Nine-in-ten older adults living with others say they are in contact with their children at least weekly, compared with 80% of those who live alone. About four-in-ten in each group say they communicate with their children on a daily basis.
The differences by living arrangements are much greater when looking at contact with grandchildren. Among older adults with grandchildren, 43% of those who live alone say they are in contact with their grandchildren on at least a weekly basis, compared with 60% of those living with others. By contrast, older adults living alone are about twice as likely as those who live with others to say they communicate with their grandchildren less than once a month (29% vs. 13%).
For older adults who live alone, less time with family members
One common advantage of aging is having more time to spend with family members. But older adults living alone are less likely than those living with others to say they experience more time with their family and grandchildren as they age.
About six-in-ten older adults living alone (61%) say they have more time with family as they age, compared with 76% of those who live with others. Both men and women who live alone are less likely to say this than their counterparts who live with others.
Among older adults with grandchildren, those who live alone are substantially less likely to say they are spending time with grandchildren as they age (65% vs. 78%). The gender differences in the share living alone who say they do experience this more as they age are slight – roughly two-thirds of men and women say this.
But most older adults with adult children in either living arrangement say they get enough support from their adult children (76% who live alone and 78% who live with others say this). About one-in-ten older adults living alone (8%) and living with others (10%) say they do not get enough help from their adult children. Roughly 1% of each group says they get too much help.
Other potential advantages of aging
For some, aging brings more free time for activities such as hobbies or volunteer work. But older adults living alone are less likely than those who live with others to say they spend more time on these activities as they age. And in some cases, this is particularly true for men who are living solo.
Six-in-ten older adults who live alone say they spend more time on hobbies and interests as they get older, compared with about seven-in-ten (69%) who live with others.
There are considerable gender differences in the share of older adults living alone who say they spend more time on hobbies as they age. Among women who live alone, 65% say this compared with 49% of comparable men. However, similar shares of women who live alone and with others say they spend more time on hobbies and interests as they age. By contrast, men who live with others (73%) were substantially more likely than men who live alone to say this.
Older men who live alone are also more likely than their counterparts who live with others to say that, as they grow older, they are doing volunteer work or getting involved in their community. Roughly four-in-ten men (42%) and about half of women (49%) who live alone say this. By comparison, 56% of men and 55% of women who live with others say so.
Older adults who live alone are marginally less likely to say they travel for pleasure than those who live with others (47% vs. 55%). About half of older men and women who live alone say they travel for pleasure as they grow older (50% and 47%, respectively).
Similar shares of older adults who live alone (59%) and with others (60%) say they have less stress in their life as they age. There is no statistical difference between the shares of older men and women who live alone who say this (58% of men and 59% of women).
- Analysis for the 2014 survey is based on adults ages 65 and older (n=409) who live alone in their own home or in an assisted living facility and older adults living with others. Adults who live with others may include those who live with their spouse, children, other family members or non-family members. The sample size in the 2014 survey prevents analysis of gender differences among these measures. In some sections, a 2009 survey (n=1,328 adults ages 65 and older) is used to further analyze differences between those who live alone and with others by gender. ↩
- This analysis uses the Integrated Public Use Microdata Series data and its construction of poverty. Therefore, this may differ from figures shared by the U.S. Census Bureau. Please see the IPUMS website for more information on how it defines poverty. ↩
- The questions on how frequently one communicates with their children and grandchildren asked respondents only to think about relatives who did not live with them. ↩
Acknowledgments
This report relies in part on data from a 2014 survey on intergenerational relations in aging societies. That survey was made possible by The Pew Charitable Trusts, which received support from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation. Pew Research Center is a subsidiary of The Pew Charitable Trusts, its primary funder. The 2014 survey was conducted in conjunction with the MacArthur Foundation Research Network on an Aging Society, which is chaired by John Rowe, M.D., Julius B. Richmond Professor of Health Policy and Aging at the Mailman School of Public Health at Columbia University.
This report is a collaborative effort based on the input and analysis of the following individuals:
Renee Stepler, Research Assistant
D’Vera Cohn, Senior Writer/Editor
Rich Morin, Senior Editor
Kim Parker, Director, Social Trends Research
Claudia Deane, Vice President of Research
Anna Brown, Research Assistant
Gustavo López, Research Assistant
David Kent, Copy Editor
Yoli Martinez, Digital Producer
Find related reports online at pewresearch.org/socialtrends.
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