Life satisfaction in old age: linking social psychology and history

A life course perspective on aging assumes that adaptation is governed by factors beyond the immediate situation. Using longitudinal data on 79 women from the 1900 generation of the Berkeley Guidance Study, we examined how social and psychological factors interact over time in the course of successful aging, as expressed by life satisfaction. The consequences of adaptive resources in early adulthood vary in relation to social class. Intellectual skills in 1930 indirectly predict life satisfaction in old age for women from the working class, whereas emotional health is more influential in the life satisfaction of women with higher class origins. Social activity in old age makes a difference only in the lives of women from the working class. Finally, adaptation to old age is related to women's experiences with past stressful events. Middle-class women in 1930 showed gains attributable to Depression hardship (1930s), whereas the life satisfaction of women from the working class was diminished by such hardships. Several mechanisms are discussed that may link widely separated problem situations and life events across the life course. The analysis provides empirical support for the proposition that the influence of social change on life trajectories is contingent on what individuals bring to change situations.     

Labour market outcomes of immigrant and racial minority university graduates in Canada

Between 1986 and 1996 there has been a significant increase in the racial minority and immigrant populations of Canada and a very significant proportion of racial minorities are of immigrant origin. With the aging of the Canadian population and its persistently low fertility rates the success of the Knowledge Based Economy (KBE) is expected to depend on the economic integration of immigrant racial minorities. In this paper, we frame the discussion of economic integration from a social inequality perspective, and examine how fields of study (FOS) and education credentials impact the earnings of immigrant racial minorities. Our analysis indicates that, in all fields of study, the earnings of immigrant visible minorities, especially those who migrated at an older age to Canada with foreign credentials, are not commensurate with their education level. This suggests that the adjustment mechanisms that have been introduced to recognize the credentials of young adult racial minority immigrants and smooth their entry into the work force have been inadequate and/or ineffective.     

老年人的智慧

智慧是个体在其人生经历中习得的一种德才一体的综合心理素质, 是成功老龄化的重要标志和毕生发展的理想终点。研究发现, 三维智慧量表、自我评估智慧量表、成人自我超越问卷等自陈式测量和柏林智慧范式、智慧推理等表现式测量对老年人智慧评估具有良好性能; 老年人智慧发展受到开放性、自我反思、情绪调节、人格成长等内在因素以及受教育程度、关键生活经历、社会环境等外在因素的交互影响; 毕生发展的智慧为老年人带来更高主观幸福感、生活满意度以及更少社会疏离感、孤独感和抑郁。未来应该开发多测度、整合的老年人智慧测评工具; 深入揭示老年人智慧的预测因素、影响后效及其内部作用机制; 进一步探索社区养老服务中老年人智慧的干预与培育策略。     

Forming Life Satisfaction among Different Social Groups during the Modernization of China

Quality of life has become a notable concern in the modernization of China. However, there are no adequate data to chart the formation of quality of life, in terms of life satisfaction, and in relation to the societal conditions of modernization. Moreover, it is still a question concerning how life satisfaction forms among people of different social groups, differentiated by class, education, age, and gender. To answer the questions, the present study involved a random sample survey of 732 inhabitants in Beijing. Results indicate the contributions of income, age, perceived modern economic conditions in society, and satisfaction with societal economic conditions. In contrast, education and the ownership class appear to predict lower life satisfaction. Furthermore, there are significant variations in the effects of the factors in predicting the life satisfaction of people in different social groups. Notably, perceived economic conditions appear to be less important to people of higher class positions. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Motivational and Other Sources of Work Accomplishments in Mid–Life: A Longitudinal Study

ABSTRACT Earned Income and work accomplishment were determined at age 41 for 89 adults whose mothers had been interviewed for their child-rearing practices when the adults were 5 years old. At age 31, in spontaneous thought but not self-report, n Achievement predicted earned income and socialized power motivation predicted work accomplishment at age 41. Hardships (or "bad breaks") during childhood and adolescence predicted work outcomes for both men and women, as did education for men. Parenting achievement pressure in the first 2 years of life was associated with adult n Achievement and earned income, while moderate encouragement of assertiveness by mothers who were warm to boys and cool to girls was associated with adult socialized power motivation and work accomplishment. Controls for social class of origin, IQ, temperament, and education did not explain the relations between parenting, motivation, and work outcomes, although education played a larger role for men than women who worked both inside and outside the home.     

