Living Arrangements and Care Receipt Among Older People - SFI

DRAFT
DO NOT CITE
2003 CONFERENCE OF ESPANET, CHANGING EUROPEAN SOCIETIES –
THE ROLE FOR SOCIAL POLICY
SESSION SOCIAL POLICY AND AGEING CONVENORS AND CHAIRS:
ANDREAS HOFF AND HANS-JOACHIM VON KONDRATOWITZ.
LIVING ARRANGEMENTS AND CARE RECEIPT AMONG OLDER PEOPLE:
AN OVERVIEW OF TRENDS
Cecilia Tomassini, Karen Glaser, Emily Grundy
Cecilia Tomassini, Office for National Statistics, Tel. +44-20-75335222
Email: Cecilia.Tomassini@ons.gov.uk
1. Background and purpose
Population ageing has significant social and financial implications for families and
governments, and this has led to considerable interest in the future care needs of elderly
people and the availability of family support. In addition, changes in patterns of family
related behaviour and in the economic activity of women, have raised concerns regarding
the future availability of family support for older people in need of assistance. For
example, rises in female employment may reduce women’s ability to look after older
relatives, especially in their own homes; and increases in childlessness may influence coresidence
by reducing the pool of kin with whom older people can live. Although these
trends are observable, to varying degrees throughout Europe, multigenerational
households continue to remain much more common in Southern than in Northern Europe.
Trends and determinants in the choice of living arrangements in later life have attracted a
large research effort, but still differences between European (and other OECD) countries
in indicators of intergenerational exchange, including living arrangements, are not fully
understood. In this study we investigate trends in two measures of family support, living
arrangements and receipt of care, and examine trends in cultural, socio-economic and
demographic factors across several countries participating in an European Scientific
Foundation (ESF) network, ‘Family support for older people: determinants and
consequences’ (FAMSUP). Such a comparative analysis will provide a greater
understanding of the relationship between different demographic regimes, cultural
traditions, and policy contexts and family support for older people.
2. Data and methods
We use data from a variety of nationally representative data sources from several
FAMSUP countries (Austria, Italy, Netherlands, Portugal, Sweden, UK and U.S.), as well
as data from OECD, Eurostat’s New Cronos database and the Eurobarometer Surveys.
Demographic information is collected from: New Cronos, Council of Europe, Rowland
1998, Santini 1974, US Census International DataBase, FAMSUP DataBase.
Information on living arrangements and institutions is based on: Sündstrom (1994),
FAMSUP DataBase, Iacovou 2000, OECD, special tabulations from national statistical
institutes. Attitudinal data are from the Eurobarometer surveys (1993, 1998, 1999).
Finally socio-economic indicators are based on the following sources: ILO, OECD,
Eurostat ESSPROS, ECHP.

DRAFT
DO NOT CITE
3. Living arrangements
3.1 Living Arrangements up to 1990: An Overview
During the post-World War II period there has been a dramatic rise in the proportion of
older people living alone in Europe, as well as in other industrialised countries (Kobrin,
1976, Pampel, 1992, Sundström, 1994). This increase in the proportion of older people
living alone has been accompanied by a general decline in the number of individuals
living with relatives, particularly children, or non-related individuals (Grundy, 2000,
Kobrin, 1976, Keilman, 1987, Murphy and Berrington, 1993, Wall, 1995, van Solinge,
1994).
While historically in Britain, for example, it was never common for married older people
to live with their children, more elderly persons in pre-industrial times lived with a child
than they do today (Wall, 1995). About forty percent of elderly men and one third of
elderly women lived with a child in the pre-industrial communities studied by Wall
(Wall, 1995). By contrast, never more than around 5% of men and 16% of women aged
65 years and over lived alone (Wall, 1995). The percentage of elderly people living
alone appears to have remained fairly constant until the 1960s, when it rose dramatically.
Data from the ONS Longitudinal Study showed that between 1971 and 1991 the
percentage of men aged 65 and over living alone increased from 13 to 19%, and for
women from 34 to 43% (Grundy, 1996).
Some of the changes responsible for this trend toward greater residential independence
among elderly people, such as greater financial independence and possible improvements
in health, are positive developments which may enable more older individuals to meet
aspirations for ‘intimacy at a distance’ rather than having to co-reside with family
members (Grundy, 1997, McGarry and Schoeni, 2000). There are, however, other factors
which have also had an impact on the household composition of elderly people, such as
low fertility rates among older cohorts, which have reduced the number of kin with
whom older people can co-reside; increasing female employment, which may have
reduced women’s willingness to look after older relatives, and rises in divorce and single
motherhood, which may have weakened family ties and hence perceptions of felt
obligation toward older relatives (Glaser, 1997).
3.2 Living Arrangements 1990s: Recent Evidence
This trend toward solitary living among the older population in Britain and other
industrialised nations described above has been well established in the literature. Recent
work in the U.S. and Italy, however, has shown a reversal of these earlier trends
(Macunovich et al., 1995, Tomassini and Wolf, 2000a). This reversal has been attributed
to the following factors: 1) rises in the proportions of older people living in a couple only
household, due to both the increased survivorship of partners, and rises in the proportions
married among the young elderly age groups; 2) increases in the availability of kin with
whom older people may co-reside, a result of the ageing of the baby boomer’s parents;

