Progress 10/01/07 to 09/30/12
Outputs
OUTPUTS: Research on the project has focused on social support in mid and late life women, the relationship of social support to health, how the availability of social support varies by demographic characteristics, and the relationship of social support to perceptions of needing more support. Past studies have focused on the functions and types of social support. This study focused on the sources of social support. Data provided by over 1600 women over the age of 40 collected by the nationally representative National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) were analyzed. Participants were asked to indicate sources of social support that were available to them. Responses were analyzed with Latent Class Analysis (LCA) to identify the latent structure of social support networks. The analyses suggested that a four-class model fit the data better than models with three or five classes. The four classes suggested by the analyses were labeled: sibling/parent, spouse restricted, undifferentiated, and adult children social support networks. Class membership covaried by participants' marital status, age, minority status, and socioeconomic status. Importantly, class membership also covaried by depressive symptomatology and participants' reports of needing more social support. Because population aging is currently underway, and it is expected that there will be increased healthcare costs associated with population aging, interest in social support and the demonstrated health-protective factors of social support will likely grow. A second focus of research on this project has been the provision of activities for men in long-term care. Activities for leisure are important in long-term care facilities because they promote physical and mental health and are related to decreased rates on institutionalization. However, about 70% of residents in long-term care facilities are women. It was hypothesized that most activities in long-term care facilities would be directed toward women and that women would have higher rates of engagement than men. Activity directors in Arkansas were surveyed using an internet survey and the hypotheses were supported. These data were presented at the Gerontological Society of America (GSA) in November and an article about this study is currently in review. Elizabeth Crossett is a graduate student who participated in the preparation for the presentation at GSA and is participating in a follow-up study on this topic. A third topic of research has focused on the relation between sociodemographic characteristics, family characteristics, and use of internet technology to successfully stop smoking. Data from nearly 11,000 participants in the 2009 wave of the National Health Interview Survey were analyzed. These analyses suggested that sociodemographic factors were related to reduced rates of smoking. Importantly, the data suggested that the use of internet technology for health-related information was related to a greater probability that participants had stopped smoking. These results are important for public health advocates who may use the internet to deliver health promoting programs using internet technology. PARTICIPANTS: This project supported graduate research assistants Megan Penfield and Elizabeth Crossett, University of Arkansas. Jean Turner, Ph.D., University of Arkansas, was a partner in some projects. TARGET AUDIENCES: This research focused on middle and late life adults, emphasizing ways that their social and physical needs change over time. In addition, the project provided insight to older adults in diverse families, such as those impacted by divorce or widowhood. Overall, the project provided science-based information that was presented to academic audiences and integrated into formal classroom instruction. PROJECT MODIFICATIONS: Not relevant to this project.
Impacts
The findings from the analyses of NHANES data are important to family scholars, practitioners, and policymakers as they provide increased focus in terms of identifying persons at risk for having no social support network and targeting them for health interventions. In this way, the well-being of women in mid and late life might be improved and health care costs may be reduced. The Activity Director survey results suggest that that there is a need for increased training for activity directors to be responsive to the needs of male patients. Although more research is needed, the results suggest that it is reasonable to expect higher levels of engagement of male patients when programming specifically targets them. As a result, it is also reasonable to expect lower rates of institutionalization, depression, and even healthcare costs. Finally, the analyses of the NHIS data suggest that internet-based smoking cessation programs may be effective in reducing rates of smoking, especially for male smokers. This is an important finding in that the internet provides a means of efficiently delivering the program to many smokers and, thereby reducing healthcare costs of those smokers. Finally, the project is providing graduate training to two master-level students. Both students are new students and 2013 is their expected graduation date.
Publications
- Killian, T. S. (2012). Health information seeking on the Internet and current smoking status: Evidence from the National Health Interview Study (NHIS). Open Journal of Preventive Medicine, 4(3), 291-298. doi: 10.4236/ojpm.2012.23043.
- Killian, T. S., & Penfield, M. (2012). Predictors of depressive symptoms: What are the roles of geography and social support Advances in Applied Sociology, 2(4), 313-319. doi: 10.4236/aasoci.2012.24041.
