ELDER CARE AND LIVING ARRANGEMENTS IN 3 WESTERN NATIONS

家庭组成是老年人福祉的关键组成部分。 家庭成员，特别是配偶和子女，是帮助完成家务和日常生活活动的重要来源。 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，也可以加速离开养老院。本研究将探讨人口基础的生活和照顾安排的老年人在德国，英国和美国。 这项研究涉及的问题是：老年人独居、与子女或其他人同住的比例;亲属的可得性以及年龄、收入和残疾状况等其他因素如何影响生活安排;人口因素是否影响进入养老院;以及老年人接受护理的问题：子女为老年父母提供何种帮助;独居老人是否得到子女的帮助;子女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，以及最年长者的资产和健康动态（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而导致的样本选择性损失。 我们将估计20世纪90年代英国和德国实施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.