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Marital Status

Marital Status

  • 96% in USA marry, at least once
  • Reason for decreased number of married in later life?
  • Widowhood
  • Fewer than two per 1000 divorced
  • Men more likely to be married in later life

© 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

© 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Figure 12.1 Marital Status, Population Age 65 and Over

© 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

© 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

By Age Group and Sex, Percent, 2008

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Marriage: Advantages & Disadvantages

  • Advantages
  • Financial resources; Greater life satisfaction; Most older couples happy; Better health
  • Better adjustment to aging; Adult-centered
  • Disadvantages
  • Interests may diverge; Potential sources of strain

© 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

© 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Common-Law Unions and Cohabitation

  • Rate for older people has increased
  • More men than women
  • Increase in LAT relationships
  • Why cohabitation?
  • Common-law relationship after divorce; Desire for intimate relationship without marriage
  • Poverty

© 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

© 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Divorce

  • Divorced and separated age 65 and older 2006
  • Significantly increased since 1980
  • Remarriage rare
  • May result in late life economic insecurity
  • May result in loss of social contact with family

© 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

© 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Lifelong Singlehood

  • Never married older adults
  • Stereotype belief that never-marrieds are unhappy
  • Many have chosen to be unmarried
  • Report good health
  • Report freedom and control over lives

© 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

© 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Lifelong Singlehood

  • Have made unique adaptations to aging
  • Develop relationships for support, companionship, confidants
  • Report more loneliness than married people
  • Have less of a family network for caregiving

© 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

© 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Widowhood

  • USA 2008
  • 8.8 million widows
  • 2.2 million widowers
  • Women more likely to be widowed
  • Age 75 and older, most often living alone
  • Men more likely to remarry

© 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

© 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Bereavement

  • Common problems after death of a spouse
  • Lack of emotional support after official mourning period
  • “Identity foreclosure”
  • Depression during first year
  • Mental health before bereavement can affect response to loss

© 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

© 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Widows and Widowers: Coping with Loss

  • Widows
  • More social supports than men
  • Support others through caregiving and other support; Financial difficulties
  • Widowers
  • Less likely than women to have a confidant
  • More isolation; Higher risk of suicide

© 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

© 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Widows and Widowers: Coping with Loss

  • Risk of institutionalization when sick
  • Recent research on widowers
  • Many bounce back; Re-establish meaningful lives; Self-reports
  • Should study men differently
  • Not based on female model of interpersonal relationships

© 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

© 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Dating and Remarriage

  • Men tend to remarry after widowhood and women tend to stay single
  • Older people date for several reasons
  • 1/3rd of older daters had sexual intercourse at least once a month
  • The trend toward the use of online connections by older people just begun

© 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

© 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Sexuality

  • Sexuality in Long-Term Care Settings
  • Physical Changes and Sexual Adaptations
  • Attitudes toward later-life sexuality changing
  • Interest in sex reported into very old age
  • Why do people give up sex?

© 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

© 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Sexuality

  • Benefits of Sex
  • Reduces stress; Relaxes; Enhances intimacy
  • Helps form foundation of strong and supportive personal relationships
  • High life satisfaction
  • Health benefits
  • Self-esteem

© 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

© 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Sexuality

  • Barriers to Later Life Sexual Activity
  • Health
  • Many sexual problems can be reversed
  • Lack of a partner
  • Especially for older women
  • Attitudes
  • Of older people; Of other people

© 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

© 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Figure 12.2 The Partner Gap: Having a Regular Sexual Partner

© 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

© 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

By Sex and Age, Percent

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Figure 12.3 Differences in Sexual Attitudes, Thoughts, & Behaviors

© 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

© 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Physical Changes and Sexual Adaptations

  • Adaptations that address health and life course causes of change
  • Lifestyle
  • Diet, weight control, limit use of alcohol, active sex life; Masturbation
  • Sexual dysfunction
  • Viagra and Levitra; Rest and exercise

© 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

© 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Gay and Lesbian Older People

  • Most research misses these older people
  • Don’t ask about sexual orientation
  • Assume if never married, never in on-going relationship
  • Extrapolating data
  • Approximately 1 to 2.8 million LGBT seniors
  • The Myths: Lonely; Rejected; Maladjusted

© 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

© 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Figure 12.4 Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, & Transgender (LGBT) Relationships

© 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

© 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Grandparenting

  • The Grandparent–Grandchild Relationship
  • Grandparenting and New Family Structures
  • Grandparent Visitation Rights
  • Grandparents as Surrogate Parents

© 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

© 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Figure 12.5 Estimated and Projected Grandparent Population (U.S.)

© 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

© 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

1985–2015

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Figure 12.6 Purpose of Financial Assistance/Monetary Gifts

© 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

© 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

From Grandparents to Grandchildren

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The Future of the Family

  • Increased studies of aging in alternative relationships give a varied picture of aging
  • People who enter old age today will bring with them more open attitudes toward sex
  • Longer life expectancy will also lead to relationships across more generations

© 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

© 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

By Age Group and Sex, Percent, 2008

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By Sex and Age, Percent

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