Building Understanding
Grandchild Care and Grandparents' Well-being in Context: The Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic View Digital Media
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Mareike Bünning, Oliver Huxhold
Many grandparents regularly take care of grandchildren who live outside their household. Results on how such supplementary grandchild care is related to grandparents’ subjective well-being are ambiguous so far. In this study, we assume that the societal and situational context in which grandparenting takes place moderates the association between grandchild care and grandparents’ well-being. In particular, we argue that the COVID-19 pandemic may have had a profound impact in this regard: On the one hand, grandchild care during the pandemic may have been particularly straining, resulting in a more negative effect on well-being. On the other hand, grandchild care may have been particularly relevant for enhancing well-being during the pandemic, as it protected grandparents from social isolation. Using panel data from three waves of the German Ageing Survey (2014, 2017, 2020) and maximum likelihood structural equation modelling, we find that grandchild care generally fosters well-being in grandparents and its beneficial effects even increased in importance during the pandemic. In particular, grandchild care was associated with reduced feelings of loneliness for both grandmothers and grandfathers, and among grandfathers this association became even stronger during the pandemic. In addition, among grandmothers taking care of grandchildren came along with greater life satisfaction during the pandemic. By contrast, we found no evidence that grandchild care increased perceived stress before or during the pandemic for either grandmothers or grandfathers. This study therefore highlights that we need to consider the specific context in which grandchild care takes places to understand how grandchild care relates to well-being.
Inequalities, Threats, and Opportunities of Innovative Services for Elderly People: Quantitative Sociological Research in Cremona, Italy View Digital Media
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Niccolò Morelli, Cecilia Capozzi
In an ageing society, reducing inequalities and ensuring a sustainable and dignified ageing process are crucial priorities. However, older people with more resources tend to age better, often due to their easier access to policies and services that support "ageing in place", such as new technologies and digital services, which may not be equally accessible to all older adults. This study analyses inequalities across different age groups and identify the needs of today's and tomorrow's elderly population. We conducted a screening of the over 60 population in the municipality of Cremona, one of the oldest in Italy, to examine the relationship between inequalities in economic, cultural, social, and relational resources, age, level of autonomy, and real or potential use of digital services. The sample of 1300 subjects is representative of the resident population by age, sex, income, and neighbourhood. We anticipate finding relationships between inequalities and well-being in ageing, and we aim to identify the needs and capabilities of different age groups. The results of this study benefit the scientific community by shedding light on the factors that make innovative services either an opportunity or a threat for older adults, such as when they increase social isolation, and contribute to the sustainability of the system. Furthermore, policymakers can use these results to make informed decisions on which policies to invest in and for which specific age groups, thus ensuring well-being for all as they age.
Challenges in Measuring the Prevalence of Loneliness among Older Adults View Digital Media
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Elia R.G. Pusterla, Cavalli Stefano, Stefano Cereghetti
This paper discerns the challenges associated with estimating the prevalence of loneliness, with a special focus on older adults. Generally described as a distressing feeling that arises when there is a mismatch between desired and actual levels of social integration, loneliness seriously impacts both health and longevity. There is thus a growing interest in measuring and comparing the prevalence of loneliness within and between countries to assess the extent of the problem. This endeavour is hindered by various challenges that have yet to be exhaustively discussed and analysed. To achieve this objective, the paper compares data on loneliness from the latest relevant waves of five publicly available population studies conducted in Switzerland: the European Social Survey (2014), MOSAiCH (2017), SHARE (2019), the Swiss Health Survey (2017), and the Swiss Household Panel (2019). First, it extracts the mean levels of loneliness from the different datasets. Second, it transforms these into percentages to render them comparable. Mean levels of loneliness vary considerably from dataset to dataset and range from 8.53% in the European Social Survey to 18.6% in the Swiss Household Panel. The variation is particularly pronounced among the oldest old (85+), who present mean levels of loneliness that fluctuate from 7.94% in MOSAiCH to 24.2% in the Swiss Household Panel. These discrepancies are most likely due to various factors such as the number and type of questions and the number and type of response options employed in the questionnaires.
Relationships between Care Managers’ Characteristics and Assessment Practices for “8050 Problem" Cases in Japan View Digital Media
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Takako Ayabe
In Japan, the "8050 problem", where parents in their 80s who need nursing care and children in their 50s live together, has become an important social issue. In these households, children are usually dependent on their parents, socially withdrawn, and financially challenged. Care managers are in charge of guardians in their 80s. The purpose of this study is to examine the relationship between care managers’ characteristics and their assessment practices for "8050 problem" cases. For the survey, a self-reported questionnaire was mailed to all 1,410 care managers in Osaka City. The response rate was 11.8%. Independent variables, representing care managers characteristics, were their primary qualification, experience in social work, experience in care management, team approach, and participation in training programs for “8050 problem” cases. The dependent variables, representing the assessment practices for "8050 problem" cases, were mental and living conditions of children's and parents' physical and mental conditions, Parents’ perspectives on their lives, and parents and children’s financial situations, living environment, relationships between the informal and formal supports and the parents and children. Structural equation modeling was performed to explore relationships between the variables. The resulting goodness of fit index was within acceptable limits. Parents' physical and mental conditions (p<.05) and parents’ perspectives on their lives (p<.01) were significantly correlated with participation in training programs for “8050 problem” cases. The results suggest that a training program for “8050 problem” cases is effective in developing appropriate assessment skills for care managers that solve the “8050 problems.”
