The role of gender in very old age: profiles of functioning and everyday life patterns.
Older men and women have different life contexts as a function of differential longevity and socio-structural opportunities over the life course. The question is whether gender-related differences also occur in psychological and everyday functioning in older adults. Examined were 258 men and 258 women between the ages of 70 and 103 years (M = 85 years), participants in the Berlin Aging Study. Significant gender differences were observed in 13 of 28 aspects of personality, social relationships, everyday activity patterns, and reported well-being. Cluster analysis identified 11 subgroups whose profiles of life conditions and health and psychological functioning could be categorized as more or less desirable (functional). The relative risk of a less desirable profile was 1.6 times higher for women than for men. For older adults, gender as a variable carries differences in physical frailty and life conditions that likely have consequences for psychological functioning.
Smith
J
J
Max Planck Institute for Human Development, Berlin, Germany. smith@mpibberlin.mpg.de
Baltes
M M
MM
D000203:Activities of Daily Living; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000375:Aging / Q000502:physiology* / Q000523:psychology*; D016000:Cluster Analysis; D015331:Cohort Studies; D005260:Female; D006262:Health; D006801:Humans; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D008297:Male; D008603:Mental Health; D008606:Mental Processes / Q000502:physiology*; D012494:Sampling Studies; D012727:Sex Characteristics; D012931:Social Environment