DRAFT
DO NOT CITE
and 3) later ages at leaving the parental home among the younger generation, a result of
longer periods of education, later marriage and a later stable working career.
3.3 Trends in the living arrangements of elderly people in Britain and Italy
Figure 1 shows trends over 30 years (i.e., 1970-2000) in living alone in Britain and Italy.
In both countries there has been a slowdown in the trend toward solitary living. Table 1
shows in greater detail the household composition of men and women aged 65 years and
over in Britain. In this table data from the General Household Survey (GHS) shows that
the proportions of men living alone have stagnated in the 1990s, whereas the proportions
living with a spouse have increased. In addition, the proportion of older individuals
living with children or in ‘other’ types of households has declined. Trends for women are
similar to those for men. Stagnation in the trend of older people living alone is also
observed in Sweden and the Netherlands (the latter country has experienced a
considerable decline) (FAMSUP DataBase).
Even though most European countries have experienced considerable rises in the
proportion of older people living alone significant differences across countries remain
with lower proportions of elderly individuals living in multigenerational households in
Northern Europe when compared with their Southern European counterparts (Figure 2).
3.4 Trends in the proportion of older people in communal establishments
The proportion of older people resident in communal establishments, although low
compared to other Northern European countries, has been fluctuating in Britain, for
demographic reasons and as a result of government policy changes. At the 2001 Census
4.1 per cent of people aged 65 and over were resident in communal establishments, a
smaller proportion compared to the 5.1 per cent found in the 1991 Census. A similar
decline occurred among people age 85 and older, with 18.1 per cent in 2001, against 23.4
per cent found in 1991 (Figure 3). Women are more likely to live in institutions in old
age: among women 65 and older, 5.4 per cent were resident in communal establishments,
against just 2.4 per cent of men in the same age group. The differences are even more
striking among very old people: 20.9 per cent of women older than 85, against 11.3 per
cent of men, were living in communal establishments. An important factor for the higher
presence of women in communal establishment is the different marital status
composition: women are more likely to be widowed and so without a spouse to care for
them. Another important factor is the higher level of disability reported by women at any
given older age. Declines in institutionalisation among older people have also occurred
in the Netherlands and Sweden (FAMSUP DataBase). In Britain this follows an
expansion in the use and provision of institutional care during the 1980s, an unintended
consequence of policy changes which increased financial help available for those moving
to residential and nursing homes. The policy response to this expansion was new
legislation implemented in 1993 which was intended to reaffirm the objective of allowing
older people to remain in their own homes as long as possible. Sweden, the Netherlands
and a number of other countries also now have explicit policy objectives to reduce
institutional care use. Is the observed decline in institutionalisation a result of policy
changes aimed a reducing the availability of institutional care or a result of the greater
proportion of individuals with a surviving spouse in old age?