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Progress 01/01/11 to 12/31/11
Outputs
OUTPUTS: Research on the project has focused on social support in mid and late life women, the relationship of social support to health, how the availability of social support varies by demographic characteristics and the relationship of social support to perceptions of needing more support. Past studies have focused on the functions and types of social support. This study focused on the sources of social support. Data provided by over 1600 women over the age of 40 collected by the nationally representative National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) were analyzed. Participants were asked to indicate sources of social support that were available to them. Responses were analyzed with Latent Class Analysis (LCA) to identify the latent structure of social support networks. The analyses suggested that a four-class model fit the data better than models with three or five classes. The four classes suggested by the analyses were labeled: sibling/parent, spouse restricted, undifferentiated, and adult children social support networks. Class membership covaried by participants' marital status, age, minority status, and socioeconomic status. Importantly, class membership also covaried by depressive symptomatology and participants' reports of needing more social support. Because population aging is currently underway and it is expected that there will be increased healthcare costs associated with population aging, interest in social support and the demonstrated health-protective factors of social support will likely grow. A second focus of research on this project has been the provision of activities for men in long-term care. Activities for leisure are important in long-term care facilities because they promote physical and mental health and are related to decreased rates on institutionalization. However, about 70% of residents in long-term care facilities are women. It was hypothesized that most activities in long-term care facilities would be directed toward women and that women would have higher rates of engagement than men. Activity directors in Arkansas were surveyed using an internet survey and the hypotheses were supported. These data were presented at the 2011 Gerontological Society of America (GSA) and an article about this study is currently in review. A follow-up study on this topic will be conducted. A third topic of research has focused on the relation between sociodemographic characteristics, family characteristics, and use of internet technology to successfully stop smoking. Data from nearly 11,000 participants in the 2009 wave of the National Health Interview Survey were analyzed. These analyses suggested that sociodemographic factors were related to reduced rates of smoking. Importantly, the data suggested that the use of internet technology for health-related information was related to a greater probability that participants had stopped smoking. These results are important for public health advocates who may use the internet to deliver health promoting programs using internet technology. PARTICIPANTS: William Buron is a former faculty member in School of Nursing and is currently the associate dean of nursing at the University of Arkansas Medical Sciences Northwest. He is working on the part of the project investigating men in long-term care. Elizabeth Crossett and Jason Malloy are master level graduate students who are also working on the project. TARGET AUDIENCES: The target audiences for the project include other researchers and practitioners who are interested in improving well-being and health in late life. The long-term care study was presented to scholars at the Gerontological Society of America. It is expected that the findings will be used to inform practitioners about how they can identify needs and develop programs targeted to the needs of older persons. PROJECT MODIFICATIONS: Nothing significant to report during this reporting period.
Impacts
The findings from the analyses of NHANES data are important to family scholars, practitioners, and policymakers as they provide increased focus in terms of identifying persons at risk for having no social support network and targeting them for health interventions. In this way, the well-being of women in mid and late life might be improved and health care costs may be reduced. The Activity Director survey results suggest that that there is a need for increased training for activity directors to be responsive to the needs of male patients. Although more research is needed, the results suggest that it is reasonable to expect higher levels of engagement of male patients when programming specifically targets them. As a result, it is also reasonable to expect lower rates of institutionalization, depression, and even healthcare costs. Finally, the analyses of the NHIS data suggest that internet-based smoking cessation programs may be effective in reducing rates of smoking, especially for male smokers. This is an important finding in that the internet provides a means of efficiently delivering the program to many smokers and, thereby reducing healthcare costs of those smokers. Finally, the project is providing graduate training to two master-level students. Both students are new with an expected graduation date of 2013.
Publications
- No publications reported this period
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Progress 01/01/10 to 12/31/10
Outputs
OUTPUTS: To more fully understand the issue of maintaining high levels of physical activity for older persons in long-term care facilities, Activity Directors in long-term care facilities located in Arkansas were surveyed. Maintaining high levels of physical activity is critical to the well-being of older persons because it is related to better physical, cognitive, and emotional health. Also, it is increasingly difficult to maintain physical activity in nursing homes. Physical activity may be limited by residents' disabilities, as well as the ability of nursing home staff to provide stimulating activities. One goal of this research is to examine limitations perceived by Activity Directors in regard to providing and motivating older persons to participate in activities. The survey focuses on what kinds of activities are provided for older persons, as well as the Directors' perceptions of participation in activities. In addition, Activity Directors were asked what kinds of things that they would do if they did not have administrative and cost restraints to work with residents in their centers. This survey is currently in the field and will soon be drawing to close. Another study focused on healthcare utilization. The purpose of this study was to develop models that predicted three kinds of healthcare utilization: doctor visits, nights spent in hospitals, and the use of home health services by persons 65 years old and older. It is important to examine utilization of different kinds of health services because people who delay preventive services and screenings in routine visits to doctors' offices may require additional and more costly acute in-hospital care. Similarly, the increased use of home health services may not only reduce the cost of acute in-hospital healthcare for persons with chronic health problems, but also provide an avenue to receive needed health services for persons who have difficulty utilizing healthcare. In an effort to cut health costs, policymakers are increasingly calling for increased preventive services as a way of cutting costs for acute hospital-based care. Data for this study came from 10,693 participants who were 65 years old and older in the 2004 wave of the Health and Retirement Study. PARTICIPANTS: Dr. Bill Buron, assistant professor in the School of Nursing was a collaborator on the study regarding nursing home Activity Directors. Two undergraduate research assistants were key in collecting data. TARGET AUDIENCES: The focus of these studies is on elderly persons and their well-being. In addition, it is expected that these studies will provide information to those who work in social services and have responsibilities to provide services to elderly persons. PROJECT MODIFICATIONS: Not relevant to this project.
