Changes in Productive Activity in Later Life

University Of Massachusetts Boston, Dorchester MA

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Abstract

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Productivity, once viewed primarily in economic terms, is now considered by researchers to also encompass activities performed outside of traditional market environments (paid work). These other activities include volunteer work, informal provision of long-term care to relatives and others, childcare, helping others in one's social network with routine tasks and errands, home maintenance, and housework. This more inclusive definition of productivity provides the foundation for this pilot project. We propose to contribute to the current research literature on productive aging by examining how dimensions of activity are clustered into constellations of behavior. We anticipate that some types of behaviors are more likely to occur together, such as paid work and formal volunteering on the one hand, and caregiving and childcare on the other hand. In addition, we propose to advance current research by examining how specific activities and constellations of activities change over time. We anticipate there will be a substitution effect whereby persons who experience important life transitions and who take on new roles will shift the types of productive activities in which they engage. The extent of productive activity and the time commitment to productive activity are hypothesized to be a function of social roles and individual resources. To accomplish these goals, we employ three waves of data from the Americans' Changing Lives study, a nationally representative panel survey specifically geared toward the study of productive activity and well-being. To empirically establish which activities cluster together and to determine if a scale of productive activity exists, we employ latent class analysis techniques. In our analyses, we pay particular attention to differences by sex and race. This pilot project forms the foundation of a larger project that will seek to explore the complex linkages between forms of activity (productive, social, and physical) and well-being among mature persons.