DRAFT
DO NOT CITE
4. Contacts with family members
The notion of the familistic culture has been used in the past in order to explain strong
family ties in Southern Europe (Banfield, 1958, Reher, 1998). In a familistic society,
personal utility and family utility are the same: the structure of the family and the
relationships among the family members are influenced by the strong ties that link them
together. For example, intergenerational co-residence in Italy tends to continue until
children leave the parental home to get married; and even then they normally live close to
their parents (Dalla Zuanna, 2001). In Northern Europe there is a stronger individualistic
culture, involving looser and less geographically close family ties, more emphasis on
voluntaristic relationships (for example, recent research has shown that friends are
becoming more important in older people’s ‘personal communities’: (Phillipson et al.,
2001)) and greater preference for independent living. Figure 4 shows that 71% of elderly
people in Italy reported daily contact with family members compared with only 14% in
Denmark. There is less variation in the percentage of elderly people who report
infrequent or no contact with family members and the proportions reporting loneliness
appear, if anything to be inversely associated with the extent of contact (Figure 4). The
same survey also found that the proportion of very isolated old people - those reporting
few contacts with anyone - ranged from 2% in Nordic countries to 6% in Greece (Walker,
1993). These apparently counter-intuitive findings are consistent with results from other
studies which found high rates of loneliness among elderly people living with relatives
and high rates of life satisfaction and self esteem among elderly people with networks of
friends rather than, or as well as, networks of relatives (Wenger, 1984). Possibly too, in
societies with high levels of family interaction, it is harder for those who lack such
networks, whether from demographic mischance or choice, to forge and maintain
alternative bonds (de Jong Gierveld and van Tilburg 1999).
5. Receipt of care among older people
The increase in the proportion of older people living alone has led to concerns regarding
the future of family care for frail elderly relatives. In Britain, for example, although the
needs of carers were explicitly recognised in the community care reforms in the 1990s
(NHS and Community Care Act 1990, and the Carers Recognition and Services Act
1995), it remains unclear what impact these reforms have had on informal carers. In
Britain, while the intention of the reforms was to address inadequate service provision,
recent evidence shows a decline in the level of service support for those individuals who
have an informal carer (Rowlands, 1998). Nevertheless, only a small portion of care
received by older people is provided by public social services in most industrial societies,
the great majority of the care continues to be provided by family members including
other elderly people, particularly spouses (Arber and Ginn, 1993, Walker, 1995). The
norm of family care, however, may not be the ideal situation for either the caregiver or
recipient. There is growing evidence to suggest that older people may prefer professional
assistance in some circumstances, especially with tasks such as personal care (Daatland,
1990). In the 1997 British ONS Omnibus Survey, 40% of men and 33% of women aged
65 years and over stated that they would prefer a mixture of family support and
professional care in their own home if in the future they were no longer able to manage

DRAFT
DO NOT CITE
on their own (Glaser et al., 1998). In addition, 28% of women and 23% of men aged 65
and over stated that they would prefer the assistance of a only professional carer in their
own home in such a situation (Glaser et al., 1998).
Table 2 shows that, with the exception of Denmark, in most countries in the European
Union (selected countries shown), the great majority of care received by older people is
provided by family members. There is, however, considerable variation across countries,
with a higher proportion of older people receiving care from family members in Southern
European countries.
6. Demographic trends
6.1 Marital Status
In the last three decades the proportion of married men and women aged 65 and over
increased in almost all countries considered (Figure 5). The increase in the proportion of
older married women from 1971 to 2001 has been small in some countries (Netherlands,
Sweden, Denmark and France), while it has been over 7 per cent in others (Spain, Italy,
Portugal, Austria and Germany). The increase in the number of married men is less
marked, and for some countries is negligible (e.g. for Sweden). It is useful to stress that
changes in marital status of the older population are determined by demographic and
other factors. Improvements in life expectancy have resulted in an increase in the joint
probability of spouses surviving together into old age. It is important to remember that
for some countries divorce was not introduced until the 1970s (e.g., Italy and Portugal).
Furthermore remarriage among the older people has increased: in 2001, among married
people aged 50 and over in the UK, remarried persons represented 15.7 per cent of the
total for men and 14.3 per cent for women. Additionally, a higher proportion of older
cohorts never-married: for example, 12 per cent of English women born in 1910 nevermarried
compared with only 5 per cent of those born in 1936 (Haskey, 1993).
According to these trends the proportion of older women who have a spouse is higher
today compared to 30 years ago, while for men it has not changed significantly. In the
future we may expect a higher proportion of never-married persons, and a higher
proportion of divorced people, even if remarriage is more common than in the past.
6.2 Fertility
In many Northern European countries (e.g., Belgium, Sweden, Germany and England and
Wales) cohorts born in the 1920s and in the 1930s are characterised by lower fertility
combined with higher levels of childlessness (Figure 6). In other countries the proportion
of childless women has not varied greatly across cohorts, even if increases in the
percentage of women without children is a common feature among Western European
countries for those cohorts born after the 1950s. So very old people today may experience
greater scarcity of support from children when compared with those cohorts born in the
40s and 50s who experienced higher fertility levels.
When the cohort fertility rate is considered, there is a similar trend across the countries:
the rate dropped more dramatically in Portugal (from 3.0 to 1.9 children per woman for
the cohorts born in 1930 and 1960 respectively) while it remained basically unchanged in