Impacts
Although data collection is ongoing, preliminary analyses of data suggest that activities are focused on relatively low levels of physical activity. Not all of the low levels of activity can be explained by physical disabilities of older persons in the long-term care facilities. Activity directors reported high levels of dissatisfaction with levels of participation in the programs that they were offering. Moreover, their levels of dissatisfaction were especially high in regards to men's participation. Most activity directors desired activities that would allow them to do more outings. In other words, activity directors desired to take residents out of the facility and into the community for day trips. At the same time, they reported budgetary and administrative constraints in the kinds of activities that they could provide for residents. These data suggest that activity directors may benefit from programs that assist them to be creative in providing physically and cognitively demanding activities for long-term care residents. Although more research is needed to better understand administrative constraints of activities provided by Activity Directors, this research suggests that long-term care residents would benefit by focusing on the experiences and limitations of activity directors in long-term care centers. Importantly, providing programs for activity directors in long-term care facilities is an efficient way of improving the physical, mental, and cognitive health of older persons in those centers. In regard to the healthcare utilization study, there were many findings. Some key findings, however, suggested that older persons who are divorced or widowed visited doctors' offices at significantly lower rates than married persons, but spent more nights in hospitals. In addition, divorced persons were less likely to use home health services than their married counterparts. These findings were independent of respondents' age. Non-driving persons visited doctors' offices less often, spent more nights in hospitals, and were more likely to use home health services than persons who could drive their own cars, even after controlling for age, health, and functional limitations. These data provide some evidence that family context may play an important role in providing access to health services for older persons. In addition, maintaining driving status may help older persons to access ambulatory healthcare services and limit their need for acute services.
Publications
- No publications reported this period
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Progress 01/01/09 to 12/31/09
Outputs
OUTPUTS: Activities have focused on developing a better understanding of the well-being of older persons. Well-being was examined using measures of physical and psychological functioning. Physical functioning measures included examining activities of daily living and psychological measures included an examination of depressive symptoms. Importantly, well-being was examined as it related to transfers of resources across generations and variations across rurality. Also examined were resources transferred intergenerationally and included monetary resources, as well as informal caregiving and social support. This project utilized data from the nationally representative and longitudinal Health and Retirement Study (HRS). The focus of this project has been an examination of relationships between intergenerational relationships and the quality of life and well-being of older persons. The project has approached this issue using a variety of activities that included collecting qualitative data from older persons who were utilizing adult day services in an intergenerational center. This center houses an older adult day program and a childcare center in a single building and provides opportunities for daily interaction between children and older persons. This structured, comprehensive program provided a variety of health, social, and other related support services in a protective setting during the day, but less than 24-hour care. Qualitative data were collected using interview guides that were focused on how intergenerational activities were related to their well-being. Both quantitative and qualitative data were analyzed and presented at national, professional conferences. Dissemination activities, based on those analyses, include paper presentations at professional conferences including the National Conference on Family Relations and the Rural Sociological Society. PARTICIPANTS: This project provided support for a graduate research assistant who participated in manuscript publication and presentations at national conferences. TARGET AUDIENCES: This project targets the aging population. The proportion of the population comprised of older persons who are 65 years old and older is expected to nearly double over the next several decades. Moreover, the population is aging more rapidly in rural than non-rural areas. As the baby boom generation ages, it is likely that our understanding of aging will need to recognize the increased diversity of this population and how their needs are likely to change. Efforts on this project have focused on the diverse needs of older persons across rurality so that gerontological and family professionals can more effectively meet those needs. PROJECT MODIFICATIONS: Nothing significant to report during this reporting period.
