Retirement and marital satisfaction
Article Abstract:
Marital satisfaction may be affected by a variety of life circumstances, such as having children, employment, and retirement. Studies have shown that married people tend to perceive that the quality of the marriage declines over the first 20 years, but there is some evidence that marital satisfaction improves later in life. It has been suggested that marriage may become more satisfying later in life because the demands of parenthood and employment are past, or at least diminished. However, there has been little research regarding the effects of retirement on the quality of married life. Questionnaires were completed by 1,065 men and 1,011 women who were currently married and were aged 55 or older; in some cases both husband and wife responded, and in others, only one spouse filled out the form. The subjects rated their satisfaction level of the following aspects of marriage: love and affection; companionship; understanding shown by their spouse for their problems and feelings; and the marital relationship overall. They were asked if they would marry the same person again, and if they were currently happier or less happy than in the first few years of marriage. Data were also collected regarding employment status, so that retirement could be related to responses regarding marital satisfaction. Contrary to previous studies showing at least a temporary improvement in satisfaction after retirement, this study showed adverse effects of retirement upon marital satisfaction. Wives that were still employed were particularly dissatisfied after their husbands' retirement. There was no evidence that either wives or husbands felt increased marital satisfaction after retirement. (Consumer Summary produced by Reliance Medical Information, Inc.)
Publication Name: Journals of Gerontology
Subject: Seniors
ISSN: 0022-1422
Year: 1989
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A multivariate comparison of the involvement of adult sons versus daughters in the care of impaired parents
Article Abstract:
Daughters are more likely than sons to be caregivers to elderly parents, especially when direct, personal care is involved. The research is deficient, however, and this widely held generalization is not scientifically useful without more reliable data. The present study controlled for some of the variables that were not controlled for in other studies, to determine whether gender differences in parent care persisted after experimental correction. Data were extracted from a national survey of people aged 65 and older in the United States who required help in at least one daily activity for at least three months. The subsample used here consisted of 4,371 elders who had 13,172 living adult children. Data included measures of sociodemographics and health status for both elders and adult children. Overall, the analysis provided evidence that daughters are more likely to care for their elders than sons when other factors are controlled for. In this study, daughters were 3.22 times more likely than sons to provide assistance with activities of daily living (such as eating, dressing, or bathing), and 2.56 more likely to provide assistance with instrumental activities of daily living (doing the laundry, preparing meals, shopping, etc.). It is suggested that the design of this experiment made it possible to more accurately isolate the effects of gender and to include all children in the analysis rather than just those already providing care. The evidence that daughters do indeed take on significantly more of the caregiving role for elderly and frail parents than sons do is particularly solid. (Consumer Summary produced by Reliance Medical Information, Inc.)
Publication Name: Journals of Gerontology
Subject: Seniors
ISSN: 0022-1422
Year: 1991
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Gender differences in parent care: demographic factors and same-gender preferences
Article Abstract:
Gender differences among adult children providing care to parent requiring assistance in actvities of daily living wereevaluated from data on 4,371 infirm parents and their 13,172 children from the National Long-Term Care Survey. Data showed that adult children usually cared for parent of the same gender and chronically ill parents were usually cared for by children of the same gender.
Publication Name: Journals of Gerontology
Subject: Seniors
ISSN: 0022-1422
Year: 1993
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