PPA 419 – Aging Services Administration Lecture 3a – The Political and Policy Context of Aging Services

PPA 419 – Aging Services Administration

Lecture 3a – The Political and Policy Context of Aging Services

Political Behavior of Older Americans

Source: Steven A. Peterson and Albert Somit The political behavior of older Americans is

of significance mainly because of the growth in size of the older population in the United States during the 21st century as the Baby Boom generation ages.


Although older Americans are diverse, on average they will have greater education, higher incomes, and better health than in the past.

These factors are associated with greater participation in politics.

Thus, it is thought that in the future, the interests of older Americans will shape politics and public policy to an even greater extent than they do today.


Authors use data from the 1987 National Opinion Research Center survey (60 and older, 55 and older for African-Americans).

Peterson and Somit use the socioeconomic model of political participation as the baseline. Education causes civic orientations causes political

participation. They also expand the model to include the effects of age,

measures of life circumstances, and other variables.

Caveats

Arbitrariness of age cut-off. Age-cohort-period effects.

Summary of Previous Research

Participation. Political interest rises with age. Voting increases with age. Other forms of participation increase with age. Intensity of partisanship increased with age (but results equivocal).

Political attitudes and issue preferences. No consistent differences on ideology or issue preferences. No consistent effects on political efficacy. No consistent effects on political alienation.

The Aged as Voting Bloc or Lobby. The aged have not coalesced into a voting or lobbying bloc.

Baseline Socioeconomic Model

SocioeconomicStatus

CivicOrientations

PoliticalParticipation

Socioeconomic Model: Variables

Independent. Education, age, gender, race, group memberships.

Dependent. Ideology: Republican, conservative, tolerant, lifestyle liberalism. Alienation: anomie, misanthropy, confidence in political institutions,

trust in federal government, personal powerlessness. Politicization: follow news regularly, information level, political

interest. Participation: summary, campaign, communal, particularistic

contacting, voting

Socioeconomic Model: Baseline Results

Socioeconomic Model: Baseline Results

Socioeconomic Model: Path Analyses






Main findings Confirmation of socioeconomic model. The largest effects are between education and

political interest (civic orientation), and political interest and political participation.

Group memberships and education have large direct effects on participation.

Life Experiences and Political Behavior of Older Americans

Independent Variables Health status, stress, number of siblings, marital

status, church involvement.

Life Experiences: Results

Able Elderly (Health and Education): Results


Extending the model Life circumstances also have both direct and

indirect effects on participation.Direct link: happiness and participationHealth: affects both interest and happinessAge: small positive effect on happinessWidowhood: small negative effect on happiness.Older women participate somewhat less than older

men, partly because of lower interest

Older African-Americans: Results

Older White Americans


Older African-Americans Simpler model Age, which has a negative impact on political interest,

education, and group memberships, is more important for African-Americans than for whites.

Life circumstances are less important. Political participation among older African-Americans is

more likely to go up as a result of improvements in socioeconomic status than as a result of increases in racial consciousness or empowerment.

Older Women: Results

Older Men: Results


Older Women Large education effects for older women than

older men Simpler model


Conclusions Ignorance about the actual behavior of older Americans

has led to misperceptions about the potential for the growth of gray political power.

Older Americans, although they will grow in numbers and will participate at higher rates, lack political cohesion.

They are extraordinarily diverse in terms of sociodemographic characteristics, party attachments, and issue opinions.


ConclusionsElected public officials, fed by media stereotypes, fear

gray political power because of a paralyzing terror (mostly irrational) of election defeat.

Plainly, there is no single, coherent, unified voting bloc of older Americans.

This is true even of issues that are of direct concern to them.

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PPA 419 – Aging Services Administration Lecture 3a – The Political and Policy Context of Aging Services