An Analysis of Factors Associated With Older Workers' Employment Participation and Preferences in Australia.

Australian government and organizational age-management policies continue to target employment participation among older workers in light of an aging population. Typically, efforts to reduce early retirement among older workers have focused on well-established factors, including the promotion of worker health, reducing injury, supporting caregivers, reducing age discrimination and enhancing skill development. This research extends on the former approach by examining established factors along with important emerging factors, namely work-life conflict, work centrality and person-job fit. Additionally, the research analyses the effects of gender and financial pressure on older workers' employment participation and preferences. Logistic regression analysis of cross-sectional survey data involving 1,504 Australians aged 45-65, revealed that two established factors, physical health and caregiving, and all three emerging factors were associated with employment participation and preferences to be employed. However, important variations on the basis of gender and financial pressure were also identified. Caregiving was more strongly associated with the preference to remain employed for men (OR = 0.2.54, p < 0.01) than women (OR = 1.03, ns) and person-job fit was more strongly associated with the preference to remain employed for women (OR = 1.64, p < 0.001) than men (OR = 0.91, ns). Work-life conflict was more strongly associated with the preference to leave employment for those reporting limited financial pressure (OR = 0.60, p < 0.001) compared to those in poorer financial circumstances (OR = 0.87, ns). These findings suggest that organizational age management policies should focus on both established and emerging factors, particularly the provision of flexible working conditions and improving the psychosocial work environment. However, such efforts should carefully consider the different needs of men and women, and those under varying levels of financial stress. With respect to government policy to promote employment participation, the findings support a stronger focus on improving physical and psychosocial work conditions rather than increasing the pension eligibility age. This may require further collaboration between government and employers.

Assessing the Process of Retirement: a Cross-Cultural Review of Available Measures.

Retirement research is now expanding beyond the post-World War II baby boomers' retirement attitudes and plans to include the nature of their workforce exit and how successfully they adjust to their new life. These elements are collectively known as the process of retirement. However, there is insufficient research in developing countries to inform the management of their ageing populations regarding this process. This review aims to facilitate national and cross-cultural research in developing and non-English speaking countries by reviewing the existing measures of the retirement process published in English and Portuguese. The review identified 28 existing measures assessing retirement attitudes, planning, decision making, adjustment and satisfaction with retirement. Information on each scale's item structure, internal reliability, grammatical structure and evidence of translations to other languages is presented. Of the 28 measures, 20 assessed retirement attitudes, plans and decision-making, 5 assessed adjustment to retirement and only two assessed retirement satisfaction. Only eight of the 28 scales had been translated into languages other than English. There is scope to translate measures of retirement attitudes and planning into other languages. However there is a paucity of translated measures of retirement decision-making and adjustment, and measures of retirement satisfaction in general. Within the limitations of this review, researchers are provided with the background to decide between translating existing measures or developing of more culturally appropriate assessment tools for addressing their research questions.

Matching Work Capacity and Job Demands: Toward an Enhanced Measure of Work Ability.

OBJECTIVE: The Work Ability Index (WAI), the dominant measure of work ability, provides little information for targeting workplace interventions. There are benefits of developing new measures that focus on self-rated capacity to meet job demands rather than on health subscales of the WAI. METHODS: Structural equation modeling with cross-sectional data from 186 underground coal miners aged 18 to 64 years was used to model multivariate relationships between the WAI subscales, worker autonomy, and relationships with management. RESULTS: The results show differential associations between workplace factors and the WAI subscales, particularly self-rated capacity, highlighting potential intervention avenues not identifiable using traditional composite WAI scoring. CONCLUSIONS: Focusing on self-rated work ability could be beneficial in clinical settings, provided measures are enhanced to capture a sufficient array of job demands.

Housing type, location of residence and health status in Australian baby boomers: results from the Australian Baby Boomer (ABBA) Study.

