Childless Elders in Assisted Living: Findings from the Maryland Assisted Living Study

Abstract

We compared data drawn from a random sample of 399 current assisted living residents and a subsample of 222 newly admitted residents for two groups: childless residents and residents with children. The percentage of childless residents (26%) in our study was slightly higher than U.S. population estimates of childless individuals aged 65 years and older (20%). In the overall sample, the two groups differed significantly by age, race, and women's years of education. The childless group was slightly younger, had a higher percentage of African American residents, and had more years of education than the group with children. In the subsample, we looked at demographic, functional, financial, and social characteristics and found that childless residents reported fewer diagnoses of dementia and fewer visits from a relative but more reported paying less money per month for assisted living and having private insurance than residents with children. As childlessness among older adults continues to increase, it will become increasingly important to understand how child status affects the need for and experience of long-term care.

KEYWORDS:

• childless
• elderly
• assisted living
• long-term care

Acknowledgments

This project was supported by Grant R01MH60626 from the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) and the National Institute on Aging (NIA). The authors are grateful to the MD-assisted living study team for their fieldwork in evaluating participants. The authors thank the study participants, their families, and the management and staff of participating assisted living facilities.