This study assesses the probability that an older person in Bridgetown, Barbados receives financial, functional and/or material support from their adult children according to the proximity of their nearest child, adjusting for demographic and socio-economic factors. As in many countries of the developing world, older Barbadians receive much of their support from adult children. Population ageing, smaller family sizes and high rates of out-migration may be placing stress on systems of formal and informal support within the country. Yet, very little research has examined determinants of support within the Caribbean let alone Barbados, one of the most rapidly ageing countries in the region. Data (N = 1,248) come from the 2000 Pan American Health Organization Survey on Health, Well-being and Ageing in Latin America and the Caribbean (SABE). Multivariate logistic regression analyses highlight the overwhelming importance of co-residence in the receipt of informal support transfers. Although there is a lower probability of receiving support as distance to nearest child increases, several indicators of vulnerability, such as having a disability, increases support probabilities among those whose nearest children live outside the neighbourhood. The results have implications for current and future cohorts of older adults in the region given the combination of declining fertility, persistent migration and population ageing within a broader context of social protection systems across the region.

Care-giving research has focused on primary care-givers and relied on cross-sectional data. This approach neglects the dynamic and systemic character of care-giver networks. Our analyses address changes in care-givers and care networks over a two-year period using pooled data from the US Health and Retirement Study, 1992–2000. Based on a matrix of specific adult-child care-givers across two consecutive time-points, we assess changes in any adult-child care-giver and examine the predictors of change. A change in care-giver occurred in about two-fifths of care-giving networks. Ability to provide care based on geographical proximity, availability of alternative care-givers, and gender play primary roles in the stability of care networks. Results underline the need to shift care-giving research toward a dynamic and systemic perspective.

Previous research applying quantifiable measurements has established significant positive associations between social capital and mental health in older adults. This study aimed to obtain a deeper understanding of the causal mechanisms of social capital affecting mental wellbeing among older people. The study is based on two independent qualitative data materials collected through two focus group interviews and an open-ended question included in a Finnish population-based postal survey. The findings indicate that informal social contacts such as family members and life-long relationships between friends impact the experienced mental wellbeing among older adults due to shared life events, social support, mutual appreciation and trust, as well as a sense of belonging through common social activities. Hence, this study challenges Putnam's idea of social capital as a collective concept focusing on formal contacts and the benefits on a collective level. In addition, the findings highlight the obstacles specific to older adults in maintaining social networks and participation, which should be considered in order to promote mental health in later life.

Caring for elderly relatives has predominately been explored from the standpoint of the needs and experiences of the hegemonic culture in multicultural countries like Australia, Canada and the United States of America. Australia, in particular, has paid scant attention to cultural and linguistically diverse groups in relation to caring for the aged. In this paper we focus on Chinese-Australian families caring for elderly relatives. We explore the traditional value of filial piety which is said to underpin social norms and beliefs about caring for aged parents in Chinese cultures. Specifically we draw on four in-depth interviews with Chinese-Australian care-givers of elderly relatives to identify meanings of filial piety and practices of filial piety. Findings indicate that while filial piety is still an important value in caring for the aged, meanings about how to practise filial piety are changing and vary across families.

In this study, we examined the relationship between emotional labour and successful ageing among older Hong Kong Chinese workers. We also investigated whether job satisfaction mediated the association between emotional labour and successful ageing in the workplace. Results show that deep acting was positively related to successful ageing in the workplace, whereas surface acting was negatively related to the same. Structural equation modelling shows that job satisfaction partially mediated the association between emotional labour and successful ageing in the workplace. The limitations of the study and further recommendations are also discussed.

Spirituality is proposed to be a component of successful ageing and has been shown to predict wellbeing in old age. There has been conceptual discussion of possible mechanisms that link spirituality with positive psychological functioning in older adults, but few empirical examinations of these linking mechanisms over time. The current study examined the role of Antonovsky's Sense of Coherence (SOC) and social support in mediating the effects of spirituality on life satisfaction in older participants over a four-year period. The study used a cross-lagged panel analysis to evaluate longitudinal mediation within a path analysis framework. Results showed that the meaningfulness dimension of SOC mediated the influence of spirituality on life satisfaction over time, suggesting that spirituality may influence older adults' experience and perception of life events, leading to a more positive appraisal of these events as meaningful. Social support was not found to mediate the pathway between spirituality and life satisfaction. This study may be the first to examine the link between spirituality, sense of coherence, social support and wellbeing, as measured by life satisfaction, using longitudinal data from a community sample of older adults. The study provides evidence for the positive role of spirituality in the lives of older people. This is an area that requires further examination in models of successful ageing.