DRAFT
DO NOT CITE
Sweden (Figure 7). Numerous studies have shown that individuals with more children are
less likely to live alone at older ages than those with fewer children (Mutchler, 1992,
Wolf, 1994). In addition, kin availability has been demonstrated to be an important
predictor of changes over time in the pattern of solitary living among older women
(Wolf, 1995). The equation fewer children = increase in solitary living has been used as
a basis for the concern in the future about the possible increase in the demand for formal
care services for frail older people lacking intra-household informal support. It is possible
though that, despite a smaller number of children with whom the older parent can
coreside, the outcome “living with children” may be achieved through different
strategies. Declines in fertility may have an important effect on co-residence only if the
number of childless women increases, as having one child may be sufficient for
coresidence (Palloni, 2001). Furthermore fewer children may imply a smaller “crowding”
effect behind decisions concerning leaving the parental home or children may receive
more economic benefits in staying with their parents, postponing their decision to live
independently. Parents may also invest more in their only child in order to keep him/her
closer to them. A recent study in Italy showed that parental housing assistance played an
important role in later life proximity between parents and children and the effect was
mitigated when other children were available (Tomassini, 2003).
If we consider the timing of fertility, again similar patterns occur across European
countries. Recent cohorts show very similar mean ages at fertility of cohorts born in the
1930s (Figure 8). This pattern shows how the mean generation length (i.e., difference
between mother’s and child’s age) among older women will be similar to that
experienced by generations born in the 1960s (even though these cohorts had fewer
children). The timing of fertility (i.e., age of the mother at the last birth) determines to a
large extent whether or not young adult children are still in the parental home when
parents reach their 50s and 60s, although trends in home leaving are also important.
Additionally later ages at childbirth may mean that adult children are still relatively
“young” when their parents begin to experience poor health and disability.
6.3 Female labour-force participation
Rising female labour-force participation has led to concerns that increasing commitments
outside the home will conflict with women’s ability and willingness to continue as
important sources of care for elderly relatives, thereby potentially increasing the
dependence of frail older people on state support (Dooghe, 1992). Among women aged
45-60 in Northern European countries more than a half are economically active (88.2 per
cent in Sweden and 76.9 in Denmark) with a similar, though slightly lower figure (55.4
per cent) for Portugal (Figure 9). In addition, whilst the vast majority of employed
women in this age group in Northern Europe are working part-time (77.8 in the
Netherlands and 47.5 per cent in the UK), the majority of employed women in Italy (84.8
per cent) and in Portugal (79.7 per cent), even within this age range, are working fulltime
(New Cronos).
6.4 Life expectancy
Lack of comparable health measures has been one of the key factors influencing the use
of mortality indicators as proxies for the general well-being of older people. According to