Impacts
This project generated several outcomes that may contribute to the physical and psychological well-being of older persons. First, it is suggested that increased interactions with adult children were related to increased well-being of older persons in several ways. Older persons reported that intergenerational interactions resulted in perceptions that they were valued and their contributions were appreciated by younger persons. These findings were consistent with many other previous studies that have emphasized the ongoing importance of meaning and importance for well-being in late life. Contact with adult children, grandchildren, and even unrelated younger persons can contribute to the meaning and purpose in older persons' lives. This study also has implications for those working in long-term care environments. In particular, older persons highlighted the importance of creating an atmosphere in facilities that provided them with a sense of home. These implications are likely to gain increasing importance as those in the baby boom generation age. In particular, those in the baby boom generation are likely to desire long-term care environments with higher levels of activity and independence. In addition to the qualitative results, this project also examined quantitative data. Findings suggested that older persons in rural areas had higher levels of physical disability than their more urban counterparts, although the differences were small. Also, older persons in rural areas were likely to have higher levels of depression as compared to more urban older persons. At the same time, rural persons were likely to benefit more than urban older persons from high levels of intergenerational interactions. It is likely that rural older persons receive assistance from younger family members with medications and assistance with access to formal health services. There is an assumption that the informal services provided by family members are provided with no cost. This project brings a critical perspective to that assumption.
Publications
- No publications reported this period
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Progress 01/01/08 to 12/31/08
Outputs
OUTPUTS: The focus of this project has been an examination of relationships between intergenerational relationships and the quality of life and well-being of older persons. The project has approached this issue using a variety of activities. The activities include collecting qualitative data from older persons who were utilizing adult day services in an intergenerational center. This center houses an older adult day program and a childcare center in a single building and provides opportunities for daily interaction between children and older persons. This structured, comprehensive program provided a variety of health, social, and other related support services in a protective setting during the day, but less than 24-hour care. Qualitative data were collected using interview guides that were focused on how intergenerational activities were related to their well-being. Data were analyzed and presented at national professional conferences. One manuscript was published and a second has been accepted for publication and is in press. In addition to collecting and analyzing qualitative data, activities associated with this project have also included quantitative analyses of secondary data in the Health and Retirement Study. A graduate assistant has been trained to use statistical software packages to manipulate complex survey data and to analyze those data to answer research questions. Although many specific research questions and hypotheses have been addressed, these have all emanated from a more general concern about how intergenerational relationships and assistance impact the physical and psychological well-being of older persons. Results of these analyses have been presented at national conferences that include the Gerontological Society of America, Rural Sociological Society, and the National Council on Family Relations. One manuscript has been accepted for publication and two other manuscripts are under review. PARTICIPANTS: Timothy Killian, PI, Associate Professor, School of Human Environmental Sciences, University of Arkansas; Aaron Weintraub, Graduate Student; Megan Kula, Graduate Research Assistant. TARGET AUDIENCES: The target audience was older persons, particularly those who live in rural areas, and their adult children. Efforts were focused on increasing the knowledge about older persons and their families to better understand the availability and willingness of family members to provide them with assistance. PROJECT MODIFICATIONS: Nothing significant to report during this reporting period.
Impacts
This research has generated several outcomes that may contribute to increased well-being of older persons. Findings from the qualitative study found that older persons had positive perceptions about how their interactions with children contributed to their well-being. At the same time, there was a wide variation in how engaged older persons were with children. Whereas some participants were highly engaged, others had lower levels of contact. In all cases, however, even for participants with relatively lower levels of contact with children, the intergenerational interaction was perceived as positive. Implications and suggestions for practice included allowing older persons to choose their own level of intergenerational interaction, valuing the contributions that older persons make to the care of children, and to create a family like atmosphere for older persons and children to interact seemed to be the most salient. Because it is likely that traditional long-term nursing care facilities may not meet the needs of those in the baby-boomer generation who have become accustomed to an independent lifestyle with high levels of activity, the challenge for gerontological service providers is to find new and creative ways to meet the changing needs of older persons. Intergenerational programming is emerging as a potential way to meet the needs of a new generation of older persons. Outcomes associated with the quantitative research have focused on the availability and utilization of resources and how those resources are related to the well-being of older persons. As people grow older, it is common for them to experience a decline in physical and psychological functioning. The degree and timing of those declines are often related to resources that are available to them. Older persons may need assistance with medications, financial assistance, transportation, social support, and other kinds of assistance. They may receive assistance from informal sources, such as spouses, adult children, other family members, and friends. Alternatively, older persons may rely on formal sources of assistance from private healthcare providers. This question is important because informal sources of assistance are often assumed to be more efficient than formal sources of assistance because they are assumed to be provided at no cost. This research brings a critical perspective to that assumption. Quantitative analyses of secondary data from over 3000 participants suggest that that there are important sociodemographic dimensions that are related to whether people rely on formal or informal sources of assistance and these variations are likely related to their well-being.
