ELDER CARE AND LIVING ARRANGEMENTS IN 3 WESTERN NATIONS

家庭构成是老年人口福祉的一个关键组成部分。家庭成员，特别是配偶和子女，是家务和日常生活活动援助的重要来源。家庭成员提供的社会支持已被证明与改善健康和长寿有关，而接触儿童或其他家庭成员既可以推迟进入养老院的时间，又可以加快离开养老院的时间。本研究将调查德国、英国和美国老年人生活和护理安排的人口基础。该研究解决了有关生活安排的问题——独居、与子女或与他人同住的老年人占多大比例；居住安排如何受到亲属的存在以及年龄、收入和残疾状况等其他因素的影响；此外，人口因素是否会影响进入养老院的人数——以及有关他们接受护理的问题——子女为年迈的父母提供了哪些类型的帮助？独居老人是否得到子女的帮助？儿童的存在是否减少了对正式和其他家庭外援助来源的利用？我们的研究将使用来自三个来源的面板数据：德国社会经济面板，英国家庭面板调查，以及最老老人的资产和健康动态（AHEAD）。在我们的面板数据模型中，我们将使用一个框架来控制影响生活和护理安排的观察到的和未观察到的因素，该框架考虑了由于死亡率和其他因素导致的样本选择性损失。我们将估计20世纪90年代英国和德国颁布的主要政策变化的影响，并将控制这些国家内部的政策变化。

Family composition is a key component of well-being for the older population. Family members, especially spouses and children, are an important source of assistance with household tasks and activities of daily living. Social support provided by family members has been shown to be associated with improved health and longevity, while access to children or other family members serves both to delay entry into a nursing home and to hasten exit from a nursing home. This study will examine the demographic underpinnings of living and care arrangements of older people in Germany, the United Kingdom, and the United States. The research addresses questions concerning living arrangements-what percentage of older people live alone, with children or with others; how are living arrangements influenced by the availability of kin, as well as by other factors such as age, income, and disability status; and, do demographic factors influence entry into nursing homes-and questions concerning their receipt of care-what types of help do children provide their elderly parents; do elders living alone receive help from their children; and, does the availability of children reduce utilization of formal and other extrafamilial sources of assistance? Our research will use panel data from three sources: the German Socio-Economic Panel, the British Household Panel Survey, and the Asset and Health Dynamics of the Oldest-Old (AHEAD). In our panel data models, we will control for observed and unobserved factors influencing living and care arrangements using a framework that accounts for selective losses from the sample due to mortality and other factors. We will estimate the impacts of major policy changes enacted in the United Kingdom and Germany during the 1990s, and will control for policy variation within these countries as well.