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V R Kivett

Publications and source records attributed to V R Kivett.

14 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1998

Critical review: synthesis and recommendations for research, education, and policy.

This paper briefly critiques each of four papers presented at the symposium, relates how these papers contribute additional information on the realities of rural older women, and the implications for future research, policy, and outreach. The critique points out that the realities of rural women's lives can best be understood through their lens in combination with objective observations. Further, most of the conflictual findings in this literature can be attributed to a lack of melding of findings across diverse studies. It is concluded that effective research, policy, and outreach must be predicated on culturally sensitive interpretations of older rural women's realities.

Aged↗
PubMed1994

The importance of emotional and social isolation to loneliness among very old rural adults.

The purpose of this study was to determine the relative importance of emotional and social isolation to loneliness among very old rural adults. The sample (N = 119) was selected using a compact area cluster sampling design. Multiple regression analysis showed that emotional isolation--more specifically, the loss of spouse--accounted for more loneliness than social isolation. Hearing acuity and visits with siblings (social isolation variables) were also significant predictors of loneliness. The implications for loneliness interventions are discussed.

Aged↗
PubMed1992

Older rural nonsurvivors: their prediction and terminal care.

This research reports on nonsurvivorship by comparing two groups of older rural adults: 138 survivors and 45 nonsurvivors from the third wave of a longitudinal study. They were part of a sample of 418 adults aged 65 and older, first interviewed in 1976. The purposes of these analyses were to examine (a) the predictors of nonsurvivorship to very old age, (b) the final health crises of rural nonsurvivors, and (c) the formal and informal supports addressing their terminal health needs. Average age at death was 83. Results showed that only minimal variance in nonsurvival to very old age could be predicted using standard demographic and psychological variables. The relative importance of predictors varied according to time of measurement (age). Terminal illnesses were similar in type to those of the general aging population. Final illnesses were usually multiple and lengthy, and deaths seldom occurred in the older rural adults' county of residence. Families usually cared for older members without the assistance of formal supports except for a physician, who usually lived out of the county or in the adjoining state. Implications for practitioners are discussed.

Aged↗
PubMed1991

Centrality of the grandfather role among older rural black and white men.

This study examined racial differences in the centrality of the grandfather role and in the factors related to its saliency. Rural men aged 65 years or older, 48 Black and 51 White, reported on their grandchild of most contact. Multiple Classification Analysis, t-tests, and hierarchical multiple regression were used to examine two hypotheses: (a) the grandfather role would be more central to Black than to White men, and (b) factors predicting interaction with grandchildren would vary by race. Strong support was found for both. Racial differences were observed in household structure, association with grandchildren, grand-filial expectations, help given to grandchildren, and in affection for grandchildren. Similarities, however, were seen in the ranked importance of the role, in the amount of help received from grandchildren, and in grandfather-grandchild consensus. The findings support a cultural rather than a structural/economic base for the grandfather role, thus validating the cultural variant perspective.

Affect↗
PubMed1986

Intergenerational solidarity: an examination of a theoretical model.

This study provided an empirical test of a widely cited proposed model of intergenerational solidarity. The model emphasizes that association, affect, and consensus are interdependent dimensions of solidarity and offers an explanatory rationale for parent-child solidarity. Path analysis techniques were used with a sample of 279 older rural-transitional parents. The results showed little support for the model, but the data indicated that residential propinquity and mutual helping behavior were strong predictors of intergenerational association. The importance of the indirect effect of sex linkage via mutual help to associational solidarity also received strong support. The results showed that the proposed model was useful in explaining objective solidarity (association) but not subjective solidarity (consensus and affection) and that these variables were not dimensions of one construct.

Adult↗
PubMed1985

Consanguinity and kin level: their relative importance to the helping network of older adults.

The purpose of this research was to examine the help received by older rural-transitional adults from seven levels of consanguineous and affinal kin and to determine the correlates of help received according to kin type. The sample consisted of 321 working class adults, aged 65 to 96 years, selected by a compact cluster sampling procedure. The data showed that kin beyond the child, child-in-law levels was of little functional importance in the helping network of older adults. Proximity to kin was the only common denominator of help received across all levels of kin. Results of the study appear to support, in part, the kin-selection theory in that helping behaviors were usually based upon degree of consanguinity (and associated marriage tie) and extent of dependency of older adults as measured by their health status or age.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1985

Differences in the morale of older, rural widows and widowers.

