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rom Vital and Health Statisticsof the National Center for Health Statistics Number 149 c April 4, 1988 

PROPERW OF WE “ 

PUBLIC,4TIONS
 MANCH


EDITORIAL LIBRARY 

Aging in the Eighties, People Living Alone—Two Years Later 

Data from the 1984 and 1986 Longitudinal Study of Aging Interviews 

Mary Grace Kovar, Dr.P,H., Office of Vital and Health Statistics 

Introduction 

There is evidence that older people who live alone are 

more likely to become institutionalized than people who 

live with others (Branch and Jette, 1982), and that the risk 

is greater at older ages (Cohen, Tell, and Wallac~ 1986). 

There is also evidence that people with strong social networks are more likely to survive and remain healthy than 

those without such social interaction (Berkman and Syme, 

1979; House, Robins, and Mekner, 1982; Berkman, 1985; 

eeman, Kaplan, Knudson et al, 1987). Data tlom the 

a upplement on Aging to the National Health Interview 

Survey showed that many of the people living alone in 1984 

did have living children or siblings, had had recent contact 

with family or friends, or lived in housing without major 

barriers to movement (NCHS, 1986). If such factors do 

make it possible for people to remain in the community 

rather than becoming residents of nursing homes, identi&­

ing those factors will furnish guidelines for supporting the 

positive aspects and for identi&ing people at high risk of 

institutionalization and, perhaps, postponing or averting 

their institutionalization. 

The Supplement on Aging had advantages over many 

other data sources in that there were many measures of 

functional health status in addition to measures of barriers 

in housing, contact with children, and recent social contacts. 

It also had a large national sample. The disadvantage was 

that there was no information about how these people fared 

as they grew older. That disadvantage has been partly 

overcome with the first reintemiew of the oldest people 2 

years later as part of the Longitudinal Study of Aging. 

The data 

In 1984 information on 16,148 people age 55 years and 

National Health Intemiew Survey (NCHS, 1987a). This 

supplement was designed to be the basis for a family of 

longitudinal studies that are known collectively as the Longitudinal Study of Aging. 

The Longitudinal Study of Aging is a long-term collaborative project with the National Institute on Aging that 

involves matches with existing records, such as death certificates, for all of the people in the Supplement on Aging, 

and reinterviews with samples of people who were in the 

1984 study Q?itti and Kovar, 1987; NCHS, 1987b). One part 

of the Longitudinal Study of Aging involved selecting a 

sample of 5,151 people who were age 70 years and over in 

1984 to be reinterviewed in 1986. 

There were 5,151 people selected for reinterview in 

1986. The status of 92 percent was ascertained through the 

reinterview, 4,130 were still living, and 604 were deceased. 

Another 20 persons were identified as deceased through 

matching with the National Death Index for 1984 and 1985. 

Information about the 1,921 people in the 1986 Longitudinal Study of Aging reintewiew sample who had been 

living alone in 1984 is the basis of this report. The status of 

91 percent, 1,743 persons, was ascertained in 1986 through 

the reinterview or the match with the National Death Index. 

All estimates are national estimates for the population 

age 70 years and over who were living in the United States 

outside of institutions in 1984. A brief description of the 

study and the analytic methods are in the Technical notes; a 

full description of the study has been published (NCHS, 

1987%). 

Living alone or with others 

In 1984 there were about 17 million people age 70 

years and over living in the commuriity in the United States 

over was obtained through the Supplement on Aging to the –6 million were living alone and 11 million were living with 

a .S. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES� Public Health Service . Centers for Disease Control 
� 

2 advancedata 

at least one other person (table A). Of the latter, 7 million 

were living with a spouse only and 4 million lived with other 

people. A sizable proportion of the last group was living 

with other people because of their health (Kovar and 

Harris, 1987). They were already having health problems 

and at high risk of death or institutionalization. 

Table A. Status in 1986 of people age 70 years and over living in 

communities in 1984, according to fiving arrangements in 1964: 

United States 

LMng arrangement In 1964 

With othets 

spouse All 

Status In 1966 ToiW Alone Total only othets 

Population in thousands 

Total . . . . . . . . . 17,335 6,351 1o,e84 6,983 4,021 

Percent distribution 

Total . . . . . . . . . 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 

Alive . . . . . . . . . 86.2 89.8 87.3 Se.o 84.3 

In community . . 84.8 85.3 84.5 87.2 79.8 

Alone . . . . . . . 34.0 77.8 9.2 8.1 11.1 

WittI others. , . . 50.8 7,4 75.3 79.1 8S.6 

In lnstltutlon . 3.4 4.6 2.8 1.8 4.5 

Dead . . . . . . . . . 11.8 10.2 12.7 11.0 15.7 

Although the people who were living alone were, on 

the average, older than those living with others in 1984, 

they were not more likely to have died within the 2 years. 

This is partly because the majority of the people living 

alone were women, and women, on the average, live longer 

than men. However, people who had been living alone were 

more likely to be in nursing homes 2 years later than people 

who had been living with others. Again, this may be partly 

because of being women; older women are more likely to 

be in nursing homes than older men (NCHS, 1987c). 