Synthesising the social capital and ageing-friendly communities literature, this paper describes how efforts to make communities more ageing-friendly can promote social inclusion among older adults. Making existing communities more ageing-friendly involves physical and social infrastructure changes that enable older adults to pursue lifelong activities, meet their basic needs, maintain significant relationships, participate in the community in personally and socially meaningful ways, and develop new interests and sources of fulfilment. Such efforts can enhance bonding, bridging and linking capital, and thereby promote social inclusion. The authors discuss the link between ageing-friendly communities and social inclusion, and provide examples of programmes with potential to change existing communities into ones that promote the social inclusion of older adults.

Previous research has demonstrated that the generally positive relationship between age and the presence of charitable giving becomes negative at the oldest ages. We investigate potential causes of this drop in charitable giving among the oldest old including changes in health, cognition, egocentric networks, religious attendance, and substitution of charitable bequest planning. A longitudinal analysis of data from the United States Health and Retirement Survey indicates that the drop in charitable giving is mediated largely by changes in the frequency of church attendance, with only modest influences from changes in health and cognition.

Cash-for-care schemes offering cash payments in place of conventional social services are becoming commonplace in developed welfare states; however, there is little evidence about the impact of such schemes on older people. This paper reports on the impact and outcomes for older people of the recent English Individual Budget (IB) pilot projects (2005–07). It presents quantitative data on outcome measures from structured interviews with 263 older people who took part in a randomised controlled trial and findings from semi-structured interviews with 40 older people in receipt of IBs and with IB project leads in each of the 13 pilot sites. Older people spent their IBs predominantly on personal care, with little resources left for social or leisure activities; and had higher levels of psychological ill-health, lower levels of wellbeing, and worse self-perceived health than older people in receipt of conventional services. The qualitative interviews provide insights into these results. Potential advantages of IBs included increased choice and control, continuity of care worker, and the ability to reward some family carers. However, older people reported anxieties about the responsibility of organising their own support and managing their budget. For older people to benefit fully from cash-for-care schemes they need sufficient resources to purchase more than basic personal care; and access to help and advice in planning and managing their budget.

This article examines how older adults experience the physical and social realities of having multiple chronic conditions in later life. Drawing on data from in-depth interviews with 16 men and 19 women aged 73+ who had between three and 14 chronic conditions, we address the following research questions: (a) What is it like to have multiple chronic conditions in later life? (b) How do older men and women ‘learn to live’ with the physical and social realities of multiple morbidities? (c) How are older adults’ experiences of illness influenced by age and gender norms? Our participants experienced their physical symptoms and the concomitant limitations to their activities to be a source of personal disruption. However, they normalised their illnesses and made social comparisons in order to achieve a sense of biographical flow in distinctly gendered ways. Forthright in their frustration over their loss of autonomy and physicality but resigned and stoic, the men's stories reflected masculine norms of control, invulnerability, physical prowess, self-reliance and toughness. The women were dismayed by their bodies’ altered appearances and concerned about how their illnesses might affect their significant others, thereby responding to feminine norms of selflessness, sensitivity to others and nurturance. We discuss the findings in relation to the competing concepts of biographical disruption and biographical flow, as well as successful ageing discourses.

This paper investigates the trend in sport participation among retirees between 1983 and 2007. Sport participation is important for retirees because of its health benefits and the opportunities it offers for social interaction. Factors that influence sport participation such as educational level, physical limitations, and occupational background have changed during the last decades, possibly accounting for changes in sport participation. Data are from the Amenities and Services Utilization Survey (AVO), a nationally representative Dutch survey with seven observations between 1983 and 2007. The trend in sport involvement, sports club membership, and competition was investigated in a sample of 2,497 male and 1,559 female retirees aged 58–67 years. Increases in participation were observed in sport involvement and sports club membership. This trend can partially be explained by increases in educational level, decreases in the number of retirees with physical limitations, and in those retiring from sedentary jobs. Yet, sport participation seems to have increased for all retirees, regardless of their socio-economic background and health status. Alternative explanations for the observed trend are discussed.

This article examines the utility of the concept of resilience to the field of critical gerontology. Resilience is an increasingly popular concept within the social sciences. We explore some key ideas about individual and social resilience from varied fields, and propose new ways to conceptualise these in relation to resilience in later life. This article examines the history of the concept of resilience; explores some of the diverse ways that gerontologists are attempting to apply it to later life; and discusses the strengths and weaknesses of using resilience as a conceptual framework within critical ageing research. We also suggest ways of conceptualising resilience and ageing, highlighting the different scales of resilience that impact on the ability of older people to negotiate adversity, and some key areas of resilience relevant to later life. The example of mobility resilience is used to illustrate how different scales of resilience operate within an area of resilience central to the ageing experience. Finally, some key principles for the use of resilience within critical gerontology are outlined, providing guidance on how to maximise the potential of the concept whilst avoiding some of the limitations associated with its historical usage.

