Perceived discrimination in middle-aged and older adults: Comparison between England and the United States

Objectives

This study examined differences in perceived discrimination across multiple characteristics in England and the United States (US), in middle- and older-aged adults.

Methods

Using data from the English Longitudinal Study of Aging (N = 8,671) and the US-based Health and Retirement Study (N = 7,927), we assessed cross-national differences in perceived discrimination attributed to disability, financial status, sex, race, sexual orientation, and weight. We also compared how perceived discrimination varied with socioeconomic position (SEP) based on wealth.

Results

Perceived discrimination due to financial status was more common in England (6.65%) than in the US (2.14%) adjusting for age, sex, and wealth [Odds Ratio (OR) = 1.09, 95% CI (1.07; 1.10)]. This affected people of low but not high SEP. Sexual orientation discrimination was more common in England [0.72 vs. 0.15%, OR = 4.61, 95% CI (2.48; 8.57)]. Sex-based perceived discrimination was more prevalent in the US (12.42%) than England (9.07%) adjusting for age and wealth [OR = 0.87, 95% CI (0.86; 0.89)]. Cross-national differences in sex discrimination did not vary with SEP. Racism was the most common type of perceived discrimination reported in both samples (England: 17.84%, US: 19.80%), with no significant cross-national differences after adjustment for sex.

Discussion

Perceived discrimination attributed to financial status and sexual orientation were more prevalent in England, while more women perceived sex discrimination in the US. This study suggests that country-specific and socioeconomic factors affect the prevalence of perceived discrimination. This may be relevant when targeting interventions aimed at reducing perceived discrimination.

Beyond Successful Aging 2.0: Inequalities, Ageism, and the Case for Normalizing Old Ages

This paper reviews challenges to Rowe & Kahn's Successful Aging (SA) framework, particularly those that focus on the ways social inequalities, including ageism, stratify age groups and affect possibilities for SA. We then assess the authors' replies to these critiques. We find that SA 2.0 maintains a naturalization of outcomes of age relations, and retains both its focus on personal choice and its indifference to inequalities. We advocate a paradigm shift that recasts the problems of aging in three distinct ways: 1) avoids treating old age as a problem; 2) avoids treating medical and other maladies as results of aging; and 3) treats the problems of old age as results of age relations instead. By focusing on age relations, this paradigm goes beyond calls to examine inequalities over the life course, and seeks to normalize old ages, valuing both different modes of aging and old age itself.

A Self-Reliant Umbrella: Defining Successful Aging Among the Old-Old (80+) in Shanghai

The Chinese old-old (80+) population has steadily increased in recent years; however, limited studies have examined how this group ages. The purpose of this study is to explore how the old-old in urban China define successful aging. Guided by grounded theory, we conducted semi-structured, in-depth interviews with community-dwelling old-old participants (N = 97). Participants identified self-reliance as the goal of successful aging, which was supported by four proactive behaviors: physical activity, financial security, community connectedness, and willing acceptance of reality. In our model, we conceptualized these four proactive behaviors to constitute the ribs of an umbrella, supporting a canopy to protect the pole of self-reliant successful aging. This study offers new understanding of the dynamic and nuanced ways that the old-old in urban China age successfully and of their valiant efforts to maintain self-reliance.