Aging

A Research Brief Prepared for the University of Texas at Austin Population Research Center Research Brief Series Download a PDF of the Brief Mieke Beth Thomeer, Rachel Donnelly, Corinne Reczek,… Read more: Same-Sex Couples Devote More Attention to End-of-Life Plans than Heterosexual Couples

A Research Brief Prepared for the University of Texas at Austin Population Research Center Research Brief Series Debra Umberson Introduction Black Americans are more likely than white Americans to experience the… Read more: Black Deaths Matter: A Conceptual Framework for Understanding Racial Disparities in Relationship Loss and Health

In contrast to the seeming stabilization of divorce rates for the general population over the past two decades, the gray divorce rate has doubled: Married individuals aged 50 and older, including the college-educated, are twice as likely to experience a divorce today as they were in 1990. For married individuals aged 65 and older, the risk of divorce has more than doubled since 1990. Researchers explain why.

In this report to the Council on Contemporary Families for Older Americans Month, New York University researchers Eric Klinenberg, Stacy Torres, and Elena Portocolone report on the unprecedented movement of the elderly toward solo living.

When Senior Citizens Month was established in May 1963 (the name was changed to “Older Americans Month” in 1980), there were only 17 million living Americans who had reached their 65th birthday. Today there are more than 38 million Americans 65 and older. This year the official theme for Older Americans Month is “Connecting to the Community.” Much has been written about the “burden” of supporting an aging population, but we hear far less about the many critical contributions older people make to their families and their communities. A good deal of this work is unpaid, but its value is no less significant.

Back in 1963, when 17 million Americans aged 65 and older represented just 9 percent of the population, President John F. Kennedy designated May as Senior Citizens Month. Today there are almost 40 million Americans aged 65 and older, a number that is projected to increase to 88.5 million by 2050. By then they will make up 20 percent of the total population, and nearly 1 in 4 will be over 85. (By comparison, in 1900 only 4 percent of women and 3 percent of men lived to be 90.) We now know that they hate being called “senior citizens.” (President Carter changed the name to Older Americans Month in 1980.) Their numbers are swelling. What else do we know about older Americans?

By Valerie Adrian Research Intern Council on Contemporary Families Stephanie Coontz, M.A. Co-Chair and Director of Research and Public Education Council on Contemporary Families Download Full Report as a PDF… Read more: The Long-Range Impact of the Recession on Families