Affiliation:
1. Wittgenstein Centre (IIASA, VID/ÖAW, WU), International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis, Laxenburg, Austria
2. Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Barcelona, Spain
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.
Subject
Geriatrics and Gerontology,Community and Home Care,Gerontology
Cited by
37 articles.
订阅此论文施引文献
订阅此论文施引文献,注册后可以免费订阅5篇论文的施引文献,订阅后可以查看论文全部施引文献