xt7q2b8vcd89 https://exploreuk.uky.edu/dips/xt7q2b8vcd89/data/mets.xml Kentucky Agricultural Experiment Station. 1961 journals 105 English Lexington : Agricultural Experiment Station, University of Kentucky Contact the Special Collections Research Center for information regarding rights and use of this collection. Kentucky Agricultural Experiment Station Progress report (Kentucky Agricultural Experiment Station) n.105 text Progress report (Kentucky Agricultural Experiment Station) n.105 1961 2014 true xt7q2b8vcd89 section xt7q2b8vcd89 Economic Status and Attitudes of Older Men in Selected Rural and Urban Areas of Kentucky Progress Ren-ort I H A . ' s()ctober 1961 4 By E. GRANT Yoomms Department of Rural Sociology A I ii CASEY COUNTY * I K UNIVERSITY OF KENTUCKY I xmmrucxy Acmcuurmuu. mxrmnmsm smumom _ LEXINGTON I Progress Report l05 October 1961 ECONOMIC STATUS AND ATTITUDES OF OLDER MEN IN V, SELECTED RURAL AND URBAN AREAS OF KENTUCKY E. Grant Youmans Filing Code: 26 University of Kentucky Agricultural Experiment Station Lexington \ In cooperation with I Farm Population Branch, Economic and Statistical Analysis Division, Economic Research Service U. S. Department of Agriculture ACKNOWLEDGMENTS This is one of several reports based on a survey of older persons made jointly by the Department of Rural Sociology, University of Kentucky, and the Farm Population Branch, Economic and Statistical Analysis Division, Economic Research Service, U. S. Department of Agriculture. Assistance was provided by a number of persons: S. C. Bohanan, James S. Brown, A. Lee Coleman, C. Milton Coughenour, Thomas R. Ford, Joseph J. Mangalam, Earl Mayhew, and Ralph Ramsey, all of the University of Kentucky; ( Gladys K. Bowles, James D. Cowhig, and Margaret Jarman Hagood, and Donald G. Hay, all of the Economic Research Service, U. S. Department of Agriculture; and John E. Dunkleberger, Paul J. Jehlik, Ben T. Lanham, and Glenn C. McCann, all of Technical Committee S-44. Acknowledgment is made to Silvio O. Navarro, Director of the Computing Center, and to David A. Sheets, Director of the Office of Machine Statistics, University of Kentucky, for use of tabulating equipment. The survey on which this report is based is a contributing study to the Cooperative Southern Regional Sociological Research Project 8-44. CONTENTS Page ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ...°.................... 2 LIST OF TABLES .¤°..,...°.......¤¤..°.° 4 h INTRODUCTION °..°.,°....°......°...... 5 Objectives and Procedures ..............°. 6 Sample o °... ° . ......... , ..¤¤¤°.. 7 ECONOMIC STATUS °.»... . ......°.¤.. » .,.u u 9 work and Retirement ..¤...... . . .¤.....¤ 9 Income °.°.°¤..............°°...¤ 14 Housing °.°.,°°..¤.....¤..°..¤¤°° 18 Property and Equipment °.°..¤.. . °.¤°°0¤.. 20 ECONOMIC LOSSES WITH AGE o ..¤....¤ 0 ..°.,..¤u 22 ATTITUDES O .¤.°»°¤.°...,..,0¤,¤° U .°¤° 26 Work ¤.°.¤ . .¤.¤.. . . . Q ..°¤.°¤u¤°¤ 27 Disengagement .¤°° . ..°. . . °....¤. 0 G 0 0 31 Deprivation . °°,°,°.°.°..,°...¤¤. Q o 34 Mental Outlook . ..°,¤.¤.........° U ¤ . 0 38 SUMMARY ¤°°.°¤°°¤°.°.¤....° ° .¤°°¤uh¤ 41 -3- LIST OF TABLES Table No. Page 1. Selected Characteristics of Men Aged 60 and Older, Casey County and Lexington, Kentucky, 1959 . ,...... 8 2. work Status of Men Aged 60 and Older, Casey County and Lexington, Kentucky, 1959 ,,,, . ,¤,..,,.. l0 3. Reasons for Retiring Given by Fully or Partly Retired Men Aged 60 and Older, Casey County and Lexington, Kentucky, 1959 ,.., . . ¤°,...¤,...,.°,....,. 12 4. Money Income for Men Aged 60 and Older, Casey County and Lexington, Kentucky, 1959 .......... . . .... 15 ` 5. Sources of Income of Men Aged 60 and Older, Casey County and Lexington, Kentucky, 1959 .............. 17 6. Housing Conditions of Men Aged 60 and Older, Casey County and Lexington, Kentucky, 1959 ....... . ...,.. 19 7. Estimated Value of Property and Assets Owned by Men Aged 60 and Older, Casey County and Lexington, Kentucky, 1959 . 21 8. Ownership of or Access to Equipment and Facilities by Men Aged 60 and Older, Casey County and Lexington, Kentucky, 1959 . ..,,....,.,..... . .... 23 9. work Attitudes of Men Aged 60 and Older, Casey County and Lexington, Kentucky, 1959 ................ 29 10. Disengagement Attitudes of Men Aged 60 and Older, Casey County and Lexington, Kentucky, 1959 ........... 32 11. Feelings of Deprivation of Men Aged 60 and Older, Casey County and Lexington, Kentucky, 1959 . .......... 35 12. Pessimism and Attitudes Toward the Future of Men Aged 60 and Older, Casey County and Lexington, Kentucky, 1959 . . 