{"title":"Contesting the Policy Proposal to Raise the Statutory Retirement Age in an Online Community of Mainly Young Users.","authors":"Wenqian Xu, Linxuan Gao, Jing Wu","doi":"10.1080/08959420.2026.2618140","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/08959420.2026.2618140","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>China's September 2024 proposal to raise the statutory retirement age prompted online debate over its implications. This study examines how the policy proposal was discussed and framed on Zhihu, a Chinese question-and-answer online community primarily composed of young users (a relevant but underexamined group whose contributions to the pension system and perspectives may shape policy legitimacy and feasibility). 1298 posts were collected over the six days following the proposal announcement and analyzed using thematic and framing analysis. Five key themes emerged from the posts: barriers to extending working life (e.g. ageism), reduced autonomy in everyday life (e.g. unmet family caregiving duties), structural disparities in pension schemes (e.g. occupation- and gender-based differences), rationales for the policy proposal, and intergenerational tensions. Five frames were identified: risk, inequality, compromised well-being, conflict, and opportunity. The findings suggest that the online discourse is predominantly critical and grievance-laden and is intertwined with broader societal and institutional issues. Multiple coexisting frames articulate the diverse experiences and structural conditions of different social groups across age, gender, occupation, and other intersecting identities. The findings suggest that policymakers in labor, health, and social welfare should engage more cautiously with issues raised within the online community, particularly concerns about structural inequalities and disadvantages affecting different social groups.</p>","PeriodicalId":47121,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Aging & Social Policy","volume":" ","pages":"1-24"},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2026-01-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145994550","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"To Protest or Not to Protest? Older Israeli Social Activists' Reflections on Protests Post-October 7.","authors":"Liat Ayalon, Sarit Okun, Natalie Ulitsa","doi":"10.1080/08959420.2026.2615201","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/08959420.2026.2615201","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Following the judicial overhaul enacted by the Israeli government in early 2023, a wave of unprecedented protests surged in the streets. This study aims to understand the experiences of older activists who participated in the initial protests against the judicial overhaul. It explores why some continued protesting, while others disengaged after the October 7 massacre and the subsequent war, using a life course perspective with an emphasis on the concept of linked lives. Between February and May 2025, 22 older activists who had been involved in the initial protests in 2023 were interviewed. Thematic analysis was employed. Results show diverging viewpoints: some activists believe protests remain vital, while others have ceased due to fears of societal division, perceived ineffectiveness, and prioritizing national unity during wartime. Ambivalence was a common thread, especially regarding the legitimacy of protests amid ongoing war. The findings highlight how historical events, personal experiences, and social contexts influence activism. The socioemotional selectivity theory and the concept of linked lives illuminate the reasons behind continued or discontinued protest engagement.</p>","PeriodicalId":47121,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Aging & Social Policy","volume":" ","pages":"1-22"},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2026-01-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145991353","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Jaime Villanueva-García, Ignacio Moral-Arce, Luis Javier García Villalba, Adela Recio Alcaide
{"title":"Pension Reform and the Delay of Female Retirement in Spain: Policy-Induced Inequality in Aging Trajectories.","authors":"Jaime Villanueva-García, Ignacio Moral-Arce, Luis Javier García Villalba, Adela Recio Alcaide","doi":"10.1080/08959420.2026.2618149","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/08959420.2026.2618149","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>In aging societies, contributory pension systems play a critical role in ensuring income security for older adults. While many countries have reformed these systems to enhance sustainability - by tightening the link between employment histories and benefit eligibility - such changes can unintentionally exacerbate existing inequalities. This study examines the case of Spain's 2011 pension reform, which increased the required contribution period and introduced a dual statutory retirement age. Drawing on administrative microdata from the Continuous Sample of Working Lives (MCVL), this work analyzes over 100,000 newly retired individuals between 2010 and 2020. Results show that women, whose careers are more often shaped by caregiving and part-time work, were disproportionately affected: many postponed retirement to avoid benefit penalties. The reform also halted the prior trend toward narrowing the gender pension gap. These findings underscore how formally neutral institutional rules can reinforce structural disadvantage. Addressing such inequities requires pension designs that incorporate compensatory measures - such as care credits and flexible contribution pathways - to ensure fair and sustainable retirement outcomes for all.</p>","PeriodicalId":47121,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Aging & Social Policy","volume":" ","pages":"1-25"},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2026-01-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145991386","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Shekhar Chauhan, Dawn Carr, Miles G Taylor, Amanda Sonnega
