Vira R. Kivett

Grandfathers and Grandchildren: Patterns of Association, Helping, and Psychological Closeness.

The present study analyzed data from 99 grandfathers living in a rural transitional area with regard to patterns of association and helping and levels of affect. The data showed the grandfather role to be of little relative importance as seen through low levels of interaction and priority as a role. This was despite the fact that older men had relatively high expectations for assistance from grandchildren in times of need. Geographical proximity was the factor most consistently related to the grandfathergrandchild relationship. The data suggest the low instrumental value of grandfathergrandchild roles and the areas in which they possibly may be strengthened.

Racial Comparisons of the Grandmother Role: Implications for Strengthening the Family Support System of Older Black Women.

This research was in response to the needfor more information on the ethnic diversity of the grandmother role and the implications for strengthening the support network of older black women. The subjects consisted of 79 black grandmothers and 87 white grandmothers 65 years of age or older. The results of the research show cultural distinctions in the grandmother role and suggest ways in which this diversity can be used to strengthen the support system of older rural black women, a significant percentage of whom fall below the poverty level.

Very-old rural adults : Functional status and social support

This 20-year follow-up study examined the physical, psychological, and social outcomes, and social supports of 49 survivors of an original sample of 418 rural adults who were aged 65 years and older in 1976. The majority of adults lived alone but received regular assistance. Families, especially adult children, were their primary social supports. Very few formal supports were used. Psychological well-being among the very-old was good as expressed through life satisfaction and morale, despite multiple health problems and moderate levels of dependence on others for activities of daily living and instrumental activities of daily living. Both the cross-sectional and the longitudinal data from this study support the need to rethink issues of social support, independence, and family relationships in very-old age.

Older Rural Fathers and Sons: Patterns of Association and Helping.

This study examined the extent to which adult sons were incorporated into the support network of older rural men through a convergent symbolic-interaction/exchange theory perspective. Respondents were 56 rural men, 65 years or older, selected through an area cluster sampling strategy. The findings showed adult sons play a relatively minor role in the support network of older fathers as seen through helping. Neither were they frequent recipients of help. Sons played a moderately active role through their participation in family ceremonies and emergencies (association). The extent to which older fathers received or gave help could not be predicted. Association between fathers and sons, however, could be explained through proximity. Suggestions are provided for practitioners concerned with the support network of older adults living in geographical areas experiencing a rural to urban change.

Aging in a rural place: the elusive source of well-being☆

Abstract The overall purpose of this study was to provide more insight into the explanation of the rural-urban paradox of perceived life condition through objective and subjective measures of rural within-group disparities. The objectives of the study were: (1) compare the general life condition and subjective well-being of four subgroups of the elderly: white males, white females, black males and black females; (2) determine the similarity of correlates of subjective well-being among the groups; and (3) determine qualitatively, some of the more elusive sources of well-being among the rural elderly as a group. Quantitative data on the life situation and morale of 365 rural by-passed elderly 65 years and older, and qualitative information on 30 corresponding adults were analyzed. The results from the quantitative analyses showed within-group socioeconomic differences among the rural elderly yet no differences in their morale. This finding paralleled that usually observed for rural-urban groups. This phenomena appeared to be explained qualitatively in part through associationistic theory or the extent to which older adults made positive associations with their rural environment. Several factors, elusive in nature, appeared to diminish differences in subjective well-being and they included: a strong sense of friend and neighbor network; a sense of personal space; and the ability to maintain a strong value system as seen through continued activities (gardening, visiting, helping), friend network exchange and religious participation. Implications for researchers and practitioners are provided.

Loneliness and the Rural Widow.

The purpose of this study was to determine if rural widows (N = 103) could be classified into three levels of loneliness on the basis of one or more of 16 physical, social, and psychological variables. A multiple discriminant analysis derived two factors that differentiated among levels of loneliness. The first and more important function served to distinguish the sometimes from the never lonely on the basis of satisfaction with relationships. The second separated the frequently from the never lonely and appeared to be a measure of physical isolation as determined by selfperceived health and transportation. Implications for intervention are discussed.

Rural/Urban Elderly and Siblings: Their Value Consensus.

Consensus is the level of agreement about life felt among kin and has been identified as a dimension of family solidarity with important implications for the family network. This investigation studied the factors contributing to the consensus between older adults (age sixty-five and older) and the sibling with whom they had the most contact. Respondents (N = 275) lived in a rural/urban area. Seven independent variables were entered into a multiple-regression model to determine their relative importance to consensus of the sibling relationship. Results showed that 7 percent of the variance in consensus could be explained. Filial expectations, educational disparity, and the brother/sister link were the only variables of relative importance to older adult/sibling consensus. There was greater consensus when there were fewer expectations of the sibling, similarity of educational backgrounds, and when the respondent was male and his sibling was female. Brother/sister and brother/brother links, residential proximity, communication by mail or telephone, helping behaviors, and marital status were of no relative importance to consensus. The results suggest that factors previously found to be associated with intergenerational consensus may vary in their importance to intragenerational consensus.

The consumer expenditures of elderly women: Racial, marital, and rural/urban impacts

This research, using data from the interview component of the 1990 Consumer Expenditure Survey (CES), examines the main and interaction effects of race, marital status, and residence on the economic well-being of women 65 years or older (N=3,205). Economic well-being is measured by total annualized expenditures of the household for goods and services. The first hypothesis is supported: race, marital status, and urban or rural residence each has a major effect on the economic well-being of older women after adjusting for the effects of age and household size. The characteristics of nonwhite, nonmarried, and rural are associated with lower economic well-being. The second hypothesis is not supported: race, marital status, and residence do not interact to produce differences in the economic well-being of older women. Both hypotheses are examined by analysis of covariance. The results show the economic diversity of older women and the persistent effects of race, marital status, and rural or urban residence on the economic well-being of older women regardless of age and household size.

Rural-Urban Differences in the Physical and Mental Health of Older Adults1

This study determined whether differences could be observed in the health status and morale of older rural adults living within an area of rural to urban change and older urban adults. Results showed no differences in the perceived health status of urban and rural elderly, in the number of days sick or hospitalized, physical ability to get around, type of health problems, hearing, or morale. Important differences were found in income, education, employment, marital status, and race. The data caution against the use of broad rural-urban generalizations in addressing the health status of the rural elderly without consideration of metropolitan location and suggest the utility of maximizing urban resources to augment the support networks of outlying elderly.

The Widowed, Black, Older Adult in the Rural South: Implications for Policy.

The purpose of this study was to examine the characteristics and needs of the widowed black older adult. Special attention was given to the implications for policy. The sample was composed of 72 widowed blacks that were drawn from a larger random sample of 418 rural elderly adults (65-99 years). The general economic plight of widowed blacks suggested the need for a basic floor of defined vital services that would speak to income health housing and transportation needs. The vital role of the family and of the church in the support systems of widowed blacks is discussed. A strategy for bringing services to disadvantaged communities where constituent action is unlikely is suggested. (authors)