40 -4- ECONOMIC STATUS AND ATTITUDES OF OLDER M N IN SELECTED RURAL AND URBAN AREAS OF KENTUCKY INTRODUCTION The well-being of older persons in the United States has been studied from two major points of view. One view has stressed the objective and external environmental conditions of older persons; the other has focused attention on their subjective, inner life- their feelings and attitudes, satisfactions and happiness. Careful studies have revealed various patterns of interrelationship between environmental conditions and subjective states. Some persons respond quickly and intensely to certain aspects of their social environment; others remain relatively detached and unresponsive. Some persons are overwhelmed and defeated by adverse socio-economic conditions, while others meet these setbacks with fortitude and vigor and attempt to change or modify them. All persons, to some degree, m st cope with, or adjust to, conditions and circumstances of their life situation. Old age in the United States is a period of many changes. As the individual enters the sixth, seventh, or eighth decades of his life, he may lose relatives and friends through death and separations; he may lose prestige and respect by being unable to participate in many com unity activities; and he may lose status through loss of -5- -6- income, property, and savings. These changes are often accompanied ` by adverse changes in the subjective, inner life of the older person..his feelings and attitudes, his satisfactions and morale. Objectives and Procedures This report is meant to add to existing knowledge about the relationships between environmental conditions and the subjective life of older persons. The major environmental conditions examined were economic in nature. The subjective states, referred to here ‘ _ as attitudes, were inferred from responses of the subjects to l statements concerning selected life situations. One aim is to assess the changes in economic conditions and attitudes which occurred with age. Almost all of the subjects in this study grew up and have lived their adult lives in their present communities. The patterns of age-changes in economic conditions and attitudes will probably persist for some time and thus provide a basis for anticipating the wel1·being of older persons in similar circumstances. This report has three objectives: l. It provides some factual information on the economic status and attitudes of older rural and urban men. 2. It examines some of the interrelationships between economic status and attitudes. 3. It assesses the changes in economic status and attitudes which occurred with advances in age. . - -7- V §L¤E.2 e In 1959, men aged 60 and over in an area probability sample of households drawn from a rural Kentucky county and men of com- parable age ln a random sample of households drawn from a Kentucky metropolitan community were interviewed in their homes. (No insti- tutionalized persons were included in the sample.) Casey county, with a total population of slightly over 14,000 persons in 1960, is a completely rural county located in the Southern Appalachian Region about 75 miles from the nearest large urban center. The metropolitan community, Lexington, had a population of about 130,000 persons in 1960. The men ranged in age from 60 to 97, with a median age of 70. Three-fourths of the rural men lived on farms, one-fifth in villages or towns, and slightly less than one-tenth in open country but not on farms. One—fourth of the urban men were nonwhlte, compared with less than 1 percent of the rural men. Eight-tenths of the men were married and seven-tenths were Protestant. The average number of grades completed in school by the rural men was 5.1 and by the urban men, 7.4 (Table l). The urban men had lived an average of 30 years in their present community, compared with 60 years for the rural men. -8- Table lo Selected Characteristics of Men Aged 60 and Older, Casey County and Lexington, Kentucky, 1959 Rural Urban Characteristic Total G (Casey County) (Lexington) Noa Pct. gg; Pct. No. Pct. Age 60-64 72 23 49 22 121 23 65-69 78 25 S4 25 132- 25 70-74 60 19 60 27 120 23 75 and over 102 33 57 26 159 30 Color i white 312 100 170 77 482 91 Nonwhite * * 50 23 50 9 Marital Status Married 253 81 168 76 421 79 Widowed 37 12 40 18 77 14 Never married 12 4 8 4 20 4 Divorced or separated 10 3 4 2 14 3 Religion Protestant 210 67 180 82 390 73 Catholic 6 2 6 3 12 2 Jewish 1 * 3 1 4 1 Other 18 6 7 4 25 5 No response 77 25 24 10 101 19 Formal Education 0-4 grades 130 41 49 22 179 34 5-8 grades 145 46 74 34 219 40 9-12 grades 20 7 43 19 63 12 13-16 grades 8 3 33 15 41 8 17 grades or more 2 1 8 4 10 2 No response 7 2 13 6 20 3 Total cases (312) (100) (220) (100) (532) (100) *Less than 0.5 