The purpose of the study was to determine the effect of sex differences on the morale of older widowed individuals. It was hypothesized that when the direct and indirect effects of several background and intervening variables were isolated, sex would have a significant association with morale and that widowers would be more adversely affected. The sample (N = 257) included rural widows and widowers aged sixty-five to ninety-four years who were selected by a compact cluster sampling technique. Sex of respondent was not found to affect morale; however, perceived financial status and self-rated health had significant direct effects. Widows and widowers reporting higher morale were those who had higher perceived financial status and rated their health as good. Education had a significant positive effect on morale via health and financial status. Economic and physical resources appear to be more influential determinants of the widowed older adults' morale than sex differences.

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PubMed1984

Filial expectations, association, and helping as a function of number of children among older rural-transitional parents.

Older adults with an only child (n = 57) were compared with parents with two or three children (n = 139) and parents with four or more children (n = 83) with regard to filial expectations and frequency of parent-child association and assistance. The results showed no differences between groups with regard to filial expectations. Parents of only children, however, were less likely to receive assistance and to have seen a child in the last day or two. Only a minimal amount of variance could be explained in parent-child association and helping except for parents of only children. Factors influencing association and helping patterns were observed to vary according to number of children. Whereas income, geographical proximity, and health of older parents were central to the assistance received by parents of only children, sex-linked factors, health of parents, and geographical proximity were found to contribute to the amount of help received by parents with more than one child. The research suggests the importance of controlling for number of children in future studies of intergenerational relationships and raises important questions regarding the adequacy of limited family networks as certain subgroups of the current "young-old" cohort move further into the dependencies of old age.

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PubMed1981

Discriminators of perceived dietary adequacy among the rural elderly.

Elderly persons living in rural bypassed areas may be at particular risk for dietary problems. Discriminant analysis was used to determine whether rural persons who perceived their diets as adequate could be distinguished from those who did not, on the basis of economic, psychological, social, and health-related variables. Perceived dietary problems were found to be associated with changes in diet, inadequate income, poor self-rated health, lower morale, less satisfaction with social visits, and race. Findings indicate the importance of health and economic status to perceived dietary adequacy and the interrelatedness of the variables affecting perceptions of diet.

Black or African American↗
PubMed1979

Religious motivation in middle age: correlates and implications.

The purpose of this study was to determine the relative relationship of self-rated health, age, sex, race, three measures of self-concept (actual, appearance, and ideal), education, occupation, and locus of control to religious motivation in middle age. The subjects were 301 men and women between the ages of 45 and 65 years from 22 randomly selected United Methodist churches. The results of the study show that factors reflective of the process of acculturation such as sex, ideal self-concept, and locus of control maintain the strongest relationship with religious motivation. Women, persons who have high idealized self-concepts, and adults who believe that what happens to them is under their personal control are less likely than others to be extrinsically motivated or to show a "self-centered" dependence upon religion. Consequently, the findings suggest that an important relationship may exist between the "comfort" or "challenge" functions of religion and spiritual well-being in later life for middle-aged groups.

Educational Status↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Rural/urban elderly and siblings: their value consensus.

Consensus is the level of agreement about life felt among kin and has been identified as a dimension of family solidarity with important implications for the family network. This investigation studied the factors contributing to the consensus between older adults (age sixty-five and older) and the sibling with whom they had the most contact. Respondents (N = 275) lived in a rural/urban area. Seven independent variables were entered into a multiple-regression model to determine their relative importance to consensus of the sibling relationship. Results showed that 7 percent of the variance in consensus could be explained. Filial expectations, educational disparity, and the brother/sister link were the only variables of relative importance to older adult/sibling consensus. There was greater consensus when there were fewer expectations of the sibling, similarity of educational backgrounds, and when the respondent was male and his sibling was female. Brother/sister and brother/brother links, residential proximity, communication by mail or telephone, helping behaviors, and marital status were of no relative importance to consensus. The results suggest that factors previously found to be associated with intergenerational consensus may vary in their importance to intragenerational consensus.

Aged↗