualitative phase, seven focus group discussions (four groups of older adults, three groups of younger adults) were conducted. The findings indicate that older adults have a higher acceptance level of inclusive design and prefer to share spaces to improve intergenerational interactions than younger adults. Residents of all ages are more likely to share functional spaces related to health services, living services and physical exercise. Moreover, the study reveals some design suggestions: the location of the centre should be away from the residential area and integrated into a public community building; comprehensive services should be provided to older people and be accessible to the whole family; design should be barrier-free, and the climate and nearby spaces should be considered.

In this study we used individual differences concepts and analyses to examine whether older people achieve different ageing-well states universally or whether there are identifiable key groups that achieve them to different extents. The data used in the modelling were from a prospective 16-year longitudinal study of 1,000 older Australians. We examined predictors of trajectories for ageing well using self-rated health, psychological wellbeing and independence in daily living as joint indicators of ageing well in people aged over 65 years at baseline. We used group-trajectory modelling and multivariate regression to identify characteristics predicting ‘ageing well’. The results showed three distinct and sizeable ageing trajectory groups: (a) ‘stable-good ageing well’ (classified as ageing well in all longitudinal study waves; which was achieved by 30.2% of women and 28.0% of men); (b) ‘initially ageing well then deteriorating’ (50.5% women and 47.6% men); and (c) ‘stable-poor’ (not ageing well in any wave; 19.3% women and 24.4% men). Significant gender differences were found in membership in different ageing-well states. In the stable-poor groups there were 103/533 females which was significantly lower than 114/467 men (z-statistic = −2.6, p = 0.005); women had a ‘zero’ probability of progressing to a better ageing-well classification in later years, whilst males had a one-in-five probability of actually improving. Robust final state outcome predictors at baseline were lower age and fewer medical conditions for both genders; restful sleep and Australian-born for women; and good nutrition, decreased strain, non-smoker and good social support for men. These results support that ageing-well trajectories are influenced by modifiable factors. Findings will assist better targeting of health-promoting activities for older people.

This study aims to assess racial differences in subjective wellbeing (SWB) and to examine whether the pathways of social support and social engagement to SWB vary by racial groups in the United States of America. Using a local sample (N = 1,035) and a nationally representative sample of the Health and Retirement Study (N = 7,718), we compared life satisfaction and happiness between non-Hispanic Whites and Blacks aged 55 and over. We evaluated the extent to which race, other socio-demographic characteristics, health, social engagement and social support explained the variances in SWB and examined the moderation effects of race on the relationships of SWB with age, social support and social engagement. Multiple regression analyses showed that non-Hispanic Blacks were at least as satisfied as, and even happier than White peers, after equalising social resources and health variables. Social support was significantly related to SWB, and it seemed that positive support was more important to Whites than to Blacks in predicting life satisfaction. In addition, the racial crossover effect existed, that is, the old-old (80+) Blacks were happier than their White peers. Findings indicate a national trend of the race paradox in SWB and underscore the importance of social support in promoting older adults’ wellbeing. Future research is recommended to investigate other potential mechanisms among Black older Americans to explain their relatively better SWB.

A comparison between humour and ageing from the 1970s to the 1990s and findings from a historical study of how American artists portray older adults showed what appears to be little change in stereotypical representations of older people in one of the most widely read forms of humour in American popular culture, the comic strip. Variables were age, gender, and roles of people 56 years and over in strips published in the Washington Post during April of 1972, 1977, 1982, 1987, and 1992.

The number of older characters in American comic strips declined in the last ten years of the study. Men were more frequently represented than women. Women were almost equal to men in strong, positive roles despite the fact that they were represented 870 times and men 1511 times. Most women were portrayed in either positive or negative roles while a quarter of men were portrayed in indeterminate roles. The negative roles of women were double those of positive or strong roles, while the number of negative roles for men was three times the number of positive roles.

This paper discusses the material aspects of globalisation and the effects of the movements of trade, capital and people around the world on older men and women. While some older people have benefited, most notably where pensions and health care are well developed, the majority of older men and women are among the poor who have not. Free trade, economic restructuring, the globalisation of finance, and the surge in migration, have in most parts of the world tended to produce harmful consequences for older people. These developments have been overseen, and sometimes dictated, by inter-governmental organisations (IGOs) such as the International Monetary Foundation (IMF), the World Bank and the World Trade Organisation (WTO), while other IGOs with less power have been limited to anti-ageist exhortation. Globalisation transfers resources from the poor to the rich within and between countries. It therefore increases social problems while simultaneously diminishing the freedom and capacity of countries to make social policy. Nonetheless, the effects of globalisation, and particularly its financial dimensions, on a nation's capacity for making social policy can be exaggerated. Political will can combat international economic orthodoxy, but the evident cases are the exception rather than the rule.

The present study aims to determine how family size affects psycho-social, economic and health wellbeing in old age differently across two cohorts with declining fertility. The data are from the 2012 Mexican Health and Ageing Study (MHAS) including respondents aged 50+ (N = 13,102). Poisson (standard and zero-inflated) and logistic regressions are used to model determinants of wellbeing in old age: psycho-social (depressive symptoms), economic (consumer durables and insurance) and health (chronic conditions). In the younger cohort, having fewer children is associated with fewer depressive symptoms and chronic conditions, and better economic wellbeing. For the older cohort, having fewer children is associated with lower economic wellbeing and higher odds of being uninsured. Lower fertility benefited the younger cohort (born after 1937), whereas the older cohort (born in 1937 or earlier) benefited from lower fertility only in chronic conditions. Further research is needed to continue exploring the old-age effects of the fertility transition.