Research

my questions:
4. at what age do old people become depressed or lonely?

"The reported prevalence of loneliness was 15.6 per cent in 1992 and 29.6 per cent in 2000. We suggest that part of the differential is accounted for by the differences in the methodologies of the two surveys and in the questions used to assess loneliness. The evidence from both surveys suggests that loneliness was relatively prevalent among those aged 65 or more years, females and those living in rural areas, and that these variations had greater amplitude in 2000."

8. What percentage of old people live on their own?

"In 1987, 8.5 million elderly lived alone; by 2020, 13.3 million elderly will live alone.
More than 6.5 million, or 77%, of all elderly living alone are women. The percentage of older women living alone exceeds that of men in each age group, but women become progressively more likely than men to live alone with age.
Among those over 85. 52% of women live alone compared to 29% for men. Widowhood is by far the most common situation for older women who live alone.
Between the ages of 65 and 74, 77% of women living alone are widows, as are 88% of those over 75.
Men who live alone are far more likely to be divorced or never to have married. This phenomenon occurs because women tend to marry men older than themselves, and because women live longer than men. "

http://www.copperwiki.org/index.php/Loneliness
http://journals.cambridge.org/action/displayAbstract?fromPage=online&aid=1822784

Other people's questions:
11. How many old people live in poverty?

Seniors’ economic security will only increase in importance as the U.S. population ages. The nation’s health and social services resources will face unprecedented demand as 75 million people in the baby boomer generation reach retirement age—some with eroded savings and retirement accounts...Between 1959 and 1974, the elderly poverty rate fell from 35 percent to 15 percent. This was largely attributable to a set of increases in Social Security benefits. The elderly poverty rate has continued to decline in subsequent decades, reaching 9.4 percent in 2006. Social Security and Supplemental Security Income benefits continue to play a key role in reducing elderly poverty, especially among women and people of color. If Social Security benefits did not exist, an estimated 44 percent of the elderly would be poor today, assuming no changes in behavior."

14. what % of old people are sexually active?

The nationally representative survey of more than 3,000 U.S. adults ages 57 to 85 found that more than half to three-quarters of those questioned remain sexually active, with a significant proportion engaging in frequent and varied sexual behavior...Sexual problems do increase with age, and the rate of sexual activity fades somewhat, the survey found. But interest in sex remains high and the frequency remains surprisingly stable among the physically able who are lucky enough to still have partners.

15. What's the percentage of old people who go to nursing homes?

According to the 1997 National Nursing Home Survey, there were 1,465,000 residents age 65 and older in nursing homes (about 4.3 percent of the US population age 65 and older in 1997). Nearly three-fourths of these residents were women, and about one-half were age 85 and older.

In 1997, about 75 percent of all nursing home residents 65 and older required assistance in three or more activities of daily living, including bathing, dressing, eating, transferring from bed to chair, and using the toilet. About 42 percent of nursing home residents were diagnosed with dementia, and 12 percent had other psychiatric conditions, such as schizophrenia and mood disorders.

16. What's the suicide rate for elderly people?

"While the elderly make up only 12.6% of the population, they account for almost
18.1% of the suicides.
· There is one elderly suicide every one hour thirty-nine minutes.
· The suicide rate for the elderly rose 9% between 1980 and 1992. During that
rime, there were 74, 675 completed suicides of persons over 65. Rates have
declined since that time.
· In 2000, suicide rates ranged from 12.6 per 100,000 among persons aged 65 to
74, to 17.7 per 100,000 persons aged 75 to 84, which is nearly double the overall
U.S. rate.
· White men over the age of 85 are at the greatest risk of all age-gender-race
groups. In 1999, the suicide rate for these men was 59.6 per 100,000. That is
nearly 6 times the current overall rate."


http://www.americanprogress.org/issues/2008/07/elderly_poverty.html

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/08/22/AR2007082202000.html

http://www.aarp.org/research/longtermcare/nursinghomes/aresearch-import-669-FS10R.html

http://www.211bigbend.org/hotlines/suicide/SuicideandtheElderly.pdf

Researching on the elderly, made me understand them a little better. I was pretty shocked to find out the suicide rates on old people. To know that, "In 2000, suicide rates ranged from 12.6 per 100,000 among persons aged 65 to 74, to 17.7 per 100,000 persons aged 75 to 84, which is nearly double the overall U.S. rate." it's really upseting to know that old people are feeling lonely and depressed. To also know that suicude rates are increasing is really scary. Anyone's grandma or grandpa is feeling alone and that is the reason why I would like things to change between our generations. We should include old people to our society and also include them into our daily lives.