DRAFT
DO NOT CITE
the most recent estimates life expectancy at age 65 ranges from 16.7 years in Denmark to
20.9 years in Sweden, with Southern European countries in better shape than Northern
European countries (both Spain, France and Italy have a value greater than 20 years)
(New Cronos). In the 1970s instead, life expectancy at older ages was higher for Northern
European countries.
With regard to health, the European Community Household Panel collected information
on several dimensions of health, including self-perceived health status; limitations in
activities of daily living; any physical or mental health problem, illness or disability; cutdown
in activities over the past two weeks because of health problems. These indicators
have such different meanings for respondents in different European countries that they
are unlikely to reflect real differences in health status but are more likely to reflect
differences in attitudes to health or slight differences in question wording.
7. Attitudinal trends
Another interesting point raised in many studies about older people is different attitudes
among family members toward the care of frail older people. According to the
Eurobarometer survey, there is still a strong feeling of reciprocity and altruism among
both young adults and older people: a third of the young people interviewed in the
European Union think that that their generation has a responsibility towards older people
and just 5% say that they would not like to have to take care of elderly relatives
(European Commission 1997). Figure 10a and b shows the proportion of people aged 40
and under and aged 40 to 64 who report that older people should go into a residential or
nursing home when they are no longer able to manage on their own. Young Northern
Europeans were more likely to consider the option of a residential or nursing home for
frail older people (41% of the Swedes against just 2% of the Italians) (Figure 10 a and b).
There has been little change in these attitudes over time (i.e., 1992-1999) and there are
few differences between the generations (i.e., those aged 40 and under compared with
those aged 40 to 64).
Despite the common feeling of responsibility toward older people, younger generations
have different ideas about the potential provision of assistance to their own frail elderly
parents. Figure 11 shows that 73% of Spaniards and 51% of Italians would help their frail
elderly parents by going to live with them compared with 34% of British and 10% of
Danish children (Figure 11).
8. Principle component analysis
The aim of this analysis is to investigate how European countries are grouped according
to the demographic, health, attitudinal measures used in this paper to describe the living
conditions of older people. The idea is to synthesise the multidimensional space into a
smaller one, in order to detect an underlying structure in the relationships between
variables. The variables used in this analysis are:
• demographic (proportion 65+ in 1970 and 2000, female life expectancy at 65 in 1970
and 2000, childless in cohort 1930, TFR for cohort 1930, mean age at fertility for

DRAFT
DO NOT CITE
cohort 1930, % women 65+ married in 1970 and 2000, % women 65+ divorced in
2000, % 65+ living alone in 1970s, % women living alone in 2000)
• health (% 65+ with severe disabilities, % of 65+ in institution)
• labour force participation (women 45-60 in LFS in 2000)
• attitudinal (% 65+ with daily contacts with children, % people aged 45-64 that think
that parents should move to a nursing home if they become frail, % of older people
receiving family care only, % of older people receiving public care only)
• policy and socio-economic context (expenditure on pensions as a % of GDP,
expenditure on health care as a % of GDP, Women 65+ at risk of poverty - 60% of
median equivalent income after social transfers)
The first three components explain 75 per cent of the total variance, indicating a good
synthesis of the matrix containing 22 variables and 12 countries. We used a VARIMAX
rotation to better plot the results.
The first factor, which explains 41 per cent of the total variance, is highly correlated with
attitudinal characteristics, contrasting countries with a high proportion of family
exchange (contacts and care) with those with high proportions of: adults who think that
parents should go into institutions if they became frail; older people in institutions; and
older people receiving only formal care (Figure 12a). Additionally the first factor is
positively correlated with high life expectancies in countries at age 65 in 1970 (i.e.,
countries with better living conditions for older people in the 1970s).
The second factor is characterised by past age structure (i.e., a high proportion of people
aged 65 and over in 1970) and living arrangements (i.e., high levels of older people living
alone in the 1970s and in the late 1990s) (Figure 12a).
Figure 12b shows the countries’ position on the factorial plane that has the first factor on
the x-axis and the second on the y-axis. As expected Sweden and Denmark are close
together in the 1 st quadrant (the one characterised by a high proportion of: older people
in institutions and receiving formal care; divorced older people; adults who think parents
should go to institutions if they become frail; older people living alone in the past and
recently). Germany and Austria are in the 2 nd quadrant which is characterised by
countries with relatively high proportions receiving family care and of GDP spent in
health care. In the 3 rd quadrant we find Southern European countries and Ireland (even if
the latter and Italy are weakly associated with the second factor), and in the 4 th we find
the Netherlands. The positions of Belgium and the U.K. (and France to a lesser extent) in
this plane are not strongly defined, as these countries demonstrate an “average” level for
the variables used in this analysis.
9. Summary and Discussion
Fertility declines responsible for population ageing have lead to concerns among policy
makers that family support for older people may decline. However, changes in marital
and family patterns do not always imply adverse consequences for family support. For
example, Italy’s low fertility rate (a total fertility rate per woman of 1.24 compared with
1.66 in Britain in 2003) does not appear to have led to a reduction in the availability of