Publications
- No publications reported this period
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Progress 01/01/07 to 12/31/07
Outputs
OUTPUTS: The focus of this project has been an examination of correlations between intergenerational relationships and the quality of life and well-being of older persons. The project has approached this issue using a variety of activities. The activities include collecting qualitative data from older persons who were utilizing adult day services in an intergenerational center. This center houses an older adult day program and a childcare center in a single building and provides opportunities for daily interaction between children and older persons. This structured, comprehensive program provided a variety of health, social, and other related support services in a protective setting during the day, but less than 24-hour care. Qualitative data were collected using interview guides that were focused on how intergenerational activities were related to their well-being. Data were analyzed and presented at national professional conferences. One manuscript was published and a second has
been submitted for review. In addition to collecting and analyzing qualitative data, activities associated with this project have also included quantitative analyses of secondary data in the Health and Retirement Study. A graduate assistant has been trained to use statistical software packages to manipulate complex survey data and to analyze those data to answer research questions. Although many specific research questions and hypotheses have been addressed, these have all emanated from a more general concern about how intergenerational relationships and assistance impact the physical and psychological well-being of older persons. As a result, data analyses have focused on describing the kinds of support that older persons receive, how several dimensions of sociodemographics (i.e., race, age, martial status, rurality, and others) are related to access and utilization of resources by older persons, and how resources are related to the well-being of older persons. Results of these
analyses have been presented at national conferences that include the International Sociological Association, Gerontological Society of America, Rural Sociological Society, and the National Council on Family Relations. One manuscript is under a second review and a second manuscript is under first review. Two graduate students have been trained. Of those, one has graduated and is pursuing a doctorate at another institution. A second graduate student is expected to graduate in May and plans to pursue a doctorate.
PARTICIPANTS: Timothy S. Killian is the project director for this research and has been involved in all aspects of the research. Megan Kula is a graduate assistant that has been involved in analyzing data and assisting in writing manuscripts. Xuewen Sheng is a postdoctoral research associate who has been involved in manipulating and analyzing data. Aaron Weintraub is a former graduate student who has collected and analyzed qualitative data.
TARGET AUDIENCES: The target population of this project includes persons in the United States who are 65 years old and older. This population is growing very rapidly, largely because of the aging of those in the so-called baby-boom generation. In the coming decades, these baby-boomers will age into retirement and begin aging into late life. It is likely the needs of those in the baby-boom generation, who have become accustomed to an independent lifestyle with high levels of activity, are substantively different from the needs of older persons in the previous generation. Moreover, the baby-boom generation is more diverse than the previous generation on many significant sociodemographic dimensions that include race, ethnicity, marital status, rurality, and other dimensions. It is becoming increasingly important to understand the needs and resources of this population and to understand how their needs and availability of resources vary across sociodemographic dimensions. In other words,
the challenge is to recognize that interventions that effectively support the well-being of this new generation may be different than interventions that worked for the previous generation of older persons. Efforts on this project have included developing knowledge about how needs and resources of older persons vary across sociodemographic dimensions and disseminating that knowledge to gerontological and family professionals by making presentations at professional conferences and publishing manuscripts. Efforts have also included training graduate students to address these issues using both quantitative and qualitative analyses.
Impacts
This research has generated several outcomes that may contribute to increased well-being of older persons. Findings from the qualitative study found that intergenerational older persons had positive perceptions about how their interactions with children contributed to their well-being. At the same time, there was a wide variation in how engaged older persons were with children. Whereas some participants were highly engaged, others had lower levels of contact. In all cases, however, even for participants with relatively lower levels of contact with children, the intergenerational interaction was perceived as positive. Implications and suggestions for practice included allowing older persons to choose their own level of intergenerational interaction, valuing the contributions that older persons make to the care of children, and to create a family like atmosphere for older persons and children to interact seemed to be the most salient. Because it is likely that traditional
long-term nursing care facilities may not meet the needs of those in the baby-boomer generation who have become accustomed to an independent lifestyle with high levels of activity, the challenge for gerontological service providers is to find new and creative ways to meet the changing needs of older persons. Intergenerational programming is emerging as a potential way to meet the needs of a new generation of older persons. Outcomes associated with the quantitative research have focused on the availability and utilization of resources and how those resources are related to the well-being of older persons. As people grow older, it is common for them to experience a decline in physical and psychological functioning. The degree and timing of those declines is often related to resources that are available to them. Older persons may need assistance with medications, financial assistance, transportation, social support, and other kinds of assistance. They may receive assistance from informal
sources, such as spouses, adult children, other family members, and friends. Alternatively, older persons may rely on formal sources of assistance from private healthcare providers. This question is important because informal sources of assistance are often assumed to be more efficient than formal sources of assistance because they are assumed to be provided at no cost. This research brings a critical perspective to that assumption. Quantitative analyses of secondary data from over 3000 participants suggest that that there are important sociodemographic dimensions that are related to whether people rely on formal or informal sources of assistance and these variations are likely related to their well-being.