Demographic Indicators as Predictors of Future Time Perspective

The present investigation examined the relationships between five demographic variables (age, sex, income, marital status, and education) and future time perspective. From a theoretical perspective, these demographic indicators were conceptualized as proxy measures for the social forces that influence the adult expression of this personality dimension. Data were drawn from six investigations in which a brief measure of future time perspective (Hershey and Mowen in The Gerontologist 40:687–697, 2000) had been administered to one thousand four hundred and ninety eight individuals. Higher future time perspective scores (i.e., longer future orientations) were associated with being male, increased age, income, and educational level. These main effects, however, were mitigated by a significant three-way interaction among sex, age, and level of education. These findings suggest that a complex interplay of variables is responsible for the expression of personality traits at the individual level.     

年轻流动人口的流动模式与其社会适应的关系

农村流动人口已经成为当今中国最具特色的一个社会现象,考察农村流动人口的流动模式和社会适应将有助于推动我国城乡经济的发展和社会的稳定。本研究从北京选取2201名从农村到北京打工的18～30岁的流动人口为被试,探讨其流动模式与其社会适应的关系。结果发现:(1)流动人口外出打工的时间平均接近4年,平均到过2个城市打工;(2)流动人口的社会适应水平偏低,存在较多的吸烟、醉酒行为和非安全性行为,生活和工作满意度一般;(3)流动性可以显著地预测流动人口的社会适应水平。流动性越大,流动人口的吸烟行为越多,抑郁程度越高,而生活和工作满意度越低。     

Demographic Indicators as Predictors of Future Time Perspective

The present investigation examined the relationships between five demographic variables (age, sex, income, marital status, and education) and future time perspective. From a theoretical perspective, these demographic indicators were conceptualized as proxy measures for the social forces that influence the adult expression of this personality dimension. Data were drawn from six investigations in which a brief measure of future time perspective (Hershey and Mowen in The Gerontologist 40:687–697, 2000) had been administered to one thousand four hundred and ninety eight individuals. Higher future time perspective scores (i.e., longer future orientations) were associated with being male, increased age, income, and educational level. These main effects, however, were mitigated by a significant three-way interaction among sex, age, and level of education. These findings suggest that a complex interplay of variables is responsible for the expression of personality traits at the individual level.     

Maternal age, investment, and parent-child conflict: a mediational test of the terminal investment hypothesis

Drawing on the evolutionary terminal investment hypothesis and Trivers' (1974) parent-offspring conflict theory, we advance and evaluate a mediational model specifying why and how maternal age, via mating effort and parental investment, affects mother-child conflict. Data from a longitudinal study of 757 families indicate that (a) older maternal age predicts lower mating effort during the child's first 5 years of life, and (b) thereby, higher maternal investment in middle childhood when the child is around 10 years old. (c) Higher maternal investment, in turn, forecasts less child-perceived mother-child conflict in adolescence (age 15). These results proved robust against theoretically relevant covariates (family resources, parity, maternal education, and maternal personality characteristics) and in the context of an autoregressive model. Study limitations are noted and results are discussed in terms of the unique contributions of an evolutionary perspective to the determinants-of-parenting literature.     

suspicion of sudden infant death syndrome & injuries to infants: the effects of type of death certifier,training, and economics

This paper examines the level of suspicion by death certifiers when ruling infant deaths as accidents. Data were gathered on economic factors, amount of training in death investigation received, and personal characteristics for 1995 from 776 medical examiners or coroners. Findings indicate that personal and social factors such as age, education, and population have negligible or no effects on the level of suspicion held by death certifiers in manner of death rulings for infants. The findings from this study do suggest there is potential for inaccurate rulings of infant death due to lack of training, education, and economic resources depending on the events surrounding an infant's death and whether the death certifier is a coroner or medical examiner.     

Social class and cross-border higher education: Mainland chinese students in Hong Kong and Macau