percent. -g- ECONOMIC STATUS The economic status of the men is assessed from their responses to a variety of questions concerning work and retirement, income, housing conditions, and property and equipment, work and Retirement Labor Force Participati0n° The men surveyed were asked to state their present major occupationq Almost half the men (48 percent) were in the labor force, slightly less than half (46 percent) were retired, and the remainder reported they were unable to work (5 percent) or were doing housekeeping work (1 percent)° A A larger proportionl of rural than of urban men reported they were in the labor force (52 and 42 percent), and, conversely, a larger pro~ portion of urban than of rural men said they were retired (54 and 41 percent)¤ The employed rural men were engaged mainly in farm work, and the employed urban men were equally divided between white collar and manual workers (Table 2)¤ The men who reported themselves in the labor force were asked if they considered themselves partly retiredo About one~fourth of the total sample of men said they were partly retired, Thus, about lThe 0.05 level of probability was used in testing the signifi- cance of differences, Differences which are not statistically significant but supply supporting evidence are referred to as slight or negligibleo -10- Table 2. work Status of Men Aged 60 and Older, , Casey County and Lexington, Kentucky, 1959 ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: k Rural Urban W Stt: or a Us (Casey County) (Lexington) Total Percent Percent Percent » Business and professional 7 18 ll Clerical and sales —- 3 1 Nonfarm skilled and semi-skilled 1 18 8 Farm operator 43 l 26 Farm labor l 2 2 Housekeeper 1 2 1 Unable to work 6 2 5 Retired 41 S4 46 Total cases (312) (220) (532) -ll- seven·tenths of the men (72 percent) were fully or partly retired, with very little difference between rural and urban men (75 percent rural and 70 percent urban)., Partial retirement appeared to occur at an earlier age among rural than among urban meno About one·fourth (26 percent) of the rural men aged 60 to 64 acknowledged they were partly retired, but only 2 percent of the urban men in this age category made such a report. Almost half (48 percent) of the rural men aged 65 to 69 said they were partly retired, but only 17 percent of the urban men of the same age made this statemento Reasons for Retiring; The fully or partly retired men were asked why they had retiredu It is recognized that responses to such a question may reflect faulty memories, since some of the sen had been retired for many yearsu The largest proportion of the men (66 percent) gave "health or not able to work" as the reason for I retiring..a response which coincided with the chief reauons reported in numerous recent studies of retirement in United States and Englandoz The second largest proportion of the men (16 percent) gave "age" as the reason for retiring, and small proportions said "no work available," "wanted to retire," "retirement pension," and "company policy" (Table 3)¤ Zwilma Donahue, Harold Lo Orbach, and Otto Pollak, "Retirement: I The Emerging Social Pattern," in Handbook of Social Gerontology edited by Clark Tibbitts (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1960), po 356, -12- Table 3. Reasons for Retiring Given by Fully or Partly Retired Men Aged 60 and Older, Casey County and Lexington, Kentucky, 1959 Reasons for Rural Urban Total ` R€€iTi¤8 (Casey County) (Lexington) Percent Percent Percent Health or not able to work 83 40 66 Age 6 30 16 No work available -· ll 4 _ wanted to retire —· 9 3 Retirement pension 3 S 3 Company policy * S 2 No response 8 -- 5 Total fully or partly retired (234) (153) (387) *Less than 0.05 percent. -13- The reasons given for retirement indicate that poor health was a more important factor in the retirement of rural than of urban workersu For example, more than twice the proportion of rural retired men as of urban retired men said they retired for health reasons (83 and 40 percent, Table 3)¤ In contrast, "external" factors were decidedly more important in the retirement of urban workersg For example, almost S times the proportion of urban retired men than of rural retired men named such reasons for retiring as age, no work available, and company policy (46 and 6 percent, respectively, Table 3)¤ The very large proportion of rural retired men who gave health reasons for retiring suggests that rural men may be less healthy than urban men and are thus obliged to withdraw either partly or fully from their usual work rolesr The men in the study were asked a ques- tion which probed their health statue: "Do you now