Publications
- Killian, T. S. (2007, November). Rural differences in longitudinal trajectories of monetary transfers from parents to adult non-coresident children. Abstract presented at the National Research Initiative Project Directors Meeting, Santa Clara, CA.
- Sheng, X., & Killian, T. S. (2007, November). Intergenerational monetary transfers and relations with depression and health. Abstract presented at the annual meeting of the Gerontological Society of America, San Francisco, CA.
- Weintraub, A. P. C., & Killian, T. S. (2007). Intergenerational programming: Older persons perceptions of its impact. Journal of Applied Gerontology, 26, 370-384.
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Progress 01/01/06 to 12/31/06
Outputs
Research focused on rural differences in financial assistance that flowed both up and down generations between older persons and their adult children. It is important to understand these transfers because they are related to the effectiveness of public policy and to the likelihood that older persons will receive assistance from their adult children as they grow older and are in need of such assistance. It is also important to study these transfers from a rural perspective because those living in rural areas may experience barriers to services that are not experienced by others, such as a limited number of service providers, accessing services from long distances, lack of health insurance, small local tax bases to subsidize needed health services, and an inability to develop the economies of scale needed to reduce the costs of formal services. Given these barriers to formal services for older persons in rural communities, it is not surprising that rural policymakers
may look to family caregivers as important resources in terms of providing older persons with needed assistance. There are some reasons to expect that monetary transfers from older persons to their adult children vary by rural status. The importance of understanding intergenerational transfers in rural populations is emphasized by studies suggesting that population aging is proceeding at a more rapid pace in rural than in less rural areas. At the same time that the population structures are becoming older, family structures in the United States have grown increasingly diverse characterized by rising rates of divorce and remarriage. The combination of a rapid aging of the population and increased diversity of family structures has presented policymakers with challenges about who holds responsibility for older persons and who will provide them with assistance as they grow older. A cross-sectional study of over 7,000 participants in the Health and Retirement Study (HRS) examined rural
differences in intergenerational exchanges. It was found that about 28.1% of rural households gave at least one monetary transfer to adult children, as compared to about 29.5% of exurban and 30.4% of urban participants. At the same time, however, the average amount of monetary transfers by rural households was larger than the average amount of transfers made by exurban and urban households. Data from over 9,700 participants in the HRS were analyzed using latent class transition models. Generally, a high degree of stability in over time transition patterns was found. Whereas time invariant predictor variables (i.e., age, race, and gender) were related to the probabilities of state membership in Wave 1 of the study, these variables were not predictive of over time changes in states. In regard to time variant predictor variables, geography and socioeconomic status variables were related to state membership in Wave 1 of the study, but infrequently related to state membership in subsequent
waves, largely because previous early state membership predicted later state membership. Only changes in marital status were consistently related to intergenerational exchanges of monetary resources over time.
Impacts
Impact has been to provide information to researchers and policymakers who are concerned about the well-being of rural older persons. Specifically, previous research has found that rural older persons are less likely than non-rural older persons to have community-based services that promote their health and well-being. Although some may assume that adult children provide needed services for their older family members, few studies have examined the availability and willingness of adult children to provide older persons with needed assistance. Information about these transfers is important for policymakers as they attempt to integrate community-based services with services provided by younger family members.
Publications
- No publications reported this period
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Progress 01/01/05 to 12/31/05
Outputs
Research in 2005 focused on rural differences in financial assistance that older persons provided to their adult children and stepchildren. It is important to understand these transfers because they are likely related to the effectiveness of public policy and may be related to the likelihood that older persons will receive assistance from their adult children as they grow older and in need of such assistance. It is also important to study these transfers from a rural perspective because those living in rural areas may experience barriers to services that are not experienced by others, such as a limited number of service providers, accessing services from long distances, lack of health insurance, small local tax bases to subsidize needed health services, and an inability to develop the economies of scale needed to reduce the costs of formal services. Given these barriers to formal services for older persons in rural communities, it is not surprising that rural
policymakers may look to family caregivers as important resources in terms of providing older persons with needed assistance. There are also some reasons to expect that monetary transfers from older persons to their adult children vary by rural status. The importance of understanding intergenerational transfers in rural populations is emphasized by studies suggesting that population aging is proceeding at a more rapid pace in rural than in less rural areas. Researchers found that the median age of those in metro areas was 29.9 years as compared to 30.1 years in non-metro areas in 1980. By 1998, the median age of those in both metro and non-metro areas had risen, but there was a larger rise in the median age of those in non-metro areas. Specifically, the median age of those in metro areas had risen to 34 years and the median age of those in non-metro areas had risen to 36 years. At the same time that the population structures are becoming older, family structures in the United States
have grown increasingly diverse. For example, although recently steady, divorce rates are about three times higher today than in 1960. At the same time, there has been an increase in the formation of remarried and blended families and an increased likelihood that parents will have both children and stepchildren. The combination of a rapid aging of the population and increased diversity of family structures has presented policymakers with challenges about who holds responsibility for older persons and who will provide them with assistance as they grow older. Data from over 7,000 participants in the Health and Retirement Study were analyzed and it was found that about 28.1% of rural households gave at least one monetary transfer to adult children, as compared to about 29.5% of exurban and 30.4% of urban participants. At the same time, however, the average amount of monetary transfers by rural households was larger than the average amount of transfers made by exurban and urban
households. Currently, research is expanding into understanding transfers of caregiving duties and coresidence.