In China’s deepening economic reform, higher education plays a crucial role in social stratification and mobility. External higher education is both a symbol of cultural capital and a means of fulfilling social mobility. This article examines the relationship between students’ socioeconomic backgrounds and the opportunities derived from cross-border higher education, focusing on Mainland Chinese students in Hong Kong and Macau. It shows that students with scholarships come from a range of social backgrounds, but that fee-paying students are only from relatively prosperous families. Higher education in Hong Kong and Macau promotes mobility for some, but preserves social stratification for others. Alors que la réforme économique s’ intensifie en Chine, les études supérieures jouent un rôle crucial dans la stratification et la mobilité sociales. L’séducation supérieure obtenue à l’étranger constitue un symbole de capital culturel ainsi qu’un moyen d’acquérir la mobilité sociale. Cet article étudie, chez un groupe d’étudiants de la Chine continentale à Hong Kong et à Macau, le rapport entre leur milieu socioéconomique et les occasions qui découlent d’une éducation supérieure internationale. Les résultats indiquent que les étudiants ayant reça des bourses proviennent de divers milieux sociaux, mais que ceux qui ne sont pas boursiers viennent exclusivement de families relativement aisées. À Hong Kong et à Macau, l’éducation supérieure facilite la mobilité pour certains; pour d’autres, elle maintient la stratification sociale.     

Using functional near‐infrared spectroscopy to assess social information processing in poor urban Bangladeshi infants and toddlers

Children living in low‐resource settings are at risk for failing to reach their developmental potential. While the behavioral outcomes of growing up in such settings are well‐known, the neural mechanisms underpinning poor outcomes have not been well elucidated, particularly in the context of low‐ and middle‐income countries. In this study, we measure brain metabolic responses to social and nonsocial stimuli in a cohort of 6‐ and 36‐month‐old Bangladeshi children. Study participants in both cohorts lived in an urban slum and were exposed to a broad range of adversity early in life including extreme poverty, malnutrition, recurrent infections, and low maternal education. We observed brain regions that responded selectively to social stimuli in both ages indicating that these specialized brain responses are online from an early age. We additionally show that the magnitude of the socially selective response is related to maternal education, maternal stress, and the caregiving environment. Ultimately our results suggest that a variety of psychosocial hazards have a measurable relationship with the developing social brain.     

Are economic conditions related to nonnormative life satisfaction development? Evaluating the relative impact of economic conditions,personality, and subjective health

This study examined the relative contribution of psychological and socioeconomic resources to explaining qualitative individual differences in life satisfaction development. We used growth mixture modeling and a cohort‐sequential design to investigate life satisfaction development from ages 25 to 65, in a nationally representative panel (the Socioeconomic Panel). Eighty‐three percent of the participants experienced stability in life satisfaction. In a subgroup of individuals (10%), life satisfaction declined. This subgroup lived under less favorable economic conditions and reported downward moves on an index of socioeconomic status. In another subgroup (7%), life satisfaction was low at age 25 and increased up to age 65. This group was also socioeconomically disadvantaged but scored higher on adaptive personality traits and experienced upward social mobility. Generally, personality traits explained level differences in life satisfaction better than economic conditions. However, economic conditions explained nonnormative life satisfaction development better than generalized control beliefs and the Big Five traits.     

Depression in later life: cross-sequential patterns and possible determinants

Research on the relationship between age and depression has not yielded a consistent picture. Approaches emphasizing resilience compete with assumptions of an increased incidence of depressive problems in later life. This study investigated these issues within a research format combining cross-sectional and 8-year longitudinal assessments of depressive tendencies (690 participants, aged 54-77 years). The developmental patterns suggest 2 phases: Relative stability extending to about 70 years and a subsequent increase of depressive tendencies. Antecedent and mediating factors were explored within a broader context of variables (health status, social and economic resources, coping competences, and future perspectives). Differences in time perspective and a disposition of accommodative flexibility predicted subsequent changes in depression and mediated age effects in depressive tendencies.     

儿童社会能力发展的影响因素—社会环境和变迁的视角

社会能力涵盖了个体在人际和社会活动中所需的基本技能。本文从文化环境和社会变迁视角出发,审视影响儿童社会能力发展的诸多因素,并依次介绍目前国内外在两大研究视角上的最新研究成果。文章的最后强调该领域的研究应该明晰社会能力的概念,关注各影响因素的交互作用和动态过程,改进研究方法,以便更加深入探寻社会能力发展的规律和机制。     

Passion,vitality and life satisfaction for physically active old adults

In Arabic world, few studies are interested in psychological factors influencing the physically active old adults. The specific goals of the present research are the following: (i) test the factor structure and invariance tests for gender and physical activities for the Arabic version of the passion scale; (ii) test a model that describes a mediator role of subjective vitality in the relationships between passion and life satisfaction (iii) test the presence of differences for gender, physical activity practice, education level and age on passion. Two studies were conducted with 551 physically active Egyptian old adult (n = 354; n = 197). Passion, Subjective vitality and Life Satisfaction scales were administered. Passion scale composed of two subscales (harmonious and obsessive). Strong support for the complete invariance between groups. Subjective vitality was a mediator in the relationships between harmonious passion and life satisfaction. Education level and age had an effect on passion subscales.     