have any ailment or health condition that bothers you either all the time, or off and on?" A larger proportion of rural men than of urban men reported they were bothered with health ailments (72 and 53 percent)u This difference between rural and urban men in health status (15 percentage points) was markedly less than the difference between rural and urban retired men who gave health reasons for retiring (Q3 percentage points)r It appears that the large percentage of rural retired m n who gave health reasons for retiring may be responding to factors other than their health statusu Perhaps the arduous demands of farm occupations play an important roleo It is generally recognized that agricultural work requires greater physical exertion than most urban occupationeb -14- with the normal decline in physical vigor and the consequent inability to perform as well as in the past, the rural male probably is more aware of his physical incapacities than the urban male, and he tends to attribute this incapacity to poor health, Income Amount of Incomeo The men were asked to estimate the income they and their wives received for the 12-month period preceding the interview.3 (In the following discussion, the income of the men » includes the income of their wives.) The average (median) income for the total sample was $1,130. The median income for the men aged 65 and older was $968, which was substantially less than the median income of $1,576 for men aged 65 and older in the United States in 1959,4 Four percent of the men reported they had no money income, I and another 3 percent said they received some income but less than $250 for the yearr Sixteen percent of the men reported incomes of $3,000 or m re, and 4 percent of the respondents did not report their income (Table 4). A 3Income reported was before taxes, and income from operating a nonfarm business or a farm excluded production expenses, depreciation on buildings, equipment, and machinerys A flash card was used and the respondent was asked in which of the listed groupings the joint income of himself and his wife fell. AU. S, Bureau of the Census, Current Population Reports: Consumer Income, Series P~60, Non 35, January 5, 1961, Table 23o -15- Table 4. Money Income for Men Aged 60 and Older, Casey County and Lexington, Kentucky, 1959 1 b Income 1959* §!£E' g£‘§E Total (Casey County) (Lexington) Percent Percent Percent None 5 2 4 $1 - $249 5 ** 3 $250 - 499 19 5 14 $500 - 999 31 17 25 U $1,000 - 1,999 23 18 22 $2,000 - 2,999 8 18 l2 $3,000 - 4,999 4 ( 16 7 $5,000 and over 3 18 9 No response 2 _ 6 1 4 Total cases (312) (220) (532) Median income ($815) ($2,256) ($1,130) *Income reported by married men included the income of their wives. **Less than 0.05 percent. -16- The rural men received mamkedly less money income than did the urban men in 1959. The average (median) incomes for the rural and urban men were $815 and $2,256, respectively. (Ten percent of the p rural men reported incomes of less than $250, but only 2 percent of the urban men received this amount. Fifteen percent of the rural men had incomes of $2,000 or more, but 52 percent of the urban men reported this amount. Sources of Income. The men were asked about the sources of money income they and their wives received for the l2·month period preceding the interview. (In the following discussion, income of the men includes the income of their wives.) The interviewer read a list of possible sources of income and the respondent indicated which applied to him. Seven-tenths of the men (71 percent) reported they received income from employment, slightly less than seven—tenths (67 percent) said they received income from retirement and pension systems. Slightly more than one—thlrd (36 percent) received income from property and investments, and one-seventh (14 percent) received some financial assistance from relatlves (Table 5). A slightly greater proportionrof rural than urban men reported incomes from employment (77 and 62 percent), a larger proportion of urban than of rural men received income from retirement and pension systems (75 and 62 percent), and twice the proportion of urban than of rural men reported income from property and investments (S0 and 25 percent, Table 5). Approximately equal proportions of both rural and urban men received`financia1 help from relatives (14 and 13 percent). 