Japan presents a unique social laboratory in which to examine how family support impacts on older adults’ psychological wellbeing. This is because of its cultural climate where distinctively different expectations of old-age independence and the traditional norm of filial piety coexist. This study investigated how structural and functional dimensions of the family support of older Japanese parents influence their psychological morale, and whether the impacts of family support on parents’ morale vary depending on the parents’ belief in the traditional cultural norm of filial piety. Four waves of data from the Nihon University Japanese Longitudinal Study of Aging (NUJLSOA) collected in 1999, 2001, 2003 and 2006 were analysed. Combining the two- or three-year span of longitudinal data between each wave (N=3,882), an ordered logistic regression analysis was undertaken. The results reveal that although parents who were widowed or received emotional support from a child tended to report a lower level of morale, the negative influences of such support tended to be mitigated if the parent agreed with the traditional cultural norm of filial responsibilities. These results imply that the meaning and benefit of family support may differ depending on the degree to which Japanese older parents support the traditional norm of filial responsibilities.

This inquiry examined whether social networks are associated with wellbeing among older-old people in the same way that they are among younger-old persons. The study focused on family respondents, aged 60 and older, from the second wave of the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (N=14,728). The statistical analysis regressed two wellbeing measures (the CASP quality of life scale and life satisfaction) on a range of social network variables from three domains: family structure and interaction, social exchange and social engagement. In addition, the inquiry viewed these associations through the lens of age-based interaction terms, controlling for background characteristics, health status and region. The analysis revealed that the associations between subjective wellbeing and social network vary according to age. Among younger-old respondents, aged 60–79, more significant associations were found between social network variables and wellbeing outcomes in comparison to older-old respondents, aged 80 or older. Differences between age groups also emerged with the direction of the associations between social network variables and subjective wellbeing. The study results reveal that social networks do matter in very old age, but not in the same way as among younger-old persons. This finding is one indication of the differences that may emerge between third-age adults and those approaching the fourth age.

The study reviewed coping and help-seeking behaviour among Hong Kong Chinese family care-givers of older people diagnosed with dementia. A convenience sample of those caring for family members with dementia (N=11) was recruited in Hong Kong. Semi-structured interviews were conducted, transcribed and analysed using NVivo. The study found evidence of distinct Chinese coping strategies that focused upon internal self-regulation, forbearance and family obligations. In terms of help-seeking behaviour, these care-givers expressed great concern about bothering their family members. When there is a desperate need for help, they turn to community services. Results are discussed in the context of both traditional Chinese cultural values as well as the modern transformations of the Chinese society. In particular, Eastern philosophical teachings tend to focus on changing personal inner perception and thoughts rather than attempting to change the environment. Although family obligations have been traditionally upheld, many modern Chinese societies are undergoing social and demographic changes, resulting in marked decline in multi-generational households. Our findings can have applications not only for Chinese cities but also may have implications to the West as strong well-established Chinese communities are widespread.

Spirituality 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.

Research on informal care-giving has largely neglected the contributions of non-kin carers. This paper investigated the characteristics and contributions of non-kin who care for older adults with a long-term health problem, and investigated friends and neighbours as distinct categories of care providers. Using data from 324 non-kin carers in the 1996 General Social Survey of Canada, this study compared individual and relationship characteristics, care tasks and amount of care provided for the two groups. Interpersonal and socio-demographic characteristics were investigated as mediators of potential differences between friends and neighbours in patterns of care. Results demonstrate that friend and neighbour carers differed on age, marital status, geographical proximity and relationship closeness. Friends were more likely than neighbours to assist with personal care, bills and banking, and transportation. Neighbours were more likely to assist with home maintenance. Friends provided assistance with a greater number of tasks and provided more hours of care per week, suggesting a more prominent role in the care of non-kin than neighbours. Age, income, a minor child in the household, proximity and relationship closeness significantly predicted amount of care provided, and relationship closeness largely explained differences between friends and neighbours. Future research on informal care-giving can build on the findings that distinguish friend and neighbour carers to further discriminate the dynamics of non-kin care.

The study examines whether social capital affects health of older people more strongly than it affects health of younger individuals. Following Pierre Bourdieu's concept, social capital has been analysed on a cognitive dimension, distinguishing between institutional and informal social capital. The analysis is based on the data of the Austrian Health Interview Survey 2006–07 with a representative sample of 15,575 people. Multivariate linear regression models were calculated. Measures of health and social capital were operationalised by indices based on the quality of life inventory of the World Health Organization, the WHOQOL-Brief questionnaire. The analysis has shown institutional social capital to be significantly more important for health of older people (60 years or older) than for younger people. There is a gender difference in the interaction between informal social capital and age in their association with psychological health. In contrast to the sub-sample of women, the psychological health of older men is more strongly affected by a lack of informal social capital than that of younger men. Institutional social capital is of special importance for the health of older people. Therefore health-promotion activities for older people should include activities to strengthen their social capital.