Exploring Marriages and Families
Third Edition
Chapter 14
Families in Middle and Later
Life
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Learning Objectives
14.1 Explain the “demographic revolution.”
14.2 Describe aging in historical perspective.
14.3 Identify the transitions families experience.
14.4 Summarize issues experienced by the aging couple.
14.5 Discuss the grief process associated with widowhood.
14.6 Analyze the role of grandparents in the lives of their grandchildren.
14.7 Analyze the life stage of retirement.
14.8 Discuss health issues of the elderly.
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Judy Ben Joud/Shutterstock
Figure 14.1 Number of Persons Age 65 and
Older, 1900-2060 (millions)
The number of elders is quickly rising as the baby boom generation grows older.
Source: Administration on Aging, 2016.
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The Demographic Revolution
• Baby Boom Generation: People born in the years after World War II through the early
1960s
• The Oldest-Old Are Increasing
– Life Expectancy: The amount of time (in years) a person can expect to live from
birth
– Centenarian: A person who lives at least 100 years
• Elderly Women Outnumber Elderly Men
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Table 14.1 Population Projections for
Persons Ages 85 and Older (millions)
Sources: Administration on Aging, Administration for Community Living, 2014.
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Karen Seccombe
Table 14.2 Milestones in the Life
of Blanche Seccombe
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Karen Seccombe
Figure 14.2 Percent of Older Men and
Women Who Are Married or Widowed,
2014
As we age, the likelihood of being married decreases, especially for women, whereas the
likelihood of being widowed increases.
Source: Based on Stepler, 2016a.
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Figure 14.3 Living Arrangements of Men
and Women Age 65 and Older, 2014
Most older men live with their spouses; most older women do not.
Source: Based on Stepler, 2016a.
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Aging in Historical Perspective
• Social Security: A federal government-sponsored cash assistance program for seniors
(and survivors)
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Family Transitions (1 of 2)
• Life-Stage Perspective: A perspective that claims development proceeds through a fairly
set pattern of sequential stages that most people experience
• Life-Span Perspective: A perspective that claims development is a lifelong process, is
multidirectional, and consists of both positive and negative changes involving gains and
losses
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Family Transitions (2 of 2)
• Life-Course Perspective: A perspective that sees age-related transitions as socially
produced, socially recognized, and shared – a product of social structure, historical
forces, and culture
• Children Leaving (and Returning) Home: Boomerangers
• Relationships between Adults and Their Elderly Parents
• Adult Siblings
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Figure 14.4 Living Arrangements of Young
Adults, Ages 18-34, 1960 and 2014
The recession brought many adult children back to their parents’ home, which is now the most
common residence among young adults ages 18 to 34.
Source: Based on Fry, 2016.
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The Aging Couple
• Marital Satisfaction
– Sexuality
• Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Elders
• Childfree Older Families
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Widowhood
• The Process of Grief and Bereavement
– Denial
– Anger
– Bargaining
– Depression
– Acceptance
• Sex Differences in the Experience of Widowhood
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Grandparents and Their Grandchildren (1
of 2)
• Changing grandparent role over the last century:
– Grandparenting has become a role distinct from parenting
– Grandparents are healthier and better educated
– Grandparents—and grandfathers in particular—are now more likely to recognize
the importance of emotional involvement
– Grandparents and their grandchildren can more easily travel long distances and
communicate by telephone or computer
– Grandparents are more likely to live with their grandchild than in the recent past
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Grandparents and Their Grandchildren (2
of 2)
• Companionate grandparenting: A type of grandparenting where the grandparents and
grandchildren enjoy recreational activities, occasional overnight stays, and even
babysitting with an emphasis on fun and enjoyment.
• Remote grandparenting: A type of grandparenting in which the grandparents and
grandchildren are emotionally or physically distant.
• Involved grandparenting: A type of grandparenting in which the grandparents and
grandchildren have frequent interaction or possibly even live together.
• Grandmothers and Grandfathers: Same or Different?
– Kinkeeping: Maintaining ties among family members
• Racial and Ethnic Differences in Grandparenting Styles
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Table 14.3 Types of GrandparentGrandchild Relationships
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Figure 14.5 Percentage of Grandparents
Engaging in Activities with Grandchild over
Past 12 Months
Most grandparents have companionate relationships with their grandchildren and engage in a
variety of fun and intimate activities.
Source: Cherlin & Furstenberg, 1986.
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Retirement
• The Social Construction of Retirement
• Men, Women, and Retirement
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Table 14.4 Labor Force Participation
among the Elderly, 1990-2020 (Projected)
Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2015c.
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Figure 14.6 Care of the Elderly is an
Increasing Share of the U.S. Gross Domestic
Product (GDP), 2000-2035
The cost of elder care is consuming more and more of U.S. gross domestic product.
Source: Schieber, 2008.
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Health (1 of 2)
• Activities of Daily Living
– Gerontologists: Researchers studying issues affecting the elderly
– Activities of Daily Living (ADLs): General day-to-day activities such as cooking,
cleaning, bathing, and home repair
• Severe Memory Loss
– Alzheimer’s Disease: The most common form of dementia; at present, it is
incurable
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Health (2 of 2)
• Long-Term Care and Caregiving
– Formal Care
 Formal Care: Care provided by social service agencies on a paid or volunteer
basis
– Informal Care
 Informal Care: Unpaid care by someone close to the care recipient
– Sandwich Generation: A generation of people who are in the middle of two living
generations, providing care to members of cohorts on both sides of them: parents
and children
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Bringing It Full Circle
• What stresses or strains are associated with caregiving, and how might these be
affected by race, ethnicity, social class, and sex?
• What options does Amy have for reducing some of the stress in her life? What types of
formal supports should be available to her? Why are they not available now, or are they?
• Reflecting on Amy’s experience, how will you care for an aging parent who needs
assistance? How will their needs, and your potential response to their needs, affect your
work, family, and other dimensions of your life?
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Copyright
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