Do grandchildren influence how old you feel?
Do grandchildren influence how old you feel?
OBJECTIVES: Guided by the acknowledged importance of measures of aging alternative to chronological age, we explored the association between subjective age, on the one hand, and having grandchildren and provision of grandchild care, on the other, by gender and age groups.
METHOD: Data from the Health and Retirement Study (HRS; N = 1,701 men and 2,395 women aged 50-85) and linear regression models were used to test two hypotheses.
RESULTS: Grandparents feel older than their grandchildless counterparts at younger ages, but such association is reversed in later life if they look after their grandchildren. A cumulative negative association between subjective age and both having grandchildren and providing grandchild care holds for older women.
DISCUSSION: This study extends prior research by examining age and gender differences in factors associated with subjective age. The findings suggest that grandparenthood is central in shaping the personal experience of aging. Future studies should address the causality of the factors analyzed.
subjective age, grandparents, grandchilcare, intergenerational relationships, health and retirement study hrs
1-18
Bordone, Valeria
88af471f-1f47-440e-9546-7e83912c71a9
Arpino, Bruno
dbf9d7e9-a77a-45a1-84ae-b5fc37ab7a84
Bordone, Valeria
88af471f-1f47-440e-9546-7e83912c71a9
Arpino, Bruno
dbf9d7e9-a77a-45a1-84ae-b5fc37ab7a84
Abstract
OBJECTIVES: Guided by the acknowledged importance of measures of aging alternative to chronological age, we explored the association between subjective age, on the one hand, and having grandchildren and provision of grandchild care, on the other, by gender and age groups.
METHOD: Data from the Health and Retirement Study (HRS; N = 1,701 men and 2,395 women aged 50-85) and linear regression models were used to test two hypotheses.
RESULTS: Grandparents feel older than their grandchildless counterparts at younger ages, but such association is reversed in later life if they look after their grandchildren. A cumulative negative association between subjective age and both having grandchildren and providing grandchild care holds for older women.
DISCUSSION: This study extends prior research by examining age and gender differences in factors associated with subjective age. The findings suggest that grandparenthood is central in shaping the personal experience of aging. Future studies should address the causality of the factors analyzed.
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e-pub ahead of print date: 9 December 2015
Keywords:
subjective age, grandparents, grandchilcare, intergenerational relationships, health and retirement study hrs
Organisations:
Gerontology
Identifiers
Local EPrints ID: 389461
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/389461
ISSN: 0898-2643
PURE UUID: 59f6bdd2-aa83-4fcb-a649-80d016519cf3
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Date deposited: 08 Mar 2016 09:52
Last modified: 14 Mar 2024 23:04
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Author:
Valeria Bordone
Author:
Bruno Arpino
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