Impacts
The impact of this research has been to provide information to researchers and policymakers who are concerned about the well-being of rural older persons. Specifically, previous research has found that rural older persons are less likely than non-rural older persons to have community-based services that promote their health and well-being. Although some may assume that adult children provide needed services for their older family members, few studies have examined the availability and willingness of adult children to provide older persons with needed assistance. Information about these transfers is important for policymakers as they attempt to integrate community-based services with services provided by younger family members.
Publications
- Killian, T.S., and Ferrell, J. (2005). Perceived obligations of remarried households to provide financial assistance to younger family members. Journal of Intergenerational Relationships, 3, 23-43.
- Killian, T.S., Turner, J, and Cain, R. (2005). Depressive symptoms of caregiving women in midlife: The role of physical health. Journal of Women and Aging, 17, 115-127.
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Progress 01/01/04 to 12/30/04
Outputs
In 2004, analyses of national data sets found that, although family structures are becoming increasingly diverse, intergenerational transfers of resources continue to be an important factor in the well-being of older persons and their adult children and stepchildren. Recent data analyses for this project have focused on monetary exchanges from older persons to their adult children and stepchildren. Not surprisingly, households were more likely to make monetary gifts to children and stepchildren. However, more than one in four households with adult stepchildren gave a monetary gift to one of their stepchildren. Moreover, the average gift to a stepchild was over 3000 dollars. This research supports previous research that suggests that kinship is only one of many factors in how people construct obligations to family members. More specifically, it may be that sentimental relationships between family members or rates of previous exchanges of resources are also related to
perceptions of obligations and intergenerational transfers of resources. These findings are important because financial transfers to adult children and stepchildren are likely related to the financial well-being of children and stepchildren, the effectiveness of public policy, decisions older persons make regarding retirement, and whether or not older adults can expect to receive assistance from their children or stepchildren when they experience age-related declines in their health or economic well-being. More recently, research has begun to examine rural differences in rates of exchange of resources between generations. This research is important because population aging is proceeding at a more rapid pace in rural than in less rural populations. In addition, people living in rural areas are likely to experience barriers to needed services that are not experienced by others. Although rural persons may be more likely to have adult children and be at an advantage relative to their less
rural counterparts in regards to receiving assistance from adult children, there may be greater geographical distance between older adults and their adult children. As a result, it may be that rural adults are not more likely than others to receive assistance from adult children. This research is progressing through the analyses of data from the Health and Retirement Study and is ongoing. This research has also focused on normative obligations of adult children to provide assistance to their parents or stepparents. This research examined relationships between ideological beliefs and constructions of normative obligations. Briefly, this research found that adherence to familistic ideologies was negatively correlated to endorsement of intergenerational obligations between stepparents and stepchildren. These findings raise concerns about policy proposals that suggest shifting responsibility to care for older persons to other family members. This research provides some preliminary
evidence that suggests that as families become increasingly diverse, familistic based approaches to public policy are likely to wane in their effectiveness.
Impacts
Two demographic changes will likely have important implications for older persons and their adult children and stepchildren over the next thirty years. The first is the aging of the population that will commence when those in the so-called baby-boom generation begin reaching 65 years old. The second is the increasing rates of divorce, remarriage, and diversity of family structures. One often proposed solution to policy challenges associated with population aging is to shift responsibility for the wellbeing of older persons to younger family members. However, these proposals are often made without an understanding of increased diversity in family structures. This research will likely have an impact on policies by providing information about how intergenerational exchanges of resources change over time in relationship to other demographic trends. In the end, public policies with the goal of improving the quality of life for older adults are likely to be effective if
they are consonant with demographic changes and are informed by how those changes are related to intergenerational transfers. This research is also likely to have impact by leading to other research about the bases on which people make decisions about helping other family members. For example, although intergenerational obligations are often assumed to be based on kinship, this research has found that kinship alone is an inadequate explanation for intergenerational exchanges. Other explanations, such as sentimental relationships and previous exchanges are also important bases for intergenerational obligations.
