Later Life Families
Defining Later Life Families, Characteristics Of Later Life Families, Couple Relationships In Later Life, Retirement And Couple RelationshipsConclusion
Similar to their younger counterparts, families in later life experience both change and continuity. In addition to retirement, grandparenthood, and changing intergenerational relationships, members of later life families experience marital transitions, the onset of health problems, and changes in marital satisfaction and sexual relationships as well as emerging needs for the caregiving of older family members. Race, ethnicity, class, country of origin, age, and sexual orientation combine to further augment the diversity of experience within the family in later life.
Later life families experience both change and continuity through marital, familial, social, and work transitions. At the same time, each individual's experience and definition of what constitutes the later life family and familial relationships varies. Despite the differences that derive from gender, race, class, country of origin, and the numerous transitions they encounter, families in later life are both adaptive and resilient.
See also: CAREGIVING: FORMAL; CAREGIVING: INFORMAL; CHILDLESSNESS; DEATH AND DYING; DIVORCE: EFFECTS ON COUPLES; ELDER ABUSE; ELDERS; FILIAL RESPONSIBILITY; GRANDPARENTHOOD; GRIEF, LOSS, AND BEREAVEMENT; INTERGENERATIONAL RELATIONS; MARITAL QUALITY; RETIREMENT; SANDWICH GENERATION; SEXUALITY IN ADULTHOOD; SUBSTITUTE CAREGIVERS; WIDOWHOOD
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Other Resources
World Health Organization. (2000). "WHO Issues New Healthy Life Expectancy Rankings: Japan Number One in New 'Healthy Life' System." Press Release. Released in Washington, DC and Geneva, Switzerland, June 4, 2000. Available from www.who.int/inf-pr-2000/en/pr2000-life.html.
LAURA HURD CLARKE
Additional topics
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- Family Diagrammatic Assessment - Ecomap, Genogram
- Later Life Families - Defining Later Life Families
- Later Life Families - Characteristics Of Later Life Families
- Later Life Families - Couple Relationships In Later Life
- Later Life Families - Retirement And Couple Relationships
- Later Life Families - Sexuality In Later Life
- Later Life Families - Grandparenthood
- Later Life Families - Marital Transitions: Widowhood, Divorce And Remarriage
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