[Life Course Research and Social Policies] Revisiting Economic Vulnerability in Old Age Volume 11 (Low Income and Subjective Experiences Among Swiss Pensioners) ||

This book offers an interdisciplinary analysis of the experience of economic vulnerability among older adults. Drawing on various fields ranging from happiness, economics to stress research, it integrates assessments from objective and subjective measurement perspectives. The book offers nuanced insights into prevalent experiences of low economic quality of life in wealthy countries, using empirical data from Switzerland. A sample of some 1500 adults aged 65-84 is taken as the basis for a systematic comparison of the demographic and socioeconomic characteristics of three – overlapping – groups of potentially vulnerable pensioners: those who are income-poor (objective measure), those who report difficulties making ends meet (subjectively self-assessed measure) and those who worry about not having enough money for current expenses (subjectively perceived measure). Theoretical and empirical evidence is offered for the distinctiveness of the two subjective indicators, one of which assesses the experience of economic strain while the other captures the individual’s response in terms of stress. The conceptual contribution of this research includes a typology of economic vulnerability: eight distinct profiles emerge at the intersection of the objective, self-assessed and perceived measures. These profiles correspond to specific risk constellations, and they reflect varying degrees of human agency in dealing with economic vulnerability. Contents Chapter 1: Introduction Reference Part I: Theoretical Framework Chapter 2: Vulnerability 2.1 Relevance of the Concept of Vulnerability for the Study of Economic Vulnerability in Old Age 2.2 A Dynamic Framework of Vulnerability in Old Age 2.3 Common Risk Patterns Among Elderly in Switzerland 2.4 Latent Versus Manifest Vulnerability 2.5 The Convention of Equivalence Between Heterogeneous Observations 2.6 Coping: Taking Human Agency Seriously References Chapter 3: Objectivity and Subjectivity 3.1 Dimensions of Measurement 3.2 Objective and Subjective Concepts of Quality of Life 3.3 Incongruence Between Objective and Subjective Measures References Chapter 4: Measures of Economic Vulnerability 4.1 The Absolute Core of Manifest Vulnerability 4.2 Measuring Economic Vulnerability Objectively 4.3 Measuring Economic Vulnerability Subjectively 4.4 Economic Vulnerability Among Swiss Pensioners References Chapter 5: Integrating Objective and Subjective Measures 5.1 Pearlin’s Stress Process Model 5.2 Lazarus’s Appraisal Theory 5.3 A Typology of Economic Vulnerability 5.4 Conclusion References Part II: Research Design Chapter 6: Data Set 6.1 Background of the Survey «Vivre/Leben/Vivere » 6.2 Questionnaires and Procedures 6.3 Population Surveyed Appendix: Sample Distribution of the VLV Survey, Without Proxy Data References Chapter 7: Theoretical Model and Research Questions References Chapter 8: Analytical Methods 8.1 Determining Measurement Levels 8.1.1 Ordinal and Interval Data 8.1.2 Likert Scales and Likert-Type Items 8.2 Bivariate Analysis 8.3 Logistic Regression Models 8.4 Structural Equation Models 8.5 Weights References Chapter 9: Choice of Variables 9.1 Dependent Variables: Measures of Economic Vulnerability 9.2 Explanatory Variables 9.2.1 Background Characteristics 9.2.1.1 Sex 9.2.1.2 Age 9.2.1.3 Marital Status 9.2.1.4 Canton 9.2.1.5 Education 9.2.1.6 Personality 9.2.2 Economic Resources 9.2.2.1 Wealth 9.2.2.2 Owner 9.2.2.3 Types of Sources of Income 9.2.3 Financial Needs and Expectations 9.2.3.1 Former Socio-Professional Status 9.2.3.2 Health 9.2.3.3 Social Participation 9.2.4 Psychosocial Consequences and Symptoms of Economic Vulnerability 9.2.4.1 Social Isolation 9.2.4.2 Loneliness 9.2.4.3 Sense of Diminishment Appendix References Chapter 10: Missing Values 10.1 Pro-rating for Validated Psychometric Scales 10.2 Patterns of Missing Values 10.3 Determinants of Missing Values in Financial Worry, Income and Wealth 10.4 Determinants of Missing Values in Self-worth 10.5 Conclusion: Handling Missing Values and Final Sample Appendix References Part III: Prevalence of Economic Vulnerability Among Swiss Pensioners Chapter 11: Socio-demographic Characteristics of the Sample Population References Chapter 12: Prevalence and Overlap of Three Measures of Economic Vulnerability 12.1 Economic Vulnerability Rate by Measure 12.2 Congruence Between Measures 12.3 Associations at the Ordinal Level Reference Chapter 13: Background Characteristics 13.1 Sex 13.2 Age 13.3 Canton 13.4 Marital Status 13.5 Educational Attainment 13.6 Personality Appendices Appendix 13.1: Sample Distribution by Sex and Measures of Economic Vulnerability Appendix 13.2: Distribution of