1 -17- Table 5, Sources of Income of Men Aged 60 and Older, Casey County and Lexington, Kentucky, 1959 Rural Urban Sources of Income* Total (Casey County) (Lexington) Percent** Percent** Percent** Employment Operating farm 61 4 37 Salaries and wages ll 45 25 Nonfarm business 5 13 9 Retirement and pensions A Social security 42 55 47 County assistance 16 4 11 Private retirement 4 4 16 9 Property and investments Interests and dividends 10 24 16 Rentals 8 17 12 Sale of property 4 4 4 Annuities 3 5 4 Relatives 14 13 14 Total cases (312) (220) (532) *Sources of income reported by married men included the sources of income of their wives. **Percentages exceed 100 because of multiple responses. -18- Housing Type of Home and Ownership. Almost all (93 percent) of the men lived in private homes, and a larger proportion of rural men than of urban men lived in private dwellings (99 and 85 percent)° Ten percent of the urban men and l percent of the rural men lived in apartments. Five percent of the urban men lived in rooming houses or other kinds of living quarters. More than sevenatenths of the men (73 percent) _ said they owned their homes, and a greater proportion of rural men than of urban men made this statement (79 and 65 percent)° Eleven percent of rural men and 29 percent of urban men said they paid rent. The remaining proportions said they "lived free" in the homer Condition and Upkeep of Homesu Interviewers rated the condition and upkeep of the homes where the respondents livedo Less than half the homes (44 percent) were rated in "good condition," and about one*third (36 percent) were rated as "clean, neat, and attractively furnished" (Table 6)° Y A much larger proportion of urban than of rural men°s homes were rated in good condition, that is, with no major defects (66 and 29 percent)¤ A larger proportion of rural than of urban men's homes were rated as somewhat run-down and in poor condition (59 and 25 percent). The remaining proportions of both rural and urban men°s homes were rated as very dilapidateds Ratings of the upkeep of the men's homes followed a similar pattern. A m ch larger proportion of urban than _ of rural men°s homes were rated clean, neat, and tastefully furnished llg- Table 6, Housing Conditions of Men Aged 60 and Older, Casey County and Lexington, Kentucky, 1959 Housing Conditions Bgzél QEBEB Total — (Casey County) (Lexington) Percent Percent Percent Living in private homes 99 85 93 Home owned by self or spouse 79 65 73 Condition of Home In good condition, no major defect 29 66 Q4 , Some signs of dilapidation 41 15 30 Run-down and in poor condition 18 10 15 Very run-down, very dilapidated 11 9 10 No rating made 1 * 1 Ugkeeg of Home Good, clean, neat, attractively furnished 24 53 36 Fairly clean, adequate furniture 49 28 Al Somewhat unclean, unattractive furniture 19 12 16 Very unclean, very unattractive furniture 7 5 6 No rating made 1 2 1 Total cases (312) (220) (532) *Less than 0,05 percent, -20. (53 and 24 percent); a larger proportion of rural than of urban men"s homes were rated as fairly clean with adequate furniture (49 and 28 percent); and the remaining proportions of both rural and urban men’s homes were rated as somewhat or very unclean with unattractive furniture (Table 6). Property and Eguipment Estimated Value of Property. The men surveyed were asked to estimate the money value of the total property and assets that they l ° and their wives owned. This estimate included the value of insurance policies and other nontangible items, as well as real property. (In the following discussion, property of the men includes the property of their wives.) The average (median) value of the property reported by the men was $5,055. Ten percent of the men said they owned no property or assets, and ll percent reported they owned some but less than $1,000. Seven percent of the men valued their assets at $30,000 or more. The urban men valued their property and assets markedly higher than did the rural men (median values $9,393 and $3,943). Four percent of the urban men had no property, but 15 percent of the rural men said they had no possessions. Fourteen percent of the urban men had property valued at $30,000 or more, but only 4 percent of the rural men placed this evaluation on theirs (Table 7). gguipment and Facilities. The interviewer read a list of 14 items of equipment commonly found in American homes and the respondent -21- Table 7. Estimated Value of Property and Assets Owned by Men Aged 60 and Older, Casey County and Lexington, Kentucky, 1959 Rural Urban Va1“€* Total (Casey County) (Lexington) Percent Percent Percent None 15 4 10 $1 - $499 5- 9 7 $500 - 999 4 4 4 $1,000 · 4,999 34 17 27 ' $5,000 - 9,999 18 15 17 $10,000 — 29,999 18 33 24 $30,000 ~ 99,000 3 9 5 $100,000 or more 1 5 2 No response 2 4 4 3 Total cases (312) (220) (532) Median value of estate ($3,943) ($9,393) ($5,053) *The value of the property reported by married men included that of their wives and covered