Living Alone in Later Life: A Global Perspective

A global study of the increase in older people living alone. Results indicate that: the underlying health conditions of the elderly are better and last longer in the more developed countries than in other societies, especially those that are least developed, the role of preference for living alone is greater in the more developed countries, thus enabling the elderly to live alone longer in those societies,. As people reach the age of declining autonomy, single living remains a more desirable and feasible choice in the richer societies than it does in other areas where family-brokered living arrangements are both necessary and desirable, Part of the success of living alone, visible in the more developed countries, is related to preferences and health, while another part is likely to be linked to institutional outreach—including several forms of partial assisted living—that helps the elderly live on their own longer, much as has been seen in Sweden and in other developed societies, The effect of education on levels of living alone, with much higher levels always found among the more educated. Education can be interpreted both as a proxy for levels of wealth and as an indicator of expectations and preferences. Even though levels of educational attainment in the three groups are strikingly different, the effect on living alone is the same and suggests that the generalized increases in education occurring in much of the world will lead to a higher likelihood of living alone in the future. The explanatory framework proposed here, along with the empirical analysis conducted to validate it, provides a useful road map for understanding single living in later life on a global scale. It identifies the key factors affecting residential choices and the way they tend to interact. The view that emerges is one of a host of forces conditioning choice. Some of them are individual, some are cultural, some are only visible at a societal level, and others are related to events and decisions taking place earlier in life.