Most of the older people had the same living arrangements in 1986 that they had had 2 years earlier. Of the 

people who had been living alone in 1984, 78 percent were 

still living alone 2 years later; of those who had been living 

with others, 75 percent were living with others 2 years later. 

The data from the 1986 Longitudinal Study of Aging 

reinterview confirm earlier research. Although few people 

were in nursing homes 2 years later, the percent of those 

who had been living alone who were in nursing homes was 

higher than the percent of thdse who had been living with 

others. Moreover, when only people who were not receiving 

help with one or more Activities of Daily Living in 1984 are 

considered, the percent remained higher (3.7 versus 1.6 

percent), although the difference is not statistically significant. 

People living alone 

Of all the factors associated with entering a nursing 

home, age and functional status at the time of the original 

interview are the most powerful. The two are, of course, 

associated; people in their eighties are more likely to be in 

poor health than people in their seventies. It is health 

status, however, not age per se, that leads to either death or 

institutionalization (Kovar, 1987). 

People who are receiving help with one or more Activities of Daily Living (bathing, eating, dressing, transferring, 

walking, getting outside, using the toilet) are more likely to 

have died or become institutionalized 2 years later than 

those who were not receiving such help (Kovar, 1987). Onlye 

7.5 percent of the people age 70 years and over living alone ‘ 

were receiving help with one or more Activities of Daily 1 

Living (ADL) in 1984 (table 1). Although only 10 percent ‘ 

of the people who had been living alone had died and only 

5 percent had moved into nursing homes, 25 percent of the 

people living alone who had been receiving help with one or 

more ADL’s had died and 16 percent were in nursing 

homes 2 years later (table B). 

Table B. Status in 1986 of people age 70 years and over living 

alone in 1964, according to help status in 1984: United States 

Help status In 1984 

Help with– 

No 

Status In 1966 Total ADL3 lADL’# Neflher difficulty 

Population in thousands 

Total . . . . . . . . . 6,351 478 1,204 768 3,901 

Percent distribution 

Total . . . . . . . . . 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 

In community. . . . 85.3 59.1 77.6 83.4 91.1 

Alone . . . . . . . 77.8 52.0 67.4 60.5 83.7 

Wtih others, . . . 7.4 7.1 10.2 2.9 7.5 

In institution. , . . . 4.6 15.9 7.9 5.9 1.9 

Dead. .,...... 10.2 24.9 14.5 10.7 7:0 

f ADL k Activity Of Dally UVilW


2 IADL is Instrwnantal Activity of Daily Uving.


Therefore, it is important to determine whether 

barrier-free housing, frequency of seeing children, and 

contacts with family and friends are associated with receiving such help. Some of these measures were associated with 

functional status. People who needed to have their major 

living components on one floor or who needed a walk-in 

shower were significantly more likely than others to be 

receiving help with one or more ADL’s (table 1). People 

who had at least one child who could be with them within 

10 minutes or who saw or talked with at least one child 

daily were more likely to be receiving help than people who 

saw or talked with their children less frequently (table 2). 

People who had not gotten together or talked on the 

telephone with fliends or neighbors or who had not gone to 

religious or social events were significantly more likely than 

those who had to be receiving help with one or more ADL’s 

(table 3). In contrast, neither the housing characteristics 

shown in table 1 nor having had recent contact with relatives was significantly associated with receiving such help. 

Therefore, associations between the social and environmental characteristics and survival or remaining in the 

community should be evaluated for people who were not 

already receiving help at the beginning of the study. 
�� 

The data on status in 1986 for people who were living 

alone and who were not receiving help with any Activities of 

Daily Living in 1984 are shown in tables 4-6. Their status 2 

years later was better than that of the total group. Only 9.0 

percent of these people (rather than 10.2 percent) had died 

d 3.7 percent (rather than 4.6 percent) were in nursing 

e omes 2 years later. 

It is obvious from table 4 that the need for appropriate 

housing measures something different from the receipt of 

help. People needing appropriate housing were significantly 

more likely to have died or to be institutional&d 2 years 

later than people who did not have such a need. Having 

major living areas on one floor is not sufficient; the difference between those with and without a need for such 

facilities is significant even for people who had them. 

The association behveen seeing at least one child daily 

and living with someone else 2 years later is statistically 

significant. None of the other associations in table 5 is 

statistically significant, although there is a suggestion that 

people without children or who do not live very close to at 

least one child are more likely to be in institutions rather 

than living with others 2 years later. 

All of the associations between recent nonfamilial social contacts in 1984 and death 2 years later shown in table 

6 are statistically significant. People who had had no contact 

with friends or neighbors within 2 weeks and who were still 

in the community 2 years later were also more likely to be 

living with others. However, recent contacts with relatives 

advancedata 3 

Even when only people who had not been receiving 

help with any Activity of Daily Living in 1984 are considered, the data from the Longitudinal Study of Aging 1986 

reinterview show that people who had had recent contact 

with friends or neighbors are more likely to be alive, and 

people with children whom they see daily are more likely to 

live with others 2 years later. Although the data are not in 

this report, they also su~est that people who had living 

brothers and sisters were more likely to survive the 2-year 

period. 

