Some family members live alone and some family members co-reside with a relative like an adult child. Many factors lead to this decision and vary between middle-aged and older adults. Co-residence of elderly parents and their adult children is a form of intergenerational relation that is common around the world. There are many contributing factors that affect why middle-aged and older adults live alone or co-reside. This paper will identify, analyze and address the family paradox of living alone or family co-residence among middle aged and older adults and address the underlying causes for why this paradox perseveres within families as they age. Around the world there are increasing numbers of older adults and middle-aged adults living alone. …show more content…
& Lee, C. D., 2004). Despite the increased risks of living alone, older adults who previously lived alone were more likely than those who co-resided to have better functioning. Older adults also now tend to live farther away from their adult children, making it more difficult to co-reside. Many older adults do not want to move out of their homes, away from their social circles, or out of their towns, so when their child moves away and they can no longer live alone, older adults and their adult children have to figure out living arrangements. According to previous research women are more likely than men to live alone as they age (Velkoff, p.1). After a divorce or death of a spouse, men are more likely to get remarried or cohabitate with their significant other or family member. There is also the concept of ‘aging in place’. For older adults, ‘aging in place’ might mean growing old and staying in a location of their choosing and having support that makes sure that their housing is okay for them to live in, while also giving them their independence and social contact (Koopman-Boyden & Moosa, 2014). Many older adults still want their autonomy and some believe that co-residing …show more content…
Older adults who live alone tend to participate more in community social events and use social networking to keep in more constant contact with others. Previous research suggests that older adults who live alone may not be completely satisfied with aging or living alone, but they still feel like their life is meaningful (Koopman-Boyden & Moosa, 2014). Many older adults believe that living alone gave them freedom and provided them with the motivation to do what they wanted and many prefer it this
Mills, Terry L., Zenta Gomez-Smith and Jessica M. De Leon. "Skipped Generation Families: Sources of Psychological Distress Among Grandmothers of Grandchildren Who Live in Homes Where Neither Parent Is Present." Marriage & Family Review 37.1-2 (2005): 191-212. Web. 18 July 2014.
Families are becoming more diverse and they come in all shapes and sizes. Some people consider families to be strictly biological, while others consider people they love to be their family. Although two-parent families, also known as a nuclear family are the majority, one-parent families are becoming more common in today’s society. A sole-parent is considered to be a parent without a partner or spouse who is the primary care giver of one or more children in a household (Ministry of Social Development, 2010). From the age of 14 onward I was raised by m...
Lemon, B. W., Bengtson, V. L., & Peterson, J. A. (1972). An exploration of the activity theory of aging: Activity types and life satisfaction among in-movers to a retirement community. Journal of gerontology, 27(4), 511-523.
This book shows the importance of tending to our aging population, particularly those who live alone, like Joseph
The risk factors of isolation include health and disabilities, gender, loss of a spouse, living alone, reduced social networks, transportation issues, place of residence, and aging. Among these factors, aging has higher correlation with other factors. Given that some studies (Hall, Havens, 1999) show that the risk factors are in fact additive, meaning that the presence of more than one risk factor compounds the risk of loneliness and social isolation, the importance of emerging population aging in Canada becomes more significant.
The problem that many elderly people have to face is that after a certain point in their lives they can not take care of themselves. “Most but not all persons in need of long-term care are elderly. Approximately 63% are persons aged 65 and older (6.3 million); the remaining 37% are 64 years of age and younger (3.7 million)” (FCA).
At the stage elderly people don't involve in as much interaction with others. They do enjoy being around family and friends for the support and love. They are more interested in being around individuals who can help to enhance their emotional state. They are not really interested in going out much and moving around a lot. Many in the late adulthood have retired and become committed to younger ones in their families. Some older people still may have to work to support themselves financially.
Although it is always good to be independent, older adults with dementia who chose to remain and continue living at their own private house are exposing themselves to the potential of self-harm and getting lost due to memory deterioration as “access to health care, support, and social services for older people are vital” (Karim et al., 2015). Moving to a new environment can always be challenging for some but for people with dementia, “a move to a new environment is often a stressful experience, causing shock, withdrawal, and anger” (Karim et al., 2015) and according to Anthony et al.’s research, patient who moved individually to nursing homes and long-term living facilities appear to suffer “high rates of depression and mortality” following their move (as cited in Day et al., 2000). However, another research conducted by Anthony et al. confirmed that individuals who were relocated to a new environment together in a group experienced few to no difficulty (as cited in Day et al., 2000). Van Hoof and Kort (2009) recommended that it will be really beneficial for the people with dementia to move to nursing homes when their dementia is on the early stages, to avoid People with dementia usually desire to live at their own house rather than moving to nursing homes or long-term living
Activity theory assumed elderly should continuously active and withdrawal from social activity and roles may leads to negative effect to elderly (Loue,
The increasing trend of people living alone is addressed in Eric Klinenberg’s book “Going Solo”, which offers a good explanation of the different social forces behind this trend, and investigating the psychology of the lone dweller. He starts the book off with an introduction quoting the Bible and Aristotle, laying down the difference between being alone and living alone, and introduces the context of the American individualism, and how living alone made its way into the cities. In parts of the book, he accredited this to the emancipation of women that led to increased job prospects, the flourishing property market that attracted young people to cities, and kept them there with the continual gentrification and cultural and social activities.
Troll, Lillian E. "Family-Embedded vs. Family Deprived Oldest-Old: A Study of Contrasts." International Journal of Aging and Human Development
While being social has many benefits to the health of a person, it can have a negative effect if there is any financial stress, increased burdens, or ailing family member or partner (Annear et al., 2012). Caring for others as an elderly person can have both negative and positive effects while providing companionship and a sense of purpose, it can also make the elderly carers life more stressful and can sometimes make the carer feel emotionally isolated (Annear et al., 2012). Joining social groups will get encourage participation and interaction with other members of their social group; this will help in minimising the potential for social isolation and detachment. Barriers to having an active social health are living in rural or remote areas, long distances to services and social networks. It is important for elderly people to feel they still have some form of connection with their friends and family and feel that are still connect to
They fear losing the ability to transport themselves due to loss in eye sight, health, hearing, etc. I also assumed that older adults did not want to be heavily involved in a community. Usually older adults are happy being around family with whom they visit. After this interview, I realize that older adults want to still be useful in their communities. I also assumed that older adults’ biggest fear is being placed in a nursing home.
However, having a roommate or two to distribute the financial obligation can be helpful. This can affect the level of privacy that can be accumulated from living single. The literature agrees that although there are other options for young adults to choose as a living arrangement, a growing number are electing to live with parents for conditions related to their employment status (Biggart, 2006). The transition of moving away from the home of parents has become more difficult in light of the recent recession. The existing unemployment rate for young adults intensifies the struggle when attempting to pursue independence and obtain individualism (Warner, 2012).
In today’s society the myths of living alone are a thing of the past, there is now an interesting phenomenon where people are making the choice to live alone. U.S. Census (2012) found that nearly100 million American adults are now single, the highest rate in recent history and 61 percent of them have never been married. People are shifting away from that old cliché that “two heads are better than one” which implies that two people who work together may be able to accomplish more, but according to new research by Blinder and Morgan (2006), there is no significant differences in average decision making. Decision making is generally based on identifying the problem and applying the best solution in addition people are discovering that with the right mentality, lifestyle and support network, living alone can be a positive experience. The new ‘singleton’ phenomenon is a conscious decision made by adults who are shifting from the traditional paradigm of relationships to explore the benefits and advantages of different alternative lifestyles of living alone in the pursuit of happiness.