• 한국노년학
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• v.31 no.4
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• pp.1135-1153
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• 2011

The study aims to examine the interaction of socio-economic status in education and income in the difference of the level of subjective health, physical health, and mental health of middle-age and the elderly of Korea. While there have been various discussions in precedent study with respect to the serious increase in the number of dependent life alongside with increasing elderly population, research on the health level according to socio-economic status is highly limited, and also how the health level of middle-age and the elderly - whom will arrive at senescence in just a few years - is different. The study aims at analyzing the health level by hierarchy and age based on data targeting the whole nation. As for analysis data, the study utilized 1st Korean Longitudinal Study of Ageing (KLoSA) implemented by Korea Labor Institute, and carried out a path analysis to verify whether income and academic background serve as a parameter to the level of subjective health, physical health, and mental health. As a result, while the subjective health level decreases, the study confirmed an increase in chronic diseases, and extremely low level of mental health when people in middle-age enter the elderly. In addition, the higher the education and income, the more the health levels both on middle-age and the elderly; the result suggests that education background and income have mediated effects in all health level of middle-age and the elderly.

• 한국노년학
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• v.29 no.4
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• pp.1463-1478
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• 2009

The purpose of this study is to investigate the characteristics of the elderly based on the types of Kyungrodang participation and explores ways toward development of Kyungrodang. A national sample data, collected by the Korean Institute for the Health and Social Welfare in 2004 is analyzed by employing Chi-Square test of independence, ANOVA, and multiple logistic regression(n=3,005). A significant difference is noted in age, area, and socioeconomic status among the elderly based on the types of Kyungrodang participation. The results show that those elderly living in rural areas with older and lower socioeconomic status are more likely to participate at Kyungrodang, whereas, elderly living in urban areas with younger and higher socioeconomic status are less likely to participate at Kyungrodang and discontinue to use the services. Although there is a difference between the gender, the most significant reason for not using and discontinuing Kyungrodang is because the elderly can not get along with the other participants. In other words, the major problem that needs to be solved is to socializing and providing service programs satisfying all participants. Based on the results and recent socioeconomic changes of the older population, some policy issues are suggested for the development of Kyungrodang.

• 한국노년학
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• v.31 no.2
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• pp.277-290
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• 2011

The present study examined the impact of work stress and job satisfaction on intention to leave among staff including social workers, nurses, and care workers. The study subject included 235 staff in a welfare organization that provides long-term care services. Data was analyzed using multiple linear regression. The findings of the study show that work stress and job satisfaction affect intention to leave in the context of welfare organizations. Demographic variables were not the main focus of this study and thus these results are incidental. Staff with higher levels of work stress were more likely to think about leaving, while those with grater job satisfaction were less likely. There were several limitations in this study. Generalizability of the findings are limited to staff working in the province of Jeonnam. The results have important implications for the development of strategies to minimize turnover intention in long-term care. Reducing the intent to leave is desirable for issues of both cost reduction and quality of care. Managers could perhaps start to consider decreasing work overload assigned to staff. This study also provides some insight into the work status of new staff. Clearly this finding needs to be explored in further research studies. A more comprehensive model is likely required to adequately explain intention to leave the job.

• 한국노년학
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• v.31 no.4
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• pp.905-923
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• 2011

The purpose of this study is to examine factors affecting the conflict between grandparents raising grandchildren and adult children. The data were based on the panel survey to explore korean retirement and income study conducted by National Pension Service in 2009. For this study, 287 parenting grandparents rearing grandchild are selected from the survey. Included variables are a demographic factor, a economic factor, a caregiving-related factor, a health factor, and a family relationship factor. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, t-test, co-relation and logistic regression, with SPSS WIN 18.0 program. The results are as follows: First, when grandparents are male, older, highly educated, having no religion, and unemployed, a conflict with their adult children grows. Second, when grandparents do not have earned income or financial income, but have private income transfers, a conflict with their adult children is high. Third, when grandchildren are younger, there are no caregiving rewards, economic activities suspension or reduction because of caregiving, a conflict with their adult children is strong. Also, when grandparents' physical health is good, but their mental health is poor, a conflict with their adult children increases. Fourth, when grandparents' satisfactions with family relationship and spouse relationship are low, but their satisfaction with adult children relationship is high, a conflict with their adult children rises. This study suggests that unlike in the past, grandparents raising grandchildren can no longer make sacrifice themselves for their adult children, but they expect proper exchange between parents and children. Therefore, there needs to be understanding of grandparents raising grandchildren and further studies of a conflict between grandparents raising grandchildren their adult children.

• 한국노년학
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• v.29 no.4
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• pp.1479-1500
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• 2009

This study examined BMI distributions among older adults in three different countries: the U.S., Japan, and Korea. The paper also explored differences in the factors predicting BMI in the three countries using three data sets: the U.S. Longitudinal Study of Aging (LSOA II, 8,589 persons), the Nihon University Japanese Longitudinal Study of Aging (NUJLSOA, 2,888 persons), and the Korean Longitudinal Study of Ageing (KLoSA, 2,397 persons). Descriptive analysis and multiple regression were performed. Japanese older adults were somewhat lighter than Koreans with fewer people at the upper end of the BMI distribution. Distributions of BMI among both Koreans and Japanese are shifted leftward relative to Americans. There is less dispersion in the distribution of BMI for Koreans and Japanese than among Americans. The association between socioeconomic variables and BMI is stronger in the U.S. and Japan than in Korea. Demographic variables are strong predictors of BMI in Korea. In Japan, all health behaviors have significant effects on BMI. It is concluded that the relationships between behavioral, demographical, and socioeconomic factors and BMI are not the same across countries. Results have policy implications for the involvement of health practitioners in helping older adults to control weight.