Vulnerability Types by Sex Appendix 13.3: Sample Distribution by Age Group and Measures of Economic Vulnerability Appendix 13.4: Distribution of Vulnerability Types by Age Groups Appendix 13.5: Percentage Distribution of Vulnerability Types by Age-Sex Groups Appendix 13.6: Sample Distribution by Canton and Measures of Economic Vulnerability Appendix 13.7: Sample Distribution by Marital Status and Measures of Economic Vulnerability Appendix 13.8: Percentage Distribution of Vulnerability Types by Marital Status, Without Type AAA Appendix 13.9: Sample Distribution by Education and Measures of Economic Vulnerability Appendix 13.10: Percentage Distribution of Vulnerability Types by Educational Attainment Appendix 13.11: Correlation Between Personality Traits Neuroticism, Openness, Extraversion, Agreeableness and Measures of Economic Vulnerability Appendix 13.12: Association Between Personality Trait Conscientiousness and Measures of Economic Vulnerability References Chapter 14: Economic Resources 14.1 Financial Support 14.2 Occupational Pensions 14.3 Home Ownership 14.4 Professional Activity 14.5 Wealth Appendix Appendix 14.1: Sample Distribution by Financial Support and Supplementary Benefits and Measures of Economic Vulnerability Reference Chapter 15: Financial Needs and Expectations 15.1 Socio-professional Status 15.2 Health 15.3 Social Participation Appendices Appendix 15.1: Percentage Distribution of Vulnerability Types by Socio-professional Category, Without Type AAA Appendix 15.2: Sample Distribution by Health Symptoms and Measures of Economic Vulnerability Appendix 15.3: Frequency of Going to the Movies/Theater Play, by Measure of Economic Vulnerability Appendix 15.4: Frequency of Taking a Trip, by Measure of Economic Vulnerability Appendix 15.5: Frequency of Eating out or Going to a Coffee Shop, by Measure of Economic Vulnerability References Chapter 16: Psychosocial Consequences and Symptoms 16.1 Social Isolation 16.2 Loneliness 16.3 Sense of Diminishment 16.4 Mastery Appendices Appendix 16.1: Frequency of Calling Friends, by Measure of Economic Vulnerability Appendix 16.2: Frequency of Visiting Family, by Measure of Economic Vulnerability Reference Chapter 17: Conclusion Part III Appendix Appendix 17.1: Overview of Effect Size of All Covariates on Measures of Economic Vulnerability Reference Part IV: The Self-Assessed Measure of Economic Vulnerability Chapter 18: Regressing Background Characteristics on the Self-Assessed and the Objective Measure of Economic Vulnerability References Chapter 19: Regressing Economic Resources on the Self-Assessed and the Objective Measure of Economic Vulnerability References Chapter 20: Exploring the Relationship Between Economic Resources and the Self-Assessed Measure of Economic Vulnerability References Chapter 21: Regressing Financial Needs and Expectations on the Self-Assessed and the Objective Measure Chapter 22: A Structural Equation Model for Self-Assessed Economic Vulnerability References Chapter 23: Modeling the Relationship Between the Objective and the Self-Assessed Measure Appendix Reference Chapter 24: A Typology of Economic Vulnerability Combining the Objective and the Self-Assessed Measure 24.1 Identifying the Most Vulnerable According to Low Levels of Wealth 24.2 ‘Expensive Taste’ or ‘Downward Adaptation’? Appendix Appendix 24.1: Ordinal Regression Models with the Combination of Objective and the Self-Assessed Measure (Obj-Sa) as Independent Variable, Predicting Items of Financial Need and Expectations (Odds Ratios Are Reversed) Appendix 24.2: Outcome Probabilities of Members of Vulnerability Type BA for Being in a Given Category of ‘Frequency of Going to a Restaurant or Coffee Shop’, by Last Socio-professional Category Appendix 24.3: Outcome Probabilities of Members of Vulnerability Type BA for Being in a Given Category of ‘Frequency of Taking a Trip of at Least One Day’, by Last Socio-professional Category References Chapter 25: Conclusion Part IV References Part V: The Perceived Measure of Economic Vulnerability Chapter 26: Regression Analysis 26.1 Regressing Background Characteristics on the Perceived Measure of Economic Vulnerability 26.2 Regressing Psychosocial Consequences and Symptoms on the Perceived and the Self-Assessed Measure of Economic Vulnerability Appendix References Chapter 27: A Path Model of the Relationship Between the Self-Assessed and the Perceived Measure: Group Comparison by Wealth Reference Chapter 28: Integrating the Three Measures of Economic Vulnerability 28.1 Modeling the Relationship Among Objective, Self-Assessed and Perceived Measures 28.2 A Typology of Economic Vulnerability Combining the Objective, the Self-Assessed, and the Perceived Measure Appendix Chapter 29: Conclusion Part V References Chapter 30: Discussion and Final Conclusion References