{"title":"Food deprivation and cognitive function among adults 55+ in the United States and India.","authors":"Shekhar Chauhan, Dawn Carr, Miles G Taylor, Amanda Sonnega","doi":"10.1080/08959420.2026.2615199","DOIUrl":"10.1080/08959420.2026.2615199","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The growing prevalence of dementia is a significant public health concern in the context of dramatic population aging worldwide. Nutrition is related to cognitive outcomes over the life course and dementia risk. This study examines the cognitive consequences of perceived food deprivation in the United States and India. A novel harmonized data set was developed to evaluate differences in the cognitive consequences of perceived food deprivation using data drawn from the U.S. Health and Retirement Study (HRS) and the Longitudinal Aging Study in India (LASI). OLS regression was used to evaluate the association between three domains of cognitive function and perceived food deprivation and to examine whether these effects are dependent on country context. Results show significant cognitive consequences across all three cognitive domains in association with perceived food deprivation, but based on moderation analyses, these effects are significant only among food-deprived individuals in the United States who have approximately one-third of a standard deviation lower cognitive function than their non-food-deprived counterparts (<i>p</i> < .001). Future research is needed to identify mechanisms of these effects and identify specific food policies that could reduce cognitive risks related to perceived food deprivation in the United States.</p>","PeriodicalId":47121,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Aging & Social Policy","volume":" ","pages":"1-20"},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2026-01-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145967415","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Y Selvamani, T Muhammad, Laeek Ahemad Siddiqui, M Benson Thomas
{"title":"House, Land, and Asset Ownership and Food Security Among Middle-Age and Older Adults in India: Examining the Associations Using LASI (2017-18).","authors":"Y Selvamani, T Muhammad, Laeek Ahemad Siddiqui, M Benson Thomas","doi":"10.1080/08959420.2026.2613193","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/08959420.2026.2613193","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>House, land and asset ownership are crucial indicators of economic security in old age. Food security recognized as a robust social determinant of health and well-being among the older population, ranks highly in the UN's Sustainable Development Goals. This study aimed to examine the association between house, land, and asset ownership, and food insecurity among middle-aged and older adults in India. Data came from a nationally representative survey, the Longitudinal Aging Study in India (LASI) - (2017-18) wave 1. Bivariate and multivariate logistic regression models were used to examine the associations of housing and land and asset ownership with food insecurity. Further, to assess the endogeneity, we used instrumental variable probit model. Housing, land and asset ownership were significantly associated with food. Older adults residing in a rental house were more likely to report food insecurity, particularly the association was stronger in urban areas (aOR = 1.92, 95%CI 1.27, 2.90, <i>p</i> < .001. Also, participants in rural households who did not have agricultural land and farm property were more likely to report food insecurity. Public policy must consider the role of housing, land and asset ownership in reducing food insecurity and improving the overall well-being of the growing older population in India.</p>","PeriodicalId":47121,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Aging & Social Policy","volume":" ","pages":"1-21"},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2026-01-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145953332","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Impact of an Outpatient Coverage Scheme on Health-care Utilization Among Middle-Aged and Older Adults: Evidence from the Outpatient Mutual-Aid Security Policy in China.","authors":"Xinfeng Wang, Xin Ye","doi":"10.1080/08959420.2025.2482300","DOIUrl":"10.1080/08959420.2025.2482300","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>China's social medical insurance system has long focused on reducing the risk of catastrophic health expenditures from serious illnesses, overlooking the economic burden of common diseases brought by population aging. To address this problem, China implemented the outpatient mutual-aid security (OMAS) policy for covering outpatient services under its basic medical insurance system for the employed. Using panel data from the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study between 2011 and 2018, this study aimed to investigate whether the OMAS policy changed the middle-aged and older adults' utilization pattern of health services by utilizing the difference-in-differences (DID) approach. The results indicated that the implementation of the OMAS policy increased the number of outpatient visits (Coefficient = 0.240, <i>p</i> < .05) and reduced the number of inpatient visits (Coefficient = -0.117, <i>p</i> < .05) without increasing financial risk among middle-aged and older adults. The OMAS policy was also found to be associated with improvements in self-rated health (Coefficient = 0.234, <i>p</i> < .05) and a reduction in the number of ADL limitations (Coefficient = -0.103, <i>p</i> < .05) over the course of its extended implementation. Our study demonstrated that the OMAS policy has led to changes in health-care utilization patterns and enhancements in health outcomes in the long term.</p>","PeriodicalId":47121,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Aging & Social Policy","volume":" ","pages":"295-314"},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2026-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143711589","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Crowding in or Out?National Public Pension, Inter-Generational Contract, and Family Support to Empty-Nest Older Parents in Rural China.","authors":"Chuanqi Que, Haijing Dai","doi":"10.1080/08959420.2024.2349480","DOIUrl":"10.1080/08959420.2024.2349480","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Evidence to date has been inconclusive on the effects of public pension on family support to older adults, and the underlying mechanism behind such effects remains unclear. This study examines the effects of the New Rural Social Pension Scheme on family support to empty-nest older parents in rural China, where family care is traditionally favored for older adults. Using data from the China Longitudinal Aging Social Survey, the findings reveal that pension receipt promotes bidirectional financial transfers and intimate relationships between generations, thus increasing (or crowding in) children's financial and care support to their empty-nest parents. On the other hand, receiving pensions may discourage parental care support to children and partially decrease (or crowd out) children's financial and care support. This crowding-out effect, however, is limited and thus insufficient for counteracting the crowding-in effects from other pathways. Overall, these findings indicate that national welfare, such as pensions, can encourage family support through inter-generational contracts and intimacy, strengthening familial bonds and facilitating mutual assistance within families. For policy implications, government should prioritize improving benefit levels of public pensions to harness the caregiving potential of families and providing essential services that assist families in addressing care burdens.</p>","PeriodicalId":47121,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Aging & Social Policy","volume":" ","pages":"179-195"},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2026-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140909536","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Vaneh E Hovsepian, Douglas M Sloane, K Jane Muir, Matthew D McHugh
