WHAT ARE THE SOCIAL CIRCUMSTANCES AND
THE SOCIAL WELL-BEING OF OLDER PEOPLE?
American Psychological Association
Table of Contents
Why Practitioners Need Information
Family and friends are key social supports for many older adults. The following data refer to noninstitutionalized older persons, except where noted.
- In 1993, 64 percent of those aged 65 to 74 were married and living with a spouse. Among those aged 85 years and older, 24 percent lived with their spouse and 48 percent lived alone. Older men were nearly twice as likely as older women to be married and living with their spouse. Half the women over the age of 65 are widows. Older women are more likely to live alone than are older men.
- Of those older adults with living children in 1984, nearly half (48 percent) had daily contact, and 86 percent had at least weekly contact with their children.
- Many older adults provide assistance to younger family members, including giving emotional support, caring for grandchildren or disabled children, providing a place to live, or making monetary gifts or loans.
- An older spouse is most likely to be the caregiver for an impaired older adult in the community. The majority of caregivers are women.
- About four of five older adults report having one or more confidants. Generally, women have more interaction with friends than do men.
- In 1990, about 1.4 percent of adults aged 65 to 74 lived in a nursing home, compared with 6 percent of adults in the 75 to 84 year old group and 24 percent in the 85 years and older group. One of every three nursing home residents is a woman aged 85 or older.
- Salient risk factors for institutionalization include: age over 75 years, living alone, immobile, demented, and recently hospitalized.