DRAFT
DO NOT CITE
family care and support for older people (Tomassini and Wolf, 2000b). The factor
analysis shows that “cultural” factors (in addition to “demographic” and “health and
welfare” factors) are one of the most important components explaining variance across
the countries studied (these three factors explain close to 74% of the variance). However,
there has been little change in attitudes over time according to Eurobarometer Survey
data.

Fig.1 Proportion of women aged 65 plus living alone. 1970-2000
DRAFT
DO NOT CITE
60
55
50
45
40
35
30
25
20
1970 1975 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000
I GB NL SWE
Source: FAMSUP Database

DRAFT
DO NOT CITE
Table 1. Population aged 65+ by Living Arrangements and Sex, Britain (percentages)
1980 a 1991 b 1998 c
M W M W M W
Living alone 17 45 24 47 24 47
(one-person hhld)
Living with partner 62 33 61 36 64 41
only
Living w off-spring 13 5 9 5 7 3
and spouse*
Living w off-spring 4 10 3 9 2 7
but without spouse*
Other arrangements + 4 6 2 4 2 2
N 1842 2674 1580 2205 1337 1745
* With or without other persons
+ e.g. living with siblings, other relatives or non relatives
Note: Off-spring is a child (biological, step or adopted) regardless of marital status.
Sources: a ONS. GHS 1980 published tables, Table10.2; b Goodard, E., & Savage, D. (1994). People aged 65
and over. London: HMSO, Table 4; c Bridgwood, A. (2000). People aged 65 and over. London: ONS, Table
3.Table

Fig.2 Living arrangements of older people – ECHP 1994
DRAFT
DO NOT CITE
Men
100%
80%
60%
40%
20%
0%
DK NL UK I
Living alone Just partner Partner and children other
Women
100%
80%
60%
40%
20%
0%
DK NL UK I
Living alone Just partner Partner and children other
Source: Iacovou 2000

DRAFT
DO NOT CITE
Figure 3: Proportion of people aged 85plus resident in communal establishment in
Britain, Netherlands and Sweden by gender, 1991 and 2001
50
40
%
30
20
10
0
Women Men Women Men Women Men
GB NL SWE
1990/91 2000/01
Note: For Great Britain a resident in communal establishment is any person who has been living, or intends
to live, in the establishment for six months or more. It excludes visitors and staff family members. People
visiting the establishment on Census day who do not have a usual address elsewhere are also classified as a
resident.
Sources: For Great Britain 1991 and 2001 Censuses

DRAFT
DO NOT CITE
Fig.4 Contacts with family and reported loneliness among people aged 65+
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
Italy Great Britain Denmark Netherlands
Daily contacts Contacts less than monthly Often feel lonely
Source: (Eurobarometer 37.2 1992)

DRAFT
DO NOT CITE
Table 2: ‘Who gives you regular help or assistance?’ Among respondents who get
regular help or assistance with personal care or household tasks because they find it
difficult to do these by themselves,
Persons aged 65 and over
GENDER AND DENMARK GREAT NETHERLANDS ITALY PORTUGAL
WHO RECEIVE
BRITAIN
HELP FROM
Family only 21.2 53.2 29.4 77.2 86.1
Public social 40.4 14.0 21.9 1.7 2.5
service only
Other 38.4 32.8 48.7 21.2 11.5
N 103 97 152 109 189
Source: 1992 Eurobarometer 37.2

Fig.5 Changes in marital status distribution over time – Women 65+
DRAFT
DO NOT CITE
Single Widowed Divorced/separated Married
100%
90%
80%
70%
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
71 91 01 70 90 00 75 90 00 71 91 01
Italy Netherlands Sweden UK
Source: FAMSUP Database