nontangible items as well as real property, azz- indicated whether he owned or had access to the item, Slightly larger proportions of urban than of rural men reported they owned or had access to electricity, a radio, a mechanical refrigerator, and an automobile, Equal proportions of rural and urban men reported a home freezer and an automatic clothes washer in the home. M rkedly larger proportions of urban than of rural men owned or had access to the remaining 8 items of equipment listed in Table 8, i,e,, a gas or electric range, piped water, television, running hot water, inside flush toilet, bath or shower, telephone, and central heating, The V _ average (mean) number of items owned by or accessible to the rural men was 5,3 per person and for the urban men, 11,1, ECONOMIC LOSSES WITH AGE For most people in the United States, old age means giving up the normal roles of middle age and adopting those of later life, Employed persons are expected to withdraw or taper off their economic activities in their sixties and seventies, with a decline in their economic activities, most older men experience loss in economic status, To what extent does labor force participation decrease with advances in age among older rural and urban men? what changes occurred with the age of the men in income, in housing conditions, and in property ownership? The "losses" are assessed by comparing the economic conditions of the youngest men (aged 60 to 64) with those of oldest men -23- Table 8.‘ Ownership of or Access to Equipment and Facilities by Men Aged 60 and Older, Casey County and Lexington, Kentucky, 1959 && @9;*1 Item Total (Casey County) (Lexington) Percent* Percent* Percent* Electricity 88 97 92 Radio 86 90 87 Mechanical refrigerator 80 94 86 Gas or electric range 54 92 70 Television 39 76 55 l Piped water 27 93 54 b Automobile 49 61 54 Running hot water 23 87 49 Inside flush toilet 17 89 47 Bath or shower 17 , 88 4 46 Telephone 13 82 41 Automatic clothes washer 33 35 34 Central heating 6 63 30 Home freezer 14 15 14 Total cases (312) (220) (532) Median (5.3) (11.1) (706) *Percentages exceed 100 because of multiple responses. -24- (aged 75 and over). Differences between these two categories of ’ men are inferred to represent losses which have occurred with the passage of time. The most pronounced differences of an economic nature occurred in labor force status and income. Among rural men, 88 percent of the youngest men, but only 28 percent of the oldest men were in the labor force. The proportions of urban men in the labor force, for comparable age groups, were 76 and 18 percent. As might be expected, differences in income between the youngest and oldest men coincided with differences in labor force participation. _ Among rural men, the median incomes of the youngest and oldest men in 1959 were $1,105 and $668, respectively. The median incomes of the youngest and oldest aged urban men in 1959 were $3,333 and $1,399, respectively. The following question gave another index of economic loss experi- enced by the men: "Have you used up any of your savings in the past year?" Unfortunately, the men were not asked whether they had any savings. However, alm st half the rural men (49 percent) and slightly more than a third of the urban men (35 percent) said they had used some savings in the past year. Among rural men, the propor- tions who had used some savings varied slightly with age. Almost equal proportions of both the youngest and the oldest rural men had used some of their savings. Among urban men, in contrast, the use of savings varied markedly with age. Twenty-nine percent of the urban men aged 60 to 64 reported they had used some savings. This -25- proportion increased to 45 percent among the men aged 65 to 69, and then dropped to 39 percent among the men aged 70 and over. The number of ite s of equipment in the homes varied markedly with age for rural men but only slightly for urban men, Among rural amen, the median number of items of equipment in the homes of the youngest men was 5.9, and for the oldest rural men it was 4.3. Among urban men, the median numbers of items of equipment in the home for comparable age groups were 11,2 and 10,7, The oldest men in the study owned markedly less property than the youngest men. Among rural men, the median values of the property owned by the youngest and oldest men were $5,417 and $3,555, respectively, Am ng urban men, the median values of the property owned by the youngest and oldest men were $12,272 and $7,916, respectively, A Housing conditions of the oldest men were slightly inferior to those of the youngest mano A comparison of the housing conditions - of