{"title":"Climate change and population aging: The role of older adults in climate change mitigation","authors":"Daniel Katey , Senyo Zanu","doi":"10.1016/j.jaging.2024.101274","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jaging.2024.101274","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This paper explores the intersection of climate change, population aging, and community resilience, focusing on the potentially powerful roles of older adults in climate change mitigation efforts, particularly in developing countries. Through a brief review of relevant literature in the fields of environmental studies, gerontology, and community development, the paper examines the vulnerabilities of older adults to climate change impacts and their potential contributions to adaptation and mitigation strategies. By integrating findings from some existing literature, the paper contributes to ongoing conversations about the inclusivity of climate change actions and the empowerment of marginalized groups. Our suggestions include harnessing the traditional knowledge and leadership of older adults and empowering them to act as climate change activists within their communities. Additionally, the paper suggests encouraging older adults to organize community capacity-building workshops that advocate for environmentally sustainable initiatives. We conclude by emphasizing that neglecting older adults in the climate change discourse risks exacerbating entrenched social inequalities and overlooks the potentially valuable resources and knowledge that older adults can contribute toward climate change mitigation and adaptation. This therefore calls for the recognition of older adults as vital agents of change and empowering them through inclusive development policies, programs, and initiatives. Future research should investigate the long-term impacts of inviting older adults into climate change mitigation efforts, and the barriers that may hinder their active engagement.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":47935,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Aging Studies","volume":"71 ","pages":"Article 101274"},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2024-10-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142422098","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":"Empathy mitigates the relationship between ageism and subjective age in late life","authors":"Assaf Suberry , Ehud Bodner","doi":"10.1016/j.jaging.2024.101273","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jaging.2024.101273","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This study corresponds with a dispute in gerontology literature about whether a younger subjective age acts as a psychological defense for older adults by perceiving themselves as younger in order to dissociate from their age-group or as a marker of good physical health. This cross-sectional study presents a preliminary step to clarify this dispute. We examined the role of emotional empathy (measured by the Multifaceted Empathy Test) as a moderator in the ageism (measured implicitly by the Brief Implicit Association Test) and subjective age (measured on Likert scale) association on a convenience sample of 203 community-dwelling older adults (aged 65–90, <em>M =</em> 74.54, <em>SD =</em> 6.76). It was hypothesized that implicit ageism would be associated with younger subjective age and that this association would be only evident among older adults with lower emotional empathy. Implicit ageism was not associated with younger subjective age. As expected, hierarchical linear regression showed that the connection between higher implicit ageism and a younger subjective age remains significant (<em>p</em> = 0.012) only among participants with lower emotional empathy (∆<em>R</em><sup>2</sup> = 0.022, <em>β = 0</em>.156). Higher emotional empathy was associated with younger subjective age. For older adults who are equipped with the ability to feel others' emotions, the defensive dissociation between self and other perceptions of aging might be unnecessary. Theoretical and methodological implications are discussed.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":47935,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Aging Studies","volume":"71 ","pages":"Article 101273"},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2024-10-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142422096","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":"“You messed up with the wrong generation”: Intergenerational relations from the perspective of Israeli older protesters","authors":"Liat Ayalon, Sarit Okun","doi":"10.1016/j.jaging.2024.101264","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jaging.2024.101264","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Given the overrepresentation of older Israelis in political protests and the growing number of political protests worldwide, the present study aimed to examine older persons' perspective on their involvement in the protests and how they view age and older age in the context of political protests. In total, 30 protesters over the age of 65 were interviewed, while employing a maximum variations methodology for the selection of the sample. Interviews were analyzed thematically. Older persons were described in the interviews, as leaders, the ones who started the protests because they were raised on the right values. Moreover, older persons viewed themselves as having the time and at times, the money to immerse themselves in the protests. Despite the perceived advantages that older protesters have to offer, the protests were seen as ineffective, incomplete, or simply lacking without the involvement of younger persons, who were seen as bringing with them the energy and stamina, but also the added symbolic value which have made the protests meaningful, important, and relevant. The findings are interpreted from the perspective of intergenerational solidarity and ambivalence. It is suggested that intergenerational solidarity and collaboration can foster older persons' participation in political activism.