Fig.6 Proportion of childless women by cohort
DRAFT
DO NOT CITE
20
16
12
%
8
4
0
1930 1932 1934 1936 1938 1940 1942 1944 1946 1948 1950 1952 1954 1956 1958 1960
Cohort
Italy Netherlands Portugal Sweden England&Wales
Source: New Cronos

Fig.7 Cohort Total Fertility Rate
DRAFT
DO NOT CITE
3.2
2.8
2.4
2
1.6
1930 1935 1940 1945 1950 1955 1960
Italy Netherlands Portugal Sweden England & Wales
Source: New Cronos

Fig. 8 Mean age at fertility by cohort
DRAFT
DO NOT CITE
30
29
28
27
26
25
1930 1932 1934 1936 1938 1940 1942 1944 1946 1948 1950 1952 1954 1956 1958 1960 1962
D I NL A PT SWE E&W
Source: New Cronos

Fig. 9 Trends in women’s labour force participation (women aged 40-64)
DRAFT
DO NOT CITE
90
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000 2010
Austria Germany Italy Netherlands Portugal Sweden
Source: ILO

DRAFT
DO NOT CITE
Fig.10 a Proportion of people younger than 40 thinking that older people should go to
residential/nursing homes
25
20
15
10
5
0
DK S NL GB I
1992 1999
Fig.10 b Proportion of people aged 40-64 thinking that older people should go to
residential/nursing homes
25
20
15
10
5
0
DK S NL GB I
1992 1999

DRAFT
DO NOT CITE
Fig. 11 “How to help a frail parent who can no longer manage alone?” Respondents aged
40-64
100%
80%
60%
40%
20%
0%
SWE NL GB I
Parent should move to a child's hoouse
A child should move to the parent's house
One should move closer to the other
Parent should move to nursing home
Parent should stay at home, and receive visits It depends/DK
Source: Eurobarometer 1998

Fig. 12a
DRAFT
DO NOT CITE
Source: FAMSUP Database

Fig 12 b
DRAFT
DO NOT CITE
Source: FAMSUP DataBase

DRAFT
DO NOT CITE
References
Arber, S. and Ginn, J. 1993, 'Gender and inequalities in health in later life', Social Science
and Medicine, vol. 36, pp. 33-46.
Banfield, E. 1958. The moral basis of a backward society: Glencoe.
Daatland, S. O. 1990, 'What are families for? On family solidarity and preference for
help', Ageing and Society, vol. 10, pp. 1-15.
Dalla Zuanna, G. 2001, 'The banquet of Aeolus: a familistic interpretation of Italy's
lowest low fertility', Demographic Research, vol. 4, pp. 133-61.
de Jong Gierveld, J.and T. van Tilburg. 1999. "Living arrangements of older adults in the
Netherlands and Italy: Coresidence values and behaviour and their consequences
for loneliness." Journal of Cross-Cultural Gerontology 14(1):1-24.
Dooghe, G. 1992, 'Informal caregivers of elderly people: An European review', Ageing
and Society, vol. 12, pp. 369-380.
Glaser, K. 1997, 'The living arrangements of elderly people', Reviews in Clinical
Gerontology, vol. 7, pp. 63-72.
Glaser, K., Hancock, R. and Stuchbury, R. 1998, Attitudes in an ageing society, Research
sponsored by Age Concern England for the Millennium Debate of the Age, Age
Concern Institute of Gerontology, London.
Grundy, E. 1996, 'Population Review: (5) The population aged 60 and over', Population
Trends, vol. 84, pp. 14-20.
Grundy, E. 1997, 'The health and health care of older adults in England and Wales, 1841-
1994', in The Health of Adult Britain 1841-1994, eds J. C. Charlton and M.
Murphy, The Stationery Office, London, pp. 182-203.
Grundy, E. 2000, 'Co-residence of mid-life children with their elderly parents in England
and Wales: Changes between 1981 and 1991', Population Studies, vol. 54, pp.
193-206.
Haskey, J. 1993, 'First marriage, divorce, and remarriage: birth cohort analyses',
Population Trends, vol. 72, pp. 24-33.
Iacovou, M. 2000, The living arrangements of elderly Europeans, EPAG Working Paper
9, Institute for Social and Economic Research (ISER). University of Essex.
Keilman, N. 1987, 'Recent trends in family and household composition in Europe',
European Journal of Population, vol. 3, pp. 297-325.
Kobrin, F. E. 1976, 'The primary individual and the family: Changes in living
arrangements in the United States since 1940', Journal of Marriage and the
Family, vol. 38, pp. 233-239.
Macunovich, D. J., Easterlin, R. A., Schaeffer, C. M. and Crimmins, E. M. 1995, 'Echoes
of the baby boom and bust: Recent and prospective changes in living alone
among elderly widows in the United States', Demography, vol. 32, pp. 17-28.
McGarry, K. and Schoeni, R. 2000, 'Social security, economic growth, and the rise in the
elderly widow's independence in the twentieth century', Demography, vol. 37, pp.
221-236.
Murphy, M. and Berrington, A. 1993, 'Household change in the 1980s: a review',
Population Trends, vol. 73, pp. 18-26.
Mutchler, J. E. 1992, 'Living arrangements and household transitions among the
unmarried in later life', Social Science Quarterly, vol. 73, pp. 565-580.

