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Used a population-based sample (Georgia Centenarian Study, GCS), to determine proportions of centenarians reaching 100 years as (1) survivors (43%) of chronic diseases first experienced between 0-80 years of age, (2) delayers (36%) with chronic diseases first experienced between 80-98 years of age, or (3) escapers (17%) with chronic diseases only at 98 years of age or older. Diseases fall into two morbidity profiles of 11 chronic diseases; one including cardiovascular disease, cancer, anemia, and osteoporosis, and another including dementia. Centenarians at risk for cancer in their lifetime tended to be escapers (73%), while those at risk for cardiovascular disease tended to be survivors (24%), delayers (39%), or escapers (32%). Approximately half (43%) of the centenarians did not experience dementia. Psychiatric disorders were positively associated with dementia, but prevalence of depression, anxiety, and psychoses did not differ significantly between centenarians and an octogenarian control group.However, centenarians were higher on the Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS) than octogenarians. Consistent with ourmodel of developmental adaptation in aging, distal life events contribute to predicting survivorship outcome in which health status as survivor, delayer, or escaper appears as adaptation variables late in life. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Cognitive impairment without dementia is associated with increased risk for disability, increased health care costs, and progression to dementia. There are no population-based prevalence estimates of this condition in the United States. Objective: To estimate the prevalence of cognitive impairment without dementia in the United States and determine longitudinal cognitive and mortality outcomes. Design: Longitudinal study from July 2001 to March 2005. Setting: In-home assessment for cognitive impairment. Participants: Participants in ADAMS (Aging, Demographics, and Memory Study) who were age 71 years or older drawn from the nationally representative HRS (Health and Retirement Study). Of 1770 selected individuals, 856 completed initial assessment, and of 241 selected individuals, 180 completed 16- to 18-month followup assessment. Measurements: Assessments, including neuropsychological testing, neurologic examination, and clinical and medical history, were used to assign a diagnosis of normal cognition, cognitive impairment without dementia, or dementia. National prevalence rates were estimated by using a population-weighted sample. Results: In 2002, an estimated 5.4 million people (22.2%) in the United States age 71 years or older had cognitive impairment without dementia. Prominent subtypes included prodromal Alzheimer disease (8.2%) and cerebrovascular disease (5.7%). Among participants who completed follow-up assessments, 11.7% with cognitive impairment without dementia progressed to dementia annually, whereas those with subtypes of prodromal Alzheimer disease and stroke progressed at annual rates of 17% to 20%. The annual death rate was 8% among those with cognitive impairment without dementia and almost 15% among those with cognitive impairment due to medical conditions. Limitations: Only 56% of the nondeceased target sample completed the initial assessment. Population sampling weights were derived to adjust for at least some of the potential bias due to nonresponse and attrition. Conclusion: Cognitive impairment without dementia is more prevalent in the United States than dementia, and its subtypes vary in prevalence and outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: We describe the design and methods of the Aging, Demographics, and Memory Study (ADAMS), a new national study that will provide data on the antecedents, prevalence, outcomes, and costs of dementia and ‘cognitive impairment, not demented’ (CIND) using a unique study design based on the nationally representative Health and Retirement Study (HRS). We also illustrate potential uses of the ADAMS data and provide information to interested researchers on obtaining ADAMS and HRS data. Methods: The ADAMS is the first population-based study of dementia in the United States to include subjects from all regions of the country, while at the same time using a single standardized diagnostic protocol in a community-based sample. A sample of 856 individuals age 70 or older who were participants in the ongoing HRS received an extensive in-home clinical and neuropsychological assessment to determine a diagnosis of normal, CIND, or dementia. Within the CIND and dementia categories, subcategories (e.g. Alzheimer’s disease, vascular dementia) were assigned to denote the etiology of cognitive impairment. Conclusion: Linking the ADAMS dementia clinical assessment data to the wealth of available longitudinal HRS data on health, health care utilization, informal care, and economic resources and behavior, will provide a unique opportunity to study the onset of CIND and dementia in a nationally representative population-based sample, as well as the risk factors, prevalence, outcomes, and costs of CIND and dementia. Copyright © 2005 S. Karger AG, Basel [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We asked Americans to tell us the national and world events that they believe to have been especially important since the 1930s, using replicated cross-section surveys carried out in 1985, in 2000, and after September 11, 2001. Our primary interests are, first, in how collective memories change as new events occur, such as the end of the Cold War or the 9/1 1 terrorist attack; and second, in whether the origin of such memories during the critical period of adolescence and early adulthood, as well as their connection with education, remain stable over time and consistent with theory. As part of our investigation we consider four related issues: collective forgetting as well as collective remembering; the distinction between ease of recalling events and judgments of their importance; compound events, which are composed of sub-events that can be remembered separately by respondents; and larger social and technological changes difficult or impossible to date with any precision. Panel data from the second and third surveys, obtained shortly before and after 9/11, aid in determining which earlier collective memories were superseded by memories of the terrorist attack itself. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective. This study investigates cohort differences in cognitive functioning among Americans aged 70 or older in 1993, 1995, 1998, and 2000. Methods. The study draws on self-respondent data from four waves of the Asset and Health Dynamics Among the Oldest Old Study and the Health and Retirement Study surveys collected between 1993 and 2000. Cognitive performance scorns for each of four components (immediate recall, delayed recall, serial 7s, and mental status) and their sum are compared across cohorts, unadjusted and with adjustments for survey design features and demographic characteristics. Results. Unadjusted scores suggest cohort improvements in several components of cognitive functioning between 1993 and 1998, and little change between 1998 and 2000. However, these improvements largely disappear after confounding features of the survey design (changes in age distribution of the sample across waves and prior exposure to the cognitive tests) and changes in the demographic composition of the sample (race, ethnicity, and gender) are adjusted for. Discussion. There appears to have been little improvement of cognitive functioning across recent cohorts of older Americans. However, the study points out the complexities of using panel data to study cohort differences, particularly when the measures of interest are likely influenced by prior wave participation. Future studies based on other data sources are needed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A face-to-face survey conducted in 1984 with a sample of 1491 residents of the Detroit metropolitan area (including an oversample of older adults) and a reinterview of a random subset of these respondents by telephone were used to compare the two modes of data collection across two age levels. Except for a tendency toward a disproportionately large number of DK answers and a disproportionately large amount of interviewer assistance on the telephone, respondents 60 years of age and older did not exhibit Larger mode differences than did respondents under 60. For both age groups, response distributions were rather similar, suggesting little effect of mode. Likewise, response style differed little by mode, while a higher proportion of missing data (i.e., "11 don't know" answers) was given on the telephone. The response rate for the telephone reinterview was 90%, somewhat lower for older than younger persons. The findings support the feasibility of using the telephone for reinterviewing older adults. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines telephone interviewing of older adults and compares it with face-to-face interviews. Specifically, the following issues are examined in several national surveys: (I) differences in age distributions between the samples of adults reached in both modes; (2) explanations for potential differences in age distributions; (3) differences between the two modes in demographic characteristics in the adults reached, in interview process and in response quality, and how these mode differences vary by age of the respondents. Telephone surveys tend to underrepresent older persons, and older persons who do participate in a telephone survey are disproportionately well educated. Implications of the lower response rate among older persons are softened by the fact that response distributions across a range of questions show little difference by interview mode between older persons and persons of other age groups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The main and interactive effects of age, period, and cohort are not estimable. although certain combinations of those effects are. A method used to obtain estimates of the effects of these variables involves the assumption of additivity and the imposition of one or more constraints on the relative effects of particular age levels, periods, or cohorts. This method can rarely if ever be justified for three reasons: first, the possibility of interactive effects cannot be ruled out a priori; second, although a constraint on the relationship of two groups may appear appropriate on a priori grounds, even small errors in the specification can have large effects on the estimates; and third, measurement error can lead to highly inaccurate estimates even if the constrain: is precisely correct. A solution to the dilemma lies in the specification and measurement of the theoretical variables for which age, period, and cohort are indirect indicators. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the influence of individual development and historical change on marital dissolution. Data from the vital statistics system of the United States and from the June 1980 Current Population Survey are used to examine the experience of marriage cohorts from 1905 through 1975 and the periods from 1922 through 1979. The historical patterns can best be explained as effects of period rather than of birth or marriage cohort, and the individual patterns can be explained best as effects of age and age at marriage rather than of marital duration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we have traced changes in the patterns of first marriage in the United States for cohorts of men and women born in 1880 through 1965 and for the years from 1900 through 1983. There were striking changes in marriage rates associated with each of the world wars and with the depression of the 1930s. In addition to these short-term fluctuations, a long-term shift in marriage rates is observed over the period from after World War II until about 1970. By the end of the 1970s, however, marriage rates had returned to levels similar to those observed before the war. The basic similarity in the timing of changes in marriage rates across age levels and for both men and women, blacks and whites, is a striking characteristic of these marriage curves. There are also, however, important differences among these groups with respect to the magnitude and slopes of the shifts. The postwar marriage boom was strongest among the young (those under age 24) and among whites. Similarly, the declines in marriage rates observed in the 1970s were greatest among the young. The marriage rates for teenagers display trends that diverge in many respects from those of older persons. For example, the marriage rates of male teenagers did not show the "peaks" and "valley" associated with World War II for older age groups and female teenagers. Moreover, there is little sign of the postwar marriage boom among black teenagers of either sex. Indeed, the marriage rates of black teenagers began to decline soon after the war, and by the 1970s the marriage rates of both male and female black teenagers had fallen below those of their white counterparts, reversing the pattern that had existed through the first half of this century. During the twenty-five or so years of the postwar marriage boom, which we believe can be characterized best as a period phenomenon, there were trends-eddies within the mainstream-which are probably most easily interpreted as the consequence of a cohort effect.