Growing Older in Portugal: Gender Issues in Physical Health and Well-being

Abstract

This article presents three studies which demonstrate that (1) Older women enjoy the status of grandparenthood, and they show resources, continued personal growth, and positive functioning; (2) Spouses provide emotional support, and widowhood has an impact on the experience of emotional loneliness; and (3) As they age, men remain cognitively more preserved, and women affectively more preserved. Over a 3-year period, older people showed smooth changes in physical health, cognitive functioning, and mental health. Results are discussed in terms of healthy living, resilience, positive affect, and also conditions that promote undesirable pathways in older age. Implications for feminist therapy with older people are discussed.

KEYWORDS:

• mental health
• older women
• physical health
• resilience

Notes

An earlier version of this paper was presented at the Symposium on Women, Power, & Aging at Pace University in New York City, September 2010.