{"title":"Mortality Among the Dementia Population in Not-For-Profit Hospitals with Better Nursing Resources.","authors":"Vaneh E Hovsepian, Douglas M Sloane, K Jane Muir, Matthew D McHugh","doi":"10.1080/08959420.2023.2297596","DOIUrl":"10.1080/08959420.2023.2297596","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The dementia population has higher rates of mortality during hospital stays than those without dementia. The aim of this study is to examine the relationship between ownership status (i.e. for-profit vs. not-for-profit) and nursing resources (i.e. nurse work environment, nurse-to-patient staffing, and nurse education) on 30-day mortality among post-surgical older adults with dementia. A cross-sectional analysis of linked American Hospital Association, Medicare claims, and nurse survey data was conducted using multi-level logistic regression models. We examined these models to assess the relationship between ownership status and 30-day mortality after adjusting patient and hospital characteristics. We also analyzed the relationship between the hospital ownership status and the 30-day mortality, after considering the three nursing resources. Older adults with dementia who received care in hospitals with not-for-profit status were less likely to die within 30 days of admission following surgery compared to those treated in hospitals with for-profit hospital status (i.e. odds ratio 0.82, 95% confidence interval 0.73-0.92, <i>p</i> = <.001). In addition, the odds ratios estimating the association between ownership and mortality were similar across the different models of the three nursing resources with and without those controls (i.e. 0.88 vs. 0.83 vs. 0.82). Surgical patients with dementia had better outcomes when cared for in not-for-profit hospitals, particularly with greater levels of nurse education and nurse staffing. The relationship between profit status and mortality was partly explained by the lower levels of nurse staffing and education in for-profit vs. not-for-profit hospitals.</p>","PeriodicalId":47121,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Aging & Social Policy","volume":" ","pages":"1-15"},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2026-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11289165/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139643126","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Yushan Yu, Chun Chen, Mirko Petrovic, Wei-Hong Zhang
{"title":"Patterns and Associated Factors of Unmet Needs for Home- and Community-Based Health Services Among Older Adults in China: A Latent Class Analysis.","authors":"Yushan Yu, Chun Chen, Mirko Petrovic, Wei-Hong Zhang","doi":"10.1080/08959420.2025.2568276","DOIUrl":"10.1080/08959420.2025.2568276","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Home- and community-based health services (HCBHS) play a crucial role in the management of chronic conditions and disabilities among older adults. This study identified patterns of unmet needs for HCBHS and determined the factors associated with these unmet needs using a nationally representative sample. Data derived from 9,358 older adults responding to the 2018 wave of the China Longitudinal Aging Social Survey. HCBHS included home nursing, in-home doctor visits, rehabilitation, assistive medical devices, and health lectures. Latent class analysis was used to identify patterns of unmet needs for HCBHS, and multinomial logistic models were used to determine the associated factors. Three unmet needs patterns were identified: no needs/met needs (68.4%), unmet needs (11.1%), and uncertain needs (20.5%). Experiencing pain, depression, self-rated health, higher health workforce density, and region were significantly associated with both unmet and uncertain needs. Furthermore, education, living in urban areas, type of social pension, instrumental activities of daily living, and heart disease were found to be associated with unmet needs, while age, marital status, and household income were associated with uncertain needs. The findings underscore the need to address unmet and uncertain needs, develop targeted interventions, and implement policies to support aging in place.</p>","PeriodicalId":47121,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Aging & Social Policy","volume":" ","pages":"451-471"},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2026-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145239680","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Understanding the Institutional Logics of China's Community-Based Intervention for Older People.","authors":"Mengyuan Chen, Pieter Hooimeijer","doi":"10.1080/08959420.2024.2347809","DOIUrl":"10.1080/08959420.2024.2347809","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Community-based policies have gained global popularity, signaling a paradigm shift from individual responsibility for healthy aging to an approach involving community-based intervention. Learning from Western experience, China has also experimented with this form of intervention. It has policy interventions aimed at providing community-based facilities and services that enable older people to age in place. However, the institutional foundations of Chinese communities differ greatly from those in Western countries. Implementing a critical realist case study focusing on a community-based program in Beijing, this study aims to examine the institutional logics that contribute toward a contextually appropriate community-based policy intervention in China. We identified three institutional logics. First, the Confucian moral obligation of benevolence requires authorities to provide social welfare for vulnerable citizens. Second, China's community-based interventions are state-led territorialized provisions prioritizing communities rather than individuals. Third, community-based social policies are subordinate to economic growth objectives. This study contributes to the understanding of contextually appropriate community-based policy interventions in China.</p>","PeriodicalId":47121,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Aging & Social Policy","volume":" ","pages":"394-413"},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2026-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140854162","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}