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":47935,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Aging Studies","volume":"71 ","pages":"Article 101264"},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2024-09-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142327834","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":"Community care and social participation: An ethnography of clubs for older people in Peñalolén (Chile) during and after the pandemic","authors":"Herminia Gonzálvez-Torralbo, Ariany Silva-Villar","doi":"10.1016/j.jaging.2024.101271","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jaging.2024.101271","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This article presents a case study on the community care practices carried out by older people who participated in the clubs of the Peñalolén district (Metropolitan Region of Chile). We focus on the experiences of care expressed in these collective social spaces during the pandemic triggered by Covid-19 and in the subsequent months when older people began to meet up again. We aim to describe the experiences and practices of care expressed in these spaces, paying attention to those carried out by the older people at a time when personal freedom was highly restricted. For this purpose, we conducted 32 biographical interviews between 2021 and 2022 in the framework of ethnographic research. In addition, we carried out systematic observations in the homes and clubs of older people in the district of Peñalolén. The analysis of this material shows that social support networks and community care practices among those who participate in the clubs make up social and cultural capital that is activated in times of crisis. Without this capital, coping with these periods of great difficulties would be much more challenging.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":47935,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Aging Studies","volume":"71 ","pages":"Article 101271"},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2024-09-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142319552","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":"Can robots lie? A posthumanist approach to robotic animals and deceptive practices in dementia care","authors":"David Redmalm , Clara Iversen , Marcus Persson","doi":"10.1016/j.jaging.2024.101272","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jaging.2024.101272","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Robotic animals are designed to resemble real, living animals, but at the same time, dementia care guidelines and policies often emphasize the value of transparency in relation to robots—people should not be led to believe that robots have capacities that they in fact lack. However, it is not obvious how to separate truth from lies in everyday care practice. Based on participant observations and interviews with certified assistant nurses and nursing assistants in Swedish nursing homes for people with dementia, this article studies how robotic animals become “real” in care practice. The article takes a posthumanist approach to the co-constitution of aging, care, and technology—a perspective that recognizes that not only care staff and nursing home residents, but also robots and other material things, can take an active part in shaping care practice. The analysis results in four typical situations out of which robotic animals emerge as real, living animals: <em>the cuddle</em>, with its simple but dynamic embodied actions; <em>the comfort</em>, where the robot is used as a resource for distraction and emotional support; <em>the conversation</em>, by which robotic animals' agency is both established and challenged; and <em>the adoption</em>, through which narratives and props are used to establish the robot as a pet. Robots cannot lie, at least not by themselves; instead, robots' deceptive potential is enabled by a network of actors, which is why it is often difficult to draw a clear line between lying and care workers' empathic following.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":47935,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Aging Studies","volume":"71 ","pages":"Article 101272"},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2024-09-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0890406524000677/pdfft?md5=128a1f7fc5feae27e66fc8b3bc0dc989&pid=1-s2.0-S0890406524000677-main.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142311657","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}
