Status In Later Life Research Articles

Immigrating for status in late life: Effects of globalization on Filipino American veterans

In this article we examine the late-life immigration of Filipino American veterans who have recently been awarded U.S. citizenship based on their military service to the United States during World War II. Based on data collected with 27 Filipino American veterans, we found that the primary motivation for veterans' immigration from the Philippines in late life is economic. When Filipino veterans decide to come to the United States, they do so to collect the financial benefits of citizenship and for the recognition and status it brings, especially within the family. In immigrating, Filipino American veterans live with considerable uncertainty about what the future holds, but at the same time they accrue power and status that ensures their continued centrality in their families. Such action enables them to maintain their independence in old age. The phenomenon of late-life immigration among Filipino American veterans is a case study in globalization and the fluid identities that elders maintain in moving back and forth between these linked worlds.

Peak bone mineral accrual and age at menarche in adolescent girls: a 6-year longitudinal study.

The greatest increase in bone mineral content occurs during adolescence. The amount of bone accrued may significantly affect bone mineral status in later life. We carried out a longitudinal investigation of the magnitude and timing of peak bone mineral content velocity (PBMCV) in relation to peak height velocity (PHV) and the age at menarche in a group of adolescent girls over a 6-year period. The 53 girls in this study are a subset of the 115 girls (initially 8 to 16 years) in a 6-year longitudinal study of bone mineral accretion. The ages at PBMCV and PHV were determined by using a cubic spline curve fitting procedure. Determinations were based on height (n = 12) and bone (n = 6) measurements over 6 years. The timing of PBMCV and menarche were coincident, preceded approximately 1 year earlier by PHV. Correlation showed a negative relationship between age at menarche and both peak bone mineral accrual (r = -0.42, P < .002) and PHV (r = -0.45, P < .001). This longitudinal study demonstrated the close association between age at PBMCV and age at menarche and confirmed the relationship between greater PBMCV and PHV in earlier, as compared with later, maturing girls.

Are outcome data regarding the survivors of neonatal care available from routine sources?

AIMTo determine whether existing information and surveillance systems can be used to provide follow up data on groups of infants at increased risk of disability—for example, the survivors of neonatal...

Pathways to labor force exit: work transitions and work instability.

The purpose of this study is to examine alternative pathways to labor force exit among older men. Based on the life course perspective, we distinguish between crisp exits from the labor force, which are characterized as being unidirectional, and blurred transition patterns, which include repeated exists, entrances, and unemployment spells. Using longitudinal data from the 1984 Survey of Income and Program Participation, we find that one-quarter of the sample of men aged 55 to 74 at first interview experienced at least one transition in labor force status over a 28-month observation period. Fewer than half of these can be characterized as crisp exists from the labor force. Our multivariate analysis suggests that blurred transition patterns are likely part of an effort to maintain economic status in later life.

Family Change and Marital Status in Later Life

This paper discusses the marital status of the aged in the context of changes in the family, especially trends in marriage and divorce. Marital status is an indicator of family resources for care and support; decreases in the proportions married particularly denote diminished access to such resources. Although the decline in the prevalence of marriage has been most marked among younger generations, the composition of the older population is changing as birth cohorts with disrupted marital histories advance into later life. The paper discusses the past and future marital status of cohorts of the aged using observed data and information from a new method of projecting marital status. The analysis shows that although past changes have mainly indicated an improvement in family resources, Australia is on the threshold of a decline in such resources as higher proportions experience family breakdown and live their later years without spouses, the main carers and supporters of the aged.

Health care providers' subjective understandings of old age: Implications for threatened status in late life

The ways in which health care providers subjectively define patients as being old are unexamined and taken-for-granted. Based upon interviews with 42 physicians and nurses, this article identifies three conceptual domains (chronology, poor health status and “old” behaviors) that underlie their subjective definitions of old age. It also examines the meanings and relative importance of these domains. Ultimately, physicians and nurses understand old age as issues of poor health status and physical and mental inactivity. Their understandings of old age as sickness and inactivity can undermine adult status in late life in two ways: (I) they contribute to some providers' erroneous and potentially devastating expectations about the health and behavior of people in late life; and (2) they reinforce some providers' perceptions that the patient role is the appropriate behavioral model for older adults.