INTRODUCTION: Baby Boomers are working and living longer than their pre-war counterparts, and are more likely to live in high density urban housing. This paper examines the relationship between housing type, working status and location of residence on health status in Baby Boomers. METHODS: We investigated location of residence and housing type in 1009 participants of the Ageing Baby Boomers in Australia (ABBA) Study to identify any predictors of, or correlations between, these variables and health status. RESULTS: Current workers were less likely to report depression than retirees. We found a significantly higher rate of diabetes, obesity and hypertension in retirees than in current workers however rates of obesity, diabetes and hypertension were higher than predicted in current workers. CONCLUSION: The rates of chronic disease are higher than previous estimates and provide evidence to inform health promotion programs designed to increase physical activity and improve eating habits in baby boomers.

Upstream and downstream correlates of older people's engagement in social networks: what are their effects on health over time?

This study tested the effects of social network engagement and social support on the health of older people moving into retirement, using a model which includes social context variables. A prospective survey of a New Zealand population sample aged 54-70 at baseline (N = 2,282) was used to assess the effects on mental and physical health across time. A structural equation model assessed pathways from the social context variables through network engagement to social support and then to mental and physical health 2 years later. The proposed model of effects on mental health was supported when gender, economic living standards, and ethnicity were included along with the direct effects of these variables on social support. These findings confirm the importance of taking social context variables into account when considering social support networks. Social engagement appears to be an important aspect of social network functioning which could be investigated further.

Adapting data collection methods in the Australian Life Histories and Health Survey: a retrospective life course study.

OBJECTIVE: Ideally, life course data are collected prospectively through an ongoing longitudinal study. We report adaptive multimethod fieldwork procedures that gathered life history data by mail survey and telephone interview, comparable with the face-to-face methods employed in the English Longitudinal Study on Ageing (ELSA). DESIGN: The Australian Life Histories and Health (LHH) Survey was a substudy of the Australian 45 and Up Study, with data collection methods modified from the ELSA Study. A self-complete questionnaire and life history calendar were completed by the participants, followed by a computer-assisted telephone interview recording key life events. RESULTS: The LHH survey developed and tested procedures and instruments that gathered rich life history data within an ongoing Australian longitudinal survey on ageing. Data collection proved to be economical. The use of a self-complete questionnaire in conjunction with a life history calendar and coordinated computer-assisted telephone interview was successful in collecting retrospective life course information, in terms of being thorough, practical and efficient. This study has a diverse collection of data covering the life course, starting with early life experiences and continuing with socioeconomic and health exposures and outcomes during adult life. CONCLUSIONS: Mail and telephone methodology can accurately and economically add a life history dimension to an ongoing longitudinal survey. The method is particularly valuable for surveying widely dispersed populations. The results will facilitate understanding of the social determinants of health by gathering data on earlier life exposures as well as comparative data across geographical and societal contexts.

Australian baby boomers retiring 'early': understanding the benefits of retirement preparation for involuntary and voluntary retirees.

The first of the baby boomers have reached retirement age, but some have retired 'early' with varying degrees of personal choice. Preparation for retirement can lead to well-being in later life, but few studies have considered the preparations of involuntary retirees or the pathways that link their preparations with retirement outcomes. This research draws on a sample of 304 retirees from the Ageing Baby Boomers in Australia Study (2009) to examine how preparedness for retirement relates to voluntary and involuntary retirees' life satisfaction and how this relationship is explained by psychological, activity-based, and economic theories. Preparedness predicted life satisfaction for voluntary and involuntary retirees and each of theoretical pathways was supported. Although those retiring involuntarily were less prepared than voluntary retirees, their preparatory behaviours were still associated with life satisfaction. These results suggest that retirement policy and planning initiatives should aim to facilitate a holistic approach to retirement planning for future retirees, particularly those facing an early and unexpected retirement.

Socioeconomic, psychological and demographic determinants of Australian baby boomers' financial planning for retirement.

AIM: Research from around the Western World has shown that psychological, socioeconomic and demographic factors can influence levels of financial planning. This study aims to determine how these factors interrelate to predict planning outcomes. METHOD: Data from the Ageing Baby Boomers in Australia Study were used to examine the effects of multiple factors on financial planning for 709 employed Australians nearing retirement. RESULTS: The results showed that higher income, future time perspective (FTP) and financial knowledge independently predicted levels of retirement planning. The effects of FTP and financial knowledge on financial planning were consistent across levels of socioeconomic status. CONCLUSIONS: While similar issues in financial planning appeared across socioeconomic status, a 'one size fits all' approach to retirement policy may not be effective. Instead, policy should be targeted towards the diverse needs of different groups. Raising public awareness of FTP and financial knowledge may provide a useful starting point.