{"title":"A potential conflict between grandparenthood and the third age lifestyle in the Finnish countryside","authors":"Ilkka Pietilä , Hanna Ojala","doi":"10.1016/j.jaging.2024.101270","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jaging.2024.101270","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Some recent studies on grandparenthood have pointed to a potential conflict between grandparenthood and the ideals of the third age. Retired people are increasingly expected to live up to the ideals of active aging, and many grandparents may wish to demonstrate their agency by getting engaged in various leisure activities, which may reduce their possibilities and motivation to spend time with their grandchildren. We looked at this potential conflict from the perspective of people living in the countryside, where distances to both cultural and other services, and grandchildren, may both be long. We analyzed our interviewees' discursive constructions of their grandparenthood and independent life in the third age as well as the ways in which they negotiated the moral dilemma between the two. The data consisted of 14 telephone interviews with grandparents, aged 66–85, living relatively far from population centers. All interviewees underscored the importance of grandchildren and their willingness to spend time with them, and there were few direct references to the conflict between a committed grandparenthood and a third age lifestyle. However, the interviewees did express ideas related to maintaining certain limits in their grandparenthood to secure their own private lives. A potential conflict between a committed grandparenthood and the third age lifestyle appeared in such situations when grandparents needed to make real choices about how they spend their time, which was mediated by the geographical distances between the generations. The interviewees aimed at balancing between being devoted grandparents and maintaining independence. A familist discourse emphasizing the role of the nuclear family was commonly used to justify keeping a distance between them and the middle generation and grandchildren. The interviews echoed the third age ideals mainly in terms of independence and free time rather than consumption and leisure activities, the availability of which was limited in the countryside.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":47935,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Aging Studies","volume":"71 ","pages":"Article 101270"},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2024-09-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0890406524000653/pdfft?md5=1f8dbc8054fd54d7cc41673ea68ff5cc&pid=1-s2.0-S0890406524000653-main.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142311656","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}
{"title":"Sex-seeking behavior and frequency of sexual activity among single and non-monogamous older gay men","authors":"Lucas R. Prieto , Deirdre A. Shires , Yuan Xiong","doi":"10.1016/j.jaging.2024.101268","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jaging.2024.101268","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Studies that focus on frequency of sexual activity among older gay men are scarce. The current study explores the relationship between internalized gay ageism and frequency of sexual activity with a potential mediator of sex-seeking behaviors among gay men aged 50 or older in the Midwestern U.S. Internalized gay ageism did not predict frequency of sexual activity when mediated by sex-seeking behaviors. However, more frequent sex-seeking behaviors were associated with more frequent sexual activity. Participants in open relationships (compared to single/widowed) reported more frequent sex-seeking behaviors; those in both monogamish and open relationships reported more frequent sexual activity compared to single/widowed participants. Additionally, participants with income of US$50,000 to US$75,000 and > US$75,000 report less frequent sexual activity compared to participants reporting <US$25,000. Cultural sensitivity around relationships and sexual behavior that may be unique to older gay men is critical.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":47935,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Aging Studies","volume":"71 ","pages":"Article 101268"},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2024-09-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142654616","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}
{"title":"Home-making or home harms: Perceived and experienced tensions between domestic materiality and ageing","authors":"Jennifer Owen, Cat Forward","doi":"10.1016/j.jaging.2024.101265","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jaging.2024.101265","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Home, as a physical place and psychological construct, is often thought of as being an important locus of ontological security across the life course. However, there is a growing awareness of a darker side to the home (see Gurney, 2021), and home-unmaking practices (see Baxter and Brickell, 2014) that challenge the assumptions of home being purely a place of shelter, comfort, and control and instead foreground the temporal, material, and spatial fluidity of the home, and tensions between privacy and the ability to engage in health-harming behaviours largely unnoticed. Here, a material gerontological approach enables a rethinking of how home, and the household objects contained within, can both promote and undermine well-being as we age.</p><p>Drawing from two qualitative studies, this paper focuses on the tensions created by the materiality of a home which can both support daily life (see Coleman et al., 2016) and the project of the self (Belk, 1988) and be at the heart of harmful behaviours and more risky living environments. The first study explores the experiences of older women living alone during the Covid-19 pandemic. It explores how, over time, the ontological security of home can be challenged as a result of events such as bereavement, changes to physical capabilities and external influences such as the Covid-19 pandemic. The meaning and materiality of home become reframed, through the lens of gender and age, during the lockdowns associated with the pandemic. The second study, examining a voluntary service supporting older people to declutter, shows how the reduction of possessions can help clear space for adaptations to the home, reduce chances of slips and falls, and create opportunities for therapeutic engagements with the past through reminiscence, but can also threaten the ‘affective scaffolding’ of the home.