Publications
- Killian, T.S. 2004. Intergenerational monetary transfers to adult children and stepchildren: A household level analysis. Journal of Divorce and Remarriage, 42:105-130.
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Progress 01/01/03 to 12/31/03
Outputs
Because monetary transfers from households to their adult noncoresidential children and stepchildren may be related to the financial well being of children or stepchildren, be factors in older adults' decisions about retirement, have implications for public policy, and be related to whether or not older adults receive assistance from their adult children or stepchildren when they are in need of assistance, it is increasingly important to understand these transfers. The purpose of this study was to describe monetary transfers from households to adult children and stepchildren, as well as to identify important variables that predict whether or not households had provided at least one gift to one of their children or stepchildren. Using data from 11,056 households in the Health and Retirement Study, this study found that monetary gifts to stepchildren, although less frequent and smaller than gifts to children, were substantial, especially for stepchildren who had at
least one kinship relationship to the household, particularly if the kinship tie was with their mothers. A second study examined the relationships between providing assistance to aging family members, caregivers' age, caregivers' perceptions of their own physical health, and caregivers' depressive symptoms. Specifically, this research examined three key processes. First, it was suggested that providing assistance to older family members may have both direct and indirect relationships with depressive symptoms, with physical health being the mediating variable. Second, it was suggested that age would be directly and indirectly related to psychological well-being, with physical health being the mediating variable in the indirect relationship between age and depressive symptoms. In addition, this research examined the reciprocal relationship between depression and physical health. These processes were examined using a path analysis of longitudinal data from 1,898 women in midlife who
participated in the 1992 and 2000 waves of the Health and Retirement Study. Although the evidence only supported the last of the three key processes, this study clearly demonstrated the importance of physical health for the psychological well-being of women in midlife. Programs that integrate emotional support, stress management, and physical fitness with respite care for care providers will facilitate increased physical health and psychological well-being for midlife caregivers. At a time of reductions in available formal care, improving the physical and psychological well-being of midlife family caregivers will ensure continuing care for growing numbers of impaired aging adults.
Impacts
The results of these studies provide insight into how programs and policies are likely to impact older and midlife adults in the context of two important and well-documented changes in the demographic structure of the United States: an increase in family diversity and the aging of the population.
Publications
- Killian, T. S. 2003. Intergenerational monetary transfers to adult children and stepchildren: A household analysis. Journal of Divorce and Remarriage. In press.
- Killian, T. S., Turner, M. J., & Cain, R. 2003. Depressive symptoms of caregiving women in midlife: The role of physical health. Journal of Women and Aging. In press.
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Progress 01/01/02 to 12/31/02
Outputs
Generally, progress has been made in analyzing data from two national data sets. Analyses of longitudinal data from nationally representative Health and Retirement Study (HRS) continues. These analyses have addressed two areas of adult development. First, life transitions that are commonly experienced in midlife were examined along with the impact of those transitions on psychological well being. This research found that marital transitions, transitions to caregiving, and declines in physical health were all related to psychological well being of midlife women. Second, the possibility that providing assistance to aging family members may result in physical decline, or that age may result in physical declines in midlife was explored. Also, the role of physical health in the psychological well-being of adults in midlife was examined. Thus, physical health was conceptualized as a possible mediator between caregiving duties, age, and psychological well-being. Although
many of the hypotheses in this paper were not supported, this paper had important implications for understanding the role of physical health in psychological well being during midlife. Analyses of longitudinal data from the nationally representative National Survey of Families and Households also continues. Analyses of these data have also addressed two important areas of adult development. First, the importance of the grandparent role is being assessed by examining whether or not relationships with grandparents have an impact on adolescent well being. While preliminary analyses indicate that closer relationships with grandparents may be related to lower levels of well-being among adolescents, it may be that adolescents who have closer relationships with their grandparents have poorer relationships with their parents. Currently, research is underway that is examining the impact of grandparent relationships on adolescent well-being within the context of adolescents' relationships with
their parents. Second, preliminary analyses are beginning that examine the role of in-law relationships on adult development. Although this project is in the preliminary stages of development, it is presumed that in-law relationships are likely related to depression, global happiness, and marital satisfaction.
Impacts
This research will contribute to the understanding of how families negotiate their relationships over time. Specifically, this research will aid future researchers, family professionals, and policymakers to better understand relationships between family members across generations.
Publications
- Killian, T. S., & Ganong, L. (2002). Ideology, context, and obligations to assist older persons. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 64, 1080 - 1088.
- Turner, M. J., Killian, T. S., Cain, R. (2002). Depression among midlife adults: The role of caregiving and health. The Gerontologist, Special Edition. Refereed Abstract.
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