"Moralism" and the Gender Gap: Judgments of Political Ethics in Japan

This article investigates whether women are, as many claim, "moralists"—that is, moral and ethical standard-setters who seek clean politics and have strict standards for public officials. An analysis of data from the 1996 Japanese Elections and Democracy Study survey and from 18 focus groups conducted in 1996 indicates that women in Japan are not moralists. As elsewhere, there is a gender gap in Japan on "issue preference sets," with women favoring a "care" agenda, but women assign political ethics less importance than do men, even though women are more likely to see adverse effects from political corruption. Studying people's judgments of four ethics scenarios reveals minimal gender gaps; controlling for education and age, women's judgments overall are less, not more, strict than men's. Among women, age is a better predictor of moralism than education; older women are stricter than younger women on political ethics. This is attributed to gender-based differences in moral reasoning: Japanese women and men both rely heavily on a "relation-based" frame (which is situation-specific and requires extensive social information), but gender stratification patterns create information inequalities. Younger women lack social information necessary for judging political misconduct, whereas older women overcome the information deficit through life experience.     

Behavioural,emotional and social development of children who stutter

PurposeDevelopmental stuttering may be associated with diminished psychological well-being which has been documented from late childhood onwards. It is important to establish the point at which behavioural, emotional and social problems emerge in children who stutter.MethodsThe study used data from the Millennium Cohort Study, whose initial cohort comprised 18,818 children. Analysis involved data collected when the cohort members were 3, 5 and 11 years old. The association between parent-reported stuttering and performance on the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire was determined in regression analyses which controlled for cohort members’ sex, verbal and non-verbal abilities, maternal education, and family economic status.ResultsCompared with typically-developing children, those who stuttered had significantly higher Total Difficulties scores at all three ages; in addition, scores on all of the sub-scales for 5-year-olds who stuttered indicated poorer development than their peers, and 11-year-olds who stuttered had poorer development than peers in all areas except prosocial skills. At ages 5 and 11, those who stuttered were more likely than peers to have scores indicating cause for clinical concern in almost all areas.ConclusionChildren who stutter may begin to show impaired behavioural, emotional and social development as early as age 3, and these difficulties are well established in older children who stutter. Parents and practitioners need to be aware of the possibility of these difficulties and intervention needs to be provided in a timely fashion to address such difficulties in childhood and to prevent the potential development of serious mental health difficulties later in life.     

Shared Responsibility and Civic Engagement in Very Old Age

Although late-life potentials are increasingly recognized as a valuable resource for shaping social change, contributions of the very old to civil society are still regularly overlooked. The authors outline a comprehensive perspective on very old age (or the fourth age), which integrates vulnerability and developmental potential, and report findings from the Generali study of the very old in Germany. This mixed-methods study included 400 qualitative biographical interviews with people aged 85+ and a standardized survey of 800 employees of municipalities and voluntary organizations. The authors found that feelings of shared responsibility and motives for engagement in family and community, especially for younger generations, were highly prevalent among the very old participants. Approximately one half of them reported being civically engaged, mostly in informal settings, and many had been engaged before. The very old participants emphasized the importance of positive intergenerational relationships, physical health, positive perceptions of aging, and supportive environments as major factors that might promote their civic engagement. However, perspectives of institutional staff were different. Institutional staff rated the very old more negatively as compared with the young-old and saw the barriers to civic engagement primarily within the individuals (e.g., in their old age and poor health). The authors’ findings indicate that lacking institutional opportunity structures may contribute to the exclusion of some very old people from civic life.     

Adult outcomes as a function of an early childhood educational program: an Abecedarian Project follow-up

Adult (age 30) educational, economic, and social-emotional adjustment outcomes were investigated for participants in the Abecedarian Project, a randomized controlled trial of early childhood education for children from low-income families. Of the original 111 infants enrolled (98% African American), 101 took part in the age 30 follow-up. Primary indicators of educational level, economic status, and social adjustment were examined as a function of early childhood treatment. Treated individuals attained significantly more years of education, but income-to-needs ratios and criminal involvement did not vary significantly as a function of early treatment. A number of other indicators were described for each domain. Overall, the findings provide strong evidence for educational benefits, mixed evidence for economic benefits, and little evidence for treatment-related social adjustment outcomes. Implications for public policy are discussed.