</p><p>These two studies illustrate the ways that materiality is enrolled in perceived and experienced tensions between the ‘right’ and ‘wrong’ ways to age at home. The paper argues for greater acknowledgement of the grey area between idealised imaginings of the materiality of home and actual everyday experiences of ‘living with things’ (Gregson, 2007) in later life.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":47935,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Aging Studies","volume":"71 ","pages":"Article 101265"},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2024-09-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142233044","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":"An intersectional life course approach to explore the narratives of ageing migrant women","authors":"Merve Tunçer","doi":"10.1016/j.jaging.2024.101267","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jaging.2024.101267","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>This article aims to demonstrate a concrete example of how to apply an intersectional life course perspective into the study of ageing migrant women. The empirical material is based on a qualitative in-depth interview study conducted with 20 Turkish-born women who have migrated to Sweden in their early to mid-adulthood years. Despite increasing urgings from gerontologists to include intersectionality in studies on migrants, research often neglects how age, gender, and migration status interact, failing to recognise the diverse experiences of racialised older migrants. The analysis shows that the intersection of age, gender and migrancy generates racialised and gendered experiences of later life which renders the women in different positions of power. The analysis also reveals the importance of agential capacity through the mobilisation of resources, negotiation, and resistance. By cross-fertilising two perspectives, the study suggests that intersectional life course could shed light on the experiences of ageing migrant women, thus, sensitising gerontological research to diversity and heterogeneity.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":47935,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Aging Studies","volume":"71 ","pages":"Article 101267"},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2024-09-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0890406524000628/pdfft?md5=b976a5fd136ecbeaf29b9c519a9201fe&pid=1-s2.0-S0890406524000628-main.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142233043","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}
Lorena P. Gallardo-Peralta , Emilie Raymond , Herminia Gonzálvez Torralbo , Victoria Carrasco-Pavez
{"title":"Social relations among older gay men and trans women in Chile: Diverse, intimate, functional and reciprocal networks","authors":"Lorena P. Gallardo-Peralta , Emilie Raymond , Herminia Gonzálvez Torralbo , Victoria Carrasco-Pavez","doi":"10.1016/j.jaging.2024.101269","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jaging.2024.101269","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Although <strong>LGTBIQ+</strong> groups have experienced social transformations towards greater levels of respect and public presence in Chile in recent decades, the life trajectories of older people remain marginal in studies and surveys regarding sexual and gender diversity. In a society where homophobia is a current and oppressive attitude despite important advances, it is essential to examine the experiences of older LGBTIQ+ people, especially because they are vulnerable to dual discrimination in old age owing to a combination of homophobia and ageism. This study involved an analysis of social ties based on the Convoy Model, to understand how different life courses have influenced the structuring of social networks in old age among gay men and trans women in Chile. Framed within the context of broader research into four axes of diversity in ageing, this study reports the results of thirteen biographies of older people (ten gay men and three trans women). In-depth interviews were conducted using a biographical approach in which the social links that accompany the life course are deepened. A thematic analysis strategy was applied and the interview data were processed through NVivo. The findings show three concentric circles surrounding the participants: closest (made up of partner, immediate family and chosen family), closer (made up biological and extended family) and close (made up of peers and neighbours). The older people are integrated into social networks with diverse compositions, share closeness and intimacy, receive emotional, informational and instrumental social support, and are active providers of reciprocal support. However, the study notes certain risk factors, such as the difficulty of cohabiting and maintaining relationships with a partner. Participants living alone reported fearing an absence of instrumental support during more advanced stages of the ageing process.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":47935,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Aging Studies","volume":"71 ","pages":"Article 101269"},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2024-09-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142173691","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}