Filtered by: Aging
Intergenerational Relationships and Family Support: Implications for Health and Wellbeing
In this review, Professor and Chair of Sociology Merril Silverstein and co-authors summarize research projects supported by the National Institute on Aging that have contributed scholarship on intergenerational relationships and support provided to older adults that frequently precedes, and is often complementary to, intensive caregiving. Published in The Gerontologist.
See related: Aging, Gender and Sex, Longevity, Parenting & Family, Race & Ethnicity, United States
Religious Change and Continuity Across Generations
See related: Aging, Canada, Europe, Parenting & Family, Religion, United States
Older Adults’ Descendants and Family Networks in the Context of Global Educational Expansion
In this paper, Haowei Wang and co-authors examine the socioeconomic bifurcation of adults in midlife and beyond in terms of the existence of descendants and other kin. Published in Population and Development Review.
See related: Aging, Child & Elder Care
Silverstein Talks to NPR About China’s Economy Adapting to Serve the Aging Population
Professor of Sociology Merril Silverstein, who studies how infrastructure development is increasingly geared towards an older society in China, says, “Those in more developed villages have less aging anxiety about whether their needs will be met, whether they'll be, you know, happy or not as they get older.”
See related: Aging, China, Economic Policy
Estimated Pulse Wave Velocity Associated With Higher Risk of Dementia in Health and Retirement Study
In this study, co-authors sociologists Janet Wilmoth and Andrew London, find that ePWV may be a novel research tool and biomarker of vascular aging that can be used in large, population-representative studies to examine cognitive aging and dementia risk. Published in the American Journal of Hypertension.
See related: Aging
NIA Awards $3.8 Million for Maxwell Sociologists’ Health and Longevity Research Networks
Research networks led by Jennifer Karas Montez and Shannon Monnat will use two five-year grant renewals to study adult health and aging trends in the United States.
See related: Aging, Child & Elder Care, Grant Awards, Longevity, Rural Issues, U.S. Health Policy, United States
Silverstein Discusses Elder Care and Stepfamilies in New York Times Article
As parents age, “there’s a lot of negotiation and uncertainties,” says Merril Silverstein, Marjorie Cantor Endowed Professor in Aging. “Who has the right to make decisions for stepparents becomes murky.” Such families can experience what’s called “role ambiguity,” he says, creating doubts about “what the social expectations are.”
See related: Aging, Child & Elder Care, Longevity, United States
Paid Leave Mandates and Care for Older Parents
“Paid Leave Mandates and Care for Older Parents,” co-authored by Douglass Wolf, professor emeritus of public administration and international affairs, was published in The Milbank Quarterly.
See related: Aging, Child & Elder Care, U.S. Health Policy, United States
McFate Weighs In on the US Military’s Recruiting Problems in Boston Globe Article
“There was a time when people felt that the military didn’t need women, or certain racial minorities. I think we need to be a lot more open-minded about our approach to age as a number,” says Sean McFate, adjunct professor in Maxwell's Washington programs.
See related: Aging, U.S. National Security, United States
Racial-Ethnic Gaps in Pandemic-Related Economic Hardship: Age Differences among Older Adults
In this study published in Journals of Gerontology: Series B and co-authored by Emily Wiemers, associate professor of public administration and international affairs, results point to structural factors generating new racial-ethnic gaps in pandemic-related economic hardship among those approaching retirement (ages 55-74) that did not affect the oldest adults (ages 75+).
See related: Aging, COVID-19, Race & Ethnicity, United States
Engelhardt Talks to NPR About Baby Boomers and the Housing Market
"You've got a pure housing mismatch for older homeowners. They are mismatched physically or functionally with the house that they're in," says Gary Engelhardt, professor of economics. "That's because it's multifloor living. It's stairs. It's also other upkeep."
See related: Aging, Economic Policy, Housing, United States
Silverstein Edits, Contributes to ‘Aging Families’ Book
Merril Silverstein, Marjorie Cantor Endowed Professor of Aging Studies and chair of sociology, has edited and written the introduction for “Aging Families in Chinese Society” (Routledge, 2022), which was recently released in paperback.
See related: Aging, Child & Elder Care, China, Disability, Gender and Sex, Mental Health
Educational Attainment and Perceived Need for Future ADL Assistance
"Educational Attainment and Perceived Need for Future ADL Assistance," co-authored by Scott Landes, associate professor of sociology, was published in the Journal of Applied Gerontology.
See related: Aging, Education, United States
Engelhardt Weighs In on Baby Boomers Aging Out of the Housing Market in Business Insider Article
Gary Engelhardt, professor of economics, expects the bulk of the boomer generation to age out of the market between 2030 and 2040. "In the next 15 years, this stuff's really going to start happening," Engelhardt says.
See related: Aging, Housing, United States
Silverstein Quoted in New York Times Article on Seniors and Housing Decisions
“Among older people there is a reluctance to project negativity into their future,” says Merril Silverstein, professor and chair of sociology. “There’s research that they tend to put on rose-colored glasses about things like their own aging trajectory so it’s keeping up their ego integrity to want to be independent and stay in their home.”
See related: Aging, Housing, United States
Sandwiched in Later Life: Consequences for Individuals’ Well-Being, Variation Across Welfare Regimes
"Becoming sandwiched in later life: Consequences for individuals’ well-being and variation across welfare regimes," co-authored by Professor and Chair of Sociology Merril Silverstein, was published in The Journals of Gerontology.
See related: Aging, Child & Elder Care, Mental Health, United States
Heflin Comments on New Study Linking Cognitive Decline, Food Insufficiency in Medical News Today
“Unfortunately,” says Colleen Heflin, professor and chair of public administration and international affairs, “my own work suggests that cognitive decline can act as a barrier to SNAP [Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program] participation among older adults eligible for the program, due to the difficult administrative processes associated with demonstrating program eligibility.”
See related: Aging, Food Security, Nutrition, U.S. Health Policy, United States
Heflin Quoted in New York Times Article on the Impact of Increasing Food Prices on Seniors
“The lack of access to food can make older Americans more socially isolated,” says Colleen Heflin, professor and chair of public administration and international affairs.
See related: Aging, Food Security, United States
SNAP Participation, Medication Adherence Among Medicaid-Insured Older Adults with Hypertension
"Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Participation and Medication Adherence Among Medicaid-Insured Older Adults Living with Hypertension," co-authored by Colleen Heflin, professor of public administration and international affairs, was published in the Journal of General Internal Medicine.
See related: Aging, Food Security, U.S. Health Policy
Heflin Discusses Seniors’ Use of Food Benefits, Impact on Memory Decline in Neurology Today Article
"Screening for food insecurity can at least provide the clinician some sense of the risks their patients might be facing and their potential negative health consequences," says Colleen Heflin, professor of public administration and international affairs.
See related: Aging, Food Security, Health Policy, Nutrition