Estimating older hazardous and binge drinking prevalence using AUDIT-C and AUDIT-3 thresholds specific to older adults.

BACKGROUND: This study aimed to provide hazardous and binge drinking prevalence, odds and risk attributable to specific demographic correlates in community dwelling older adults using both the standard and new older-specific AUDIT-C thresholds. METHODS: Hazardous drinking was assessed using the AUDIT-C in a cross-sectional postal survey of 6662 New Zealanders aged 55-70 years old (m=60.94, SD=4.70) randomly selected from the New Zealand Electoral Roll. Prevalence data is presented for whole sample and stratified by key demographic correlates using standard and older-specific threshold scores on the AUDIT-C. Hazardous drinking prevalence using the standard AUDIT-C threshold was 56.01%, as compared to 42.28% and 50.20% under two older-specific thresholds. RESULTS: Being younger, male, and wealthy were consistent drinking predictors across thresholds but the older-specific thresholds substantially altered the prevalence and risk for females, Asians, and poorer people. Past-month binge prevalence of 18.18% was considerably lower than the past-year prevalence of 33.51%, but change from past-month to past-year binge threshold had no significant effect on the demographic composition of binge drinkers. The standard AUDIT-C threshold over-estimates hazardous drinking prevalence in older adults by up to 33%, but even the most conservative rates in this study are cause for concern regarding the level of drinking by older people in New Zealand. CONCLUSION: Older hazardous drinkers are predominantly younger, wealthier, white, partnered males, whichever threshold is used, but binge drinkers are more likely to be rural, Maori, and lack tertiary education. Further efforts are needed to determine factors underpinning hazardous drinking, especially in older Maori.

The Process of Retirement Planning Scale (PRePS): development and validation.

Although a substantial proportion of the western population is approaching retirement age, little is known about how they are preparing for the future. Much attention has been paid to the consumption of educational material and retirement wealth in the present literature, but the process of retirement planning has been ignored. S. L. Friedman and E. K. Scholnick's (1997) theoretical model provided the basis for a comprehensive measure of retirement planning. According to their process theory, individuals develop an understanding of the problem, set goals, make a decision to start preparing, and finally undertake the behaviors needed to fulfill their goals. Fifty-two items were developed to assess each stage of the planning process for financial, health, lifestyle, and psychosocial retirement planning. These were tested on a population sample of 1,449 New Zealanders aged 49-60. Confirmatory factor analysis, bivariate correlations, and hierarchical regression provided support for the valid use of the measure. Necessary antecedents, such as the tendency to look to the future, and locus of control were significantly related to the Process of Retirement Planning Scale (PRePS). The PRePS also outperformed retirement planning measures used in the Health and Retirement Study (F. T. Juster & R. Suzman, 1995) after controlling for socioeconomic and psychological variables. This measure will enable social policy makers to determine which stages of retirement planning require support and intervention. The PRePS will also help to determine which domains of retirement planning predict well-being in later life and the factors which differentiate those who are planning from those who are not.

Men, masculine identities, and health care utilisation.

Seeking medical help early is critical for recovery, yet evidence indicates that men do not utilise general practitioner services as often as women. This paper draws on Connell's (1995) theory of hegemonic masculinity to critically examine how men's under-utilisation of medical services may be influenced by the social construction of masculine identities. Interviews with seven older rural men about their help-seeking behaviour, used a movie extract and hypothetical scenarios to stimulate discussion. Transcribed data were analysed using discourse analysis, which showed that in this particular social context, the men faced a dilemma when identifying with two conflicting subject positions: the virtuous regular health care user, and the masculine infrequent user of health care services. They solved this dilemma by positioning women as frequent and trivial users of health care and themselves as legitimate users of health care. By using biomedical and morality discourses in this way the men could maintain a masculine identity whilst also identifying as virtuous users of health care services. These results support the utility of hegemonic masculinity as a theoretical basis for examining the construction and maintenance of gendered identities by highlighting the complexity of multiple masculine identities.