the oldest and youngest rural men revealed no difference in the proportions living in private homes, a slight difference in the proportions who owned their homes (oldest 79 percent, youngest 89 percent), a slight difference in the proportions whose homes were rated in good condition (oldest 25 percent, youngest 34 percent), and a slight difference in the proportions whose homes were rated as having good upkeep (oldest 18 percent, youngest 25 percent). Among urban men, the differences in housing conditions were more pronounced, A comparison of the housing conditions of the oldest -26- 4 and youngest urban men revealed a slight difference in the propor- tions living in private homes (oldest 81 percent, youngest 90 percent), a substantial difference in the proportions who owned their own homes (oldest 54 percent, youngest 69 percent), a slight difference in the proportions whose homes were rated in good condition (oldest 63 percent, youngest 70 percent), and a marked difference in the proportions whose homes were rated as having good upkeep (oldest 37 percent, youngest 61 percent). ATTITUDES As an individual grows older, he has to keep adapting and adjust- ing himself psychologically to changing circumstances and conditions. While most thoughtful persons recognize that such a process is a fact of life, the research task of studying the phenomenon is extremely difficult. For example, it would be a formidable task to obtain data on changes in mental outlook of older persons which occurred A with the passage of time. Such a task would require intensive psychiatric examinations at periodical intervals, a procedure too expensive for studying large numbers of persons. The men in this study responded to a number of questions concern- ing certain areas of day-to-day living, and these responses gave an indication of their subjective feelings and mental outlook. They were asked questions about work, about their willingness to disengage -2y- themselves from work activities, about their feelings toward economic deprivation, and about their general mental outlook. This section of the report focuses on the following question: "To what extent do the attitudes 05 the men vary with economic status, with rural-urban residence, and with age?" The index of economic status used consists of 14 items of equipment commonly owned by and accessible to American families (Table 8). Those owning or having access to 8 or less items were classified as low economic status, and those owning or having access to 9 to 14 items were classi- - fied as high economic status. Work Attitudes A number of investigators have suggested that work has lost its I intrinsic value to many men in the United States and has become a means of obtaining other values.5 It would be important to know more about the attitudes of older men toward work. To what extent are older men interested in obtaining paid employment? To what extent do they value work for noneconomic reasons? The men in this study evidenced little interest in work for financial or monetary reasons. Only 17 percent of the total sample of men indicated they felt the need for more opportunities to work V 5Wi;Ta Donahue, H. L. Orbach, and Otto Pollak, op. cit., pp. 359- . -28- for pay or profit (Statement 1, Table 9)° On the other hand, the men appeared to place considerable value upon the noneconomic aspects of work. For example, more than a third of the men (36 per- cent) agreed that housewives whose children have grown up should get a paying job so as to keep busy (Statement 2, Table 9), and 38 percent believed that "most people lose respect for a person who has retired and does not do any work" (Statement 3, Table 9)¤ In addition, two—thirds of the men indicated there was value in working even if they did not need the moneyq They were asked if they agreed or disagreed with the statement, "There is no sense in working if you can get along without the money." Only one·fourth of the men agreed with this statement, but two~thirds disagreed, a response which probably revealed a belief that there is sense in working for other than financial reasons (Statement 4, Table 9), The interest of the men in work for economic reasons (i.e., for pay or profit) varied slightly with their economic status and with their place of residence, but more markedly with their age, A slightly larger proportion of men of low than of high economic status felt they needed more opportunities to work for pay or profit (18 and 14 percent), On the other hand, rural men, who were of rather low economic status, were slightly less interested than urban men in more opportunities to work for pay or profit (13 and 22 p