DRAFT
DO NOT CITE
Palloni, A. 2001, 'Living arrangements of older persons', in Living arrangements of older
persons: Critical issues and policy responses, ed U. Nations, United Nations,
New York.
Pampel, F. C. 1992, 'Trends in living alone among the elderly in Europe', in Elderly
migration and population redistribution: A comparative study, ed A. Rogers,
Belhaven Press, London, pp. 97-117.
Phillipson, C., Bernard, M., Phillips, J. and Ogg, J. (eds.) 2001, The Family and
Community Life of Older People, Routledge, London.
Reher, D. 1998, 'Family ties in Western Europe: Persistent contrasts', Population and
Development Review, vol. 24, pp. 203-234.
Rowland, D. T. 1998, Cross-National Trends in Childlessness, Working Papers in
Demography, No. 73, The Australian National University, Canberra.
Rowlands, O. 1998, Informal Carers, The Stationery Office, London.
Santini, A. 1974, La fecondità delle coorti- Studio longitudinale della fecondità italiana
dagli inizi del secolo XX, Firenze, Firenze Dip. Statistica e Matematica.
Sundström, G. 1994, 'Care by families: An overview of trends', in Caring for frail
elderly people. New directions in care, ed OECD, OECD Social Policy Studies,
Paris, pp. 15-55.
Tomassini, C. and Wolf, D. 2000a, 'Stability and change in the living arrangements of
older Italian women: 1990-1995', Genus, vol. LVI, pp. 203-219.
Tomassini, C. and Wolf, D. A. 2000b, 'Shrinking kin networks in Italy due to sustained
low fertility.', European Journal of Population Studies, vol. 16, pp. 353-372.
Tomassini, C., D.A. Wolf, and A. Rosina. 2003. "Parental housing assistance and parentchild
proximity in Italy." Journal of Marriage and the Family 65(3), pp 700-715.
van Solinge, H. 1994, 'Living arrangements of non-married elderly people in the
Netherlands in 1990', Ageing and Society, vol. 14, pp. 219-236.
Walker 1993, Age and attitudes: Main results from a Eurobarometer survey,
Commission of the European Communities, Brussels.
Walker, A. 1995, 'The family and the mixed economy of care - can they be integrated?',
in The Future of Family Care for Older People, eds I. Allen and E. Perkins,
HMSO, London, pp. 201-220.
Wall, R. 1995, 'Elderly persons and members of their households in England and Wales
from preindustrial times to the present', in Aging in the Past, eds D. I. Kertzer and
P. Laslett, University of California Press, Berkeley, pp. 81-106.
Wenger, G. C. 1984, The Supportive Network: Coping with Old Age, George Allen and
Unwin, London.
Wolf, D. A. 1995, 'Changes in the living arrangements of older women: an international
study', The Gerontologist, vol. 35, pp. 724-731.