• 한국노년학
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• v.25 no.2
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• pp.73-93
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• 2005

This study explores the determinants of economic status and well-being among elderly Koreans. Particular emphasis is paid to the role of intergenerational support in these processes because institutional responses to an aging population in Korea are currently inadequate. Path model results indicate that status maintenance variables have significant effects on economic status and well-being as measured by comprehensive income. Further, inequality in comprehensive income - as measured by the Gini and Theil's indices - is substantial and increases in successive age groups. However, market-based and family-based income, two components of comprehensive income, show different patterns. Inequality in market-based income is apparently increasing, while inequality in family-based income is decreasing gradually in successive age groups. With respect to the role of intergenerational support, results indicate that family-income-focused persons possess highly vulnerable sociodemographic characteristics, and that for the socially disadvantaged elderly Koreans, intergenerational support plays a crucial role in the later stages of life. This study also discusses the implications of these findings for the transition from latency to manifestation of intergenerational support in Korea.

• 한국노년학
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• v.29 no.1
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• pp.89-99
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• 2009

This study aims to identify the influence of the satisfaction of the elderly with their participation in fitness on the expectation of support and family function. First, overall satisfaction and satisfaction with service quality out of satisfaction factors with the participation in fitness significantly affected family cohesion and family adaptability, and they significantly affected family adaptability in psychological satisfaction factors. Second, all of the sub-factors of the satisfaction with the participation in fitness significantly affected the expectation of support. Third, the satisfaction with fitness of the elderly directly affected family cohesion and family adaptability, which posted .162 and .239 respectively. Plus, the satisfaction with the participation in fitness indirectly affected the expectation of support, which posted .032 and directly affected the expectation of support, which posted .722. Also, family cohesion directly affected the expectation of support, which posted -.101, and family adaptability directly affected the expectation of support, which posted .201.

• 한국노년학
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• v.29 no.3
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• pp.867-881
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• 2009

This study's goal is to compare influencing factors to life satisfaction and sport participation of the elderly in the rural and urban area. And it is to provide basic information that is appropriate to the local peculiarity. In the research, we used the 2006 KLoSA, got the following result through the more than 60 years old 502 peoples in the rural area and 1129 in the urban area. There were significant differences of factors related to the life satisfaction between rural and urban elderly, and the most sport participants have higher life satisfaction than non-participants. Through the probit analysis, the result shows that significant factors affecting sport participation for the rural elderly are gender, age, working/retired, and for urban elderly, the education level and income are added. About the participation, there were also significant differences on the participation frequency for the rural elderly and on the participation hours for urban elderly. The significant factors of life satisfaction for rural elderly are the education level, subjective health, and sport participation, and for urban elderly were the education level, income, subjective health, and sport participation. Overall, it shows the urban elderly have higher life satisfaction than the rural elderly. The welfare system to improve the sports participation and life satisfaction needs the differentiated support reflecting the social demographic characteristics.

• 한국노년학
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• v.29 no.1
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• pp.21-35
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• 2009

The aim of this study is to make clear the characteristics of elderly comsumer behaviors and to provide information for the organ and company preparing aging friendly industry. This information is actual data which analyzed elderly consumer behaviors according to sociology of Population criterion. The first survey was conducted to 600 elderly about the degree of products preference, the criterion of products selection, actual purchaser, the preferring medium. To compare elderly consumer behaviors to young consumer behaviors, the second survey was conducted to 400 elderly and young persons. The results are in following. First, the crucial factors of elderly consumers making select products is the function of products. Second, when planning marketing for elderly consumers, company needs to investigate factors affecting elderly consumers behaviors, for instance the educational level, a monthly income level, age, sex, and so on. Third, elderly consumers were the most interested in health products. Specially, male elderly consumers in leisure sports and tour products. Fourth, elderly consumers is active for economic respect and independent for social respect.

• 한국노년학
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• v.34 no.2
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• pp.315-331
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• 2014

The goal of this study was to examine the association between employment and depressive symptoms among older adults in Korea, including analysis of potential gender differences. Using a sample of Korean adults aged 60 years or older from the 2008(Time 2) and 2010(Time 3) national longitudinal survey data from the Korean Longitudinal Study of Ageing, we regressed measures of depressive symptoms at Time 3 on employment at Time 2 (and employment both at Time 2 and Time 3), controlling for Time 2 depressive symptoms, subjective physical health, and sociodemographic variables as well. First, there was no evidence that older adults with a job at Time 2 had significantly lower levels of depressive symptoms at Time 3 compared to their counterparts. However, multi-group analyses showed that the effect of employment at Time 2 on depression at Time 3 differed by gender. For older men, employment predicted better mental health over time. However, this was not the case for older women. As such work role provided benefits only for older men. Second, older adults with a job at both Time 2 and Time 3 reported significantly lower levels of depressive symptoms at Time 3 than older adults who did not have a job either at Time 2 or Time 3. However, only older men who were employed at both Time 2 and Time 3 reported significantly less depression than their counterparts. These findings suggest that the mental health effects of employment are contingent on gender.