Continuity or Change: Inequalities in Health in Later Life

ABSTRACTLater life and ill health are perceived as being synonymous. To be old is to be unhealthy, while youth is associated with good health. One result of the widespread acceptance of this stereotype is that there has been little analysis of differences in health status within the post-retirement age groups. Data from the 1980 and 1985 General Household Survey (GHS) are used to consider patterns of health in later life. Using cross-sectional analysis, it is shown that morbidity increases with age. However, even for those aged 85+ the experience of ill health is shown not to be universal. Health status varies between both men and women and between the social classes. These differences are shown not to be the result of the varying age composition of the gender and class groups. The data presented show that there are profound age, gender and class differences in health status in later life and these represent the continuation of inequalities observed within the non-retired population.

Pediatric HBsAg Chronic Liver Disease and Adult Asymptomatic Carrier Status

Unlike adults (greater than 60% of cases), it is rare to find the chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) carrier status with normal transaminases among children. The aim of this study was to investigate whether this status would depend on the duration of HBV infection, that is, whether chronic hepatitis in childhood would lead to the asymptomatic carrier status in later life. We reexamined all of our patients with chronic HBV infection of greater than 10 years' duration and with histologically documented chronic hepatitis during childhood. This was a group of 36 adolescents and young adults. All subjects were screened for tumor using alpha-fetoprotein assay and hepatic ultrasound. Eight patients with cirrhosis underwent esophageal fiberoptic endoscopy. All patients were in good general condition, with no clinical signs of liver failure. Only two patients had abnormal transaminase levels, both of whom had evidence of delta infection. All but one patient became anti-HBe positive. Five cases had HBsAg clearance. (Seventy-one percent of patients were HBeAg positive and 14% anti-HBe positive at the onset of the disease.) Hepatic ultrasound revealed no tumors in any of the subjects, and fiberoptic endoscopy demonstrated no esophageal varices. This study suggests that (a) chronic hepatitis and asymptomatic carrier status may be subsequent stages of the B virus infection; and (b) chronic hepatitis in childhood is generally benign and may evolve into an asymptomatic carrier status. The main problem with the chronic carrier status is probably the increased risk of hepatocellular carcinoma.

Pediatric HBsAg Chronic Liver Disease and Adult Asymptomatic Carrier Status

SummaryUnlike adults (&gt;60% of cases), it is rare to find the chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) carrier status with normal transaminases among children. The aim of this study was to investigate whether this status would depend on the duration of HBV infection, that is, whether chronic hepatitis in childhood would lead to the asymptomatic carrier status in later life. We reexamined all of our patients with chronic HBV infection of &gt;10 years' duration and with histologically documented chronic hepatitis during childhood. This was a group of 36 adolescents and young adults. All subjects were screened for tumor using α‐fetoprotein assay and hepatic ultrasound. Eight patients with cirrhosis underwent esophageal fiberoptic endoscopy. All patients were in good general condition, with no clinical signs of liver failure. Only two patients had abnormal transaminase levels, both of whom had evidence of delta infection. All but one patient became anti‐HBe positive. Five cases had HBsAg clearance. (Seventy‐one percent of patients were HBeAg positive and 14% anti‐HBe positive at the onset of the disease.) Hepatic ultrasound revealed no tumors in any of the subjects, and fiberoptic endoscopy demonstrated no esophageal varices. This study suggests that (a) chronic hepatitis and asymptomatic carrier status may be subsequent stages of the B virus infection; and (b) chronic hepatitis in childhood is generally benign and may evolve into an asymptomatic carrier status. The main problem with the chronic carrier status is probably the increased risk of hepatocellular carcinoma.

A COMPARISON OF THE PSYCHOLOGICAL WELL‐BEING OF NEVER‐MARRIED AND MARRIED AGED LIVING IN URBAN AUSTRALIA

AbstractThis study, based upon analyses of the A.N.U. Ageing and The Family Project's survey, disputes the negative stereotype often applied to older people who have never‐married. It shows that those who are physically and mentally able and living within the community are no more likely to suffer from depression, dissatisfaction and social relationships, loneliness, or anxiety than their married peers.The results show that never‐married older people are self‐sufficient individuals who enjoy spending time alone, and living without the complications associated with marriage. Social factors have little importance in the maintenance of the never‐married's morale, while the opposite is true of the marrieds. In any future research on the social consequences of marital status in later life it would seem apposite to include some form of personality measure.