Changing living arrangements among elderly in India and it socioeconomic correlates

A temporal analysis

Abstract

Elderly people in India constitute a sizeable proportion and it is consistently rising. Percentage of elderly is likely to increase about twenty percent of the total population by the year 2050. The living arrangements i.e. constitution of the household structure or/else the place of living of the elderly in India and elsewhere are changing. Societies are in a phase of transformation, and temporal changes in living arrangements and their correlates will provide insight into the directions and magnitude of problems related to population aging India. This article delineates the changes in living arrangements of the elderly population of India and its determinants during decades after economic liberalization and globalization. The study is carried out using data from National Sample Surveys (NSS) and a microstudy carried on elderly of Prayagraj using regression analysis and the difference in distribution of the living arrangements is tested using minimum deviation information statistics (MDIS). A content analysis has also been carried for primary data collected from field. Based on present
social arrangements, six living arrangements and four broad groups were identified which are feasible of the elderly in India. Analysis of data and interpretation of findings are carried out under this framework. Factors such as marital status, place of living, perceived health status, having son and other
family members influence the elderly in deciding their living arrangements. It is well reflected in our findings that living arrangements of elderly are changing fast owing to migration, economic liberalization and changed occupational and living structures. Old age homes and living only with spouse is increasing day by day in a social environment where social security schemes are virtually non-existent. The impacts of changed social structure, livelihood patterns and modern value systems are more realized in the traditional societies as compared to the western world.