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS) [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The validity of findings based on statistically matched data sets depends on the accuracy of underlying assumptions about relationships between variables that are unique to each input file. Simulations of statistical matching procedures on samples from populations with known characteristics provide the basis for an evaluation of the usefulness of statistical matching, and for choosing among various matching techniques. In three such simulations frequent and substantial errors occur in estimates of bivariate and multivariate relationships between variables taken from two matched files. Alternative procedures for meeting the objectives of statistical matching with more solid theoretical justification and empirical support are proposed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article investigates error properties of survey reports of labor market variables. We use the Panel Study of Income Dynamics (PSID) Validation Study, a two-wave panel survey of workers employed by a large firm that shared its detailed payroll records. Individuals' reports of annual earnings are fairly accurate. Errors are negatively related to true earnings, reducing bias due to measurement error when earnings are used as an independent variable. Biases are moderately larger for changes in earnings. Earnings per hour are less reliably reported than annual earnings. Biases in estimating earnings functions are relatively small, but those in labor supply functions may be important. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using data from a probability sample of adults in a metropolitan area, the accuracy of survey measures was assessed by comparisons to administrative records, census counts, and maps. Some types of information, including birth date and make and year of car, were reported accurately by most respondents, whereas frequent errors were detected for other types of information, including voting behavior, house value, and characteristics of neighbors. Comparisons were made with respect to the relative accuracy of the reports of respondents in three age groups: younger than 60, 60 through 69, and 70 or older. For many measures, no age differences were detected, and for those where age differences were observed, the older respondents were sometimes more accurate than the younger respondents. The potential consequences of measurement error are serious. Evidence to date, however, does not indicate consistently that these problems are any more serious for older respondents than for any other age group. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Procedures for decomposing differences between two populations--for example, into the part that is due to differences in age-specific rates and the part that is due to differences in age distributions--have been used to decompose time trends into the part that is due to changes occurring within cohorts and the part that is due to the gradual replacement of older by younger cohorts. It is not clear what is accomplished by such a decomposition of a trend, however. Decomposition does not tell us what types of variables may be the root causes of a trend, and there is a real danger that such a decomposition will confuse rather than clarify. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The authors studied the relationship between age and variables measuring satisfactions with specific domains of life as well as global satisfaction and happiness. Data from several large, mostly national, surveys of American adults were utilized. The results showed an increase in satisfaction with housing, community, work, and, somewhat less consistently, with finances/income, standard of living, and leisure/spare time. The increase was less clear for family, marriage, friends, and global well-being. Various explanations for the relationship were tested by multiple regression procedures, using two national surveys. Higher religiosity of the aged, increased desire to respond in a socially acceptable manner, and a lessening of change in life conditions appear to contribute to higher satisfaction. Although these factors individually represent only partial explanations, a combination of them accounts for a substantial part of the relationship. On the other hand, certain aspects of older people's lives are actually worse and, as such, suppress an even more substantial association between age and satisfactions. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Interrelationships between measures of satisfaction with a variety of life domains were used to test the similarity of the underlying factor structure of subjective well-being across age levels. Data on three sets of measures from two cross-sections of American adults were analyzed by confirmatory factor analysis. Findings indicate that for respondents of age levels between 25 and 75, the nature of the underlying factors are similar. At the same time, small age differences are observed for the variance of and the interrelationships between these factors. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This article studies the effects of the Yugoslavian Workers' Councils on industrial democracy. Any factory operates within a larger society which exercises important constraints and influences on the democratic functioning of the factory. A local union may belong to a national union which in turn may be linked to a political party, and these larger social structures may be the major source of the workers' power to participate in decisions about wages, hours, and working conditions. Similar organizations may influence the power and the autonomy of the employer. Participation in decision making varies with the form of ownership, such as individual, corporate, cooperative, communal, or state ownership. Although the form of management of Yugoslavian factories differs rather strikingly from that of most factories in the western countries, this need not prevent comparisons of Yugoslavian factories and workers to those of other countries on various dimensions of interest. The establishment of Workers' Councils may be viewed as an attempt to increase the influence of the workers in organizations, in the expectation that this would lead to greater satisfaction with the work situation.

Explains various aspects concerning the cognitive ability in the aged using data from the Health and Retirement Study. Differences in views on data gathering; Need for additional sensitivity analysis; Suggestions to improve cognition testing.

The relationship between response rate — a basic indicator of the quality of survey data — and age is investigated. Standard definitions of general and age-specific response rates are presented first. In a systematic assessment of response rates by age, data from several large interview sample surveys and panel resurveys are then examined. Response rates are found to decline linearly with increasing age in both types of surveys, although the decline is not always statistically significant. Potential causes and consequences of low response rates among elderly persons are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]