Department of Sociology and Center for Family and Demographic Research, Bowling Green State University, Bowling Green, Ohio, USA.
J Gerontol B Psychol Sci Soc Sci. 2022 May 5;77(5):930-935. doi: 10.1093/geronb/gbab239.
We introduced a unique form of kinlessness: sole family survivorship, which describes the lack of family of origin (i.e., biological parents and siblings) kin. This form of kinlessness may be particularly consequential for older adults who experience other forms of kinlessness (e.g., no spouse/partner or no children) as they are especially likely to have relied on their family of origin for support.
Data from the 1998-2014 Health and Retirement Study (N = 148,346 person-waves) were used to estimate the prevalence of sole family survivorship among adults aged 55 and older and men and women aged 55-74 and 75+. Variation in prevalence levels of sole family survivorship across sociodemographic characteristics, health indicators, and family factors were also estimated. Finally, we tracked cohort trends in sole family survivorship.
More than 1 in 10 adults aged 55+ were sole family survivors and this figure rose to more than 1 in 4 among those aged 75+. Adults with no spouse/partner and no children were especially likely to be sole family survivors, meaning they face a double burden of kinlessness.
Sole family survivorship represents the culmination of loss of multiple, lifelong kin ties. It is more common among those lacking other close kin, signaling the presence of a uniquely vulnerable group of older adults who experience multiple forms of kinlessness. Future research should address how older adults and society at large adapt to kinlessness to ensure successful aging.
我们引入了一种独特的无亲属形式：直系家庭幸存者，指缺乏原生家庭（即亲生父母和兄弟姐妹）亲属的情况。这种无亲属形式对于经历其他形式无亲属（如无配偶/伴侣或无子女）的老年人可能尤其重要，因为他们特别可能依赖原生家庭获得支持。
使用 1998-2014 年健康与退休研究（N=148346 人次）的数据来估计 55 岁及以上成年人以及 55-74 岁和 75+岁男性和女性中直系家庭幸存者的比例。还估计了直系家庭幸存者的比例在社会人口统计学特征、健康指标和家庭因素方面的变化。最后，我们追踪了直系家庭幸存者的队列趋势。
超过 10%的 55 岁及以上成年人是直系家庭幸存者，而这一比例在 75 岁以上的成年人中上升到了 1/4 以上。没有配偶/伴侣和没有孩子的成年人尤其可能是直系家庭幸存者，这意味着他们面临着双重无亲属的负担。
直系家庭幸存者代表了丧失多个终生亲属关系的最终结果。它在缺乏其他近亲的人中更为常见，表明存在一个独特的、脆弱的老年人群体，他们经历了多种形式的无亲属关系。未来的研究应该探讨老年人和整个社会如何适应无亲属关系，以确保成功老龄化。