There are multiple confounders in studying aging and 

remaining independent. It is not sufficient to study only 

physical or functional health, barriers to movement, availability of family, or social contacts. All of these may function as protection against institutionalization or early death. 

Many may be associated with other things not measured or 

have interrelationships vvith one another that were not 

measured. The study included no question, for example, 

asking why people had no living children. It is possible that 

they never had children because of their ill health early in 

life or that their children died early. It is possible that those 

without Iiviig siblings had had siblings who died prematurely. The survivors may share a genetic predisposition 

that would leave them alive but in poor health. 

Many of the relationships are only suggestive. Most of 

the people who were age 70 years and over and living alone 

in 1984,78 percent of the people whose status in 1986 was 

confirmed, were still living alone 2 years later. The major 

were not significantly associated with the older person’s reason people were not still living alone was death. The 

status 2 vears later, and there were no statisticidly signifi- second reason was that they were now living with others, . 

�cant associations with institutionalization. 

Summary 

Older people who had been living alone were more 

likely than those living with others to be in a nursing home 

2 years later. However, there is evidence of a progression; 

people live alone, then with other people if others are 

available, then they may become nursing home residents. 

Older people who die or who become residents of 

nursing homes do so not because they are old or because 

they have no family to provide care but because they are 

sick people. Regardless of whether people had been living 

alone or with others, people who had been receiving help 

with any Activity of Daily Living were more likely to be in a 

nursing home or to have died 2 years later. 

usually children. Although people who had been living 

alone were more likely to be in nursing homes 2 years later 

than those who had been living with others, only 4.6 percent 

were in nursing homes in contrast with 85 percent who 

were still living in the community outside of nursing homes. 

More people who had been living alone were living with 

others 2 years later than were in nursing homes. 

Two years is a very short period in which to observe 

change. Older people who are not already dependent are 

not highly likely to die or become institutionalized in that 

time. Most of the people had had no change in their living 

arrangements they had been living alone in 1984 and were 

still living alone 2 years later. It will take a longer time 

period, with more opportunity for change to occur, to 

confirm relationships that these data suggest. 
4 advancedata 

References 

Berkman, L.E. 1985. The relationship of social networks and 

social support to morbidity and mortality. In Social Suppoti and 

Health, edited by S. Cohen and S. L. Syme. Orlando, Fla. Academic Press. 

Berkman, L.E. and S.L. Syme. 1979. Social networks, host resistance, and mortality A nine-year follow-up study of Alameda 

County residents. Am. J. Epidemiol. 109186-204. 

Branch, L.G. and A.M. Jette. 1982. A prospective study of longterm care institutionalization among the aged. Am. 1 Pub. Health 

72(12):1373-1379. 

Cohen, M.A., E.J. Tell, and S.S. Wallack. 1986. The lifetime risks 

and costs of nursing home use among the elderly. Medical Care 

24(12):1161-1172. 

Fitti, J.E. and M.G. Kovar. 1987. A multi-mode longitudinal 

study: The Longitudinal Study of Aging. Proceedings of the Su.wey 

Research Section of the American Statistical Association. 

House, J.S., C. Robbins, and H.L. Metzner. 1982. The association 

of social relationships and activities with mortality: prospective 

evidence from the Tecumseh Community Health Study. Am. J. 

Epidemiol. 116:12%140. 

Kovar, M.G. 1987. The Longitudinal Study of Aging Some 

estimates of change among older Americans. Proceedings of the 

1987 Public Health Conference on Records and Stat&tics. pp 397-

98. DHHS Pub. No. (PHS) 88-1214. National Center for Health 

Statistics. Hyattsville, Md. 

Kovar, M.G. and T. Harris. 1987. Who will care for older people? 

Proceedings of the SociaJ Statistics Section of the Amen-can Statistical Association. 

National Center for Health Statistics, M.G. Kovar and G.S. Poe. 

1985. The desia and Procedures for the National Health Interview Survey. V&l and fiealth Statistics. Series 1 No. 18. DHHs Pub 

No. (PHS) 85-1320. Washington: U.S. Government Printin 

Office. e 

National Center for Health Statistics, M.G. Kovar. 1986. Aging in 

the eighties, age 65 and older and living alone, contacts with 

family, friends, and neighbors. Advance Data From V7tal and 

Health Statktics. No. 116. DHHS Pub. No. (PHS) 86-1250. Public 

Health Service. Hyattsville, Md. 

National Center for Health Statistics, J.E. Fitti and M.G. Kovar. 

1987a. The Supplement on Aging to the 1984 National Health 

Interview Survey. Vital and Health Statistics. Series 1, No. 21. 

DHHS Pub. No. (PHS) 87-1323. Public Health Sewice. Washington: U.S. Government Printing Office. 

National Center for Health Statistics, M.G. Kovar and J.E. Fitti. 

1987b. The Longitudinal Study of Aging A description of the 

study. Working Paper Sen”es. No. 31. 

National Center for Health Statistics, E. Hing. 1987c. Use of 

nursing homes by the elderly. Advance Data From J’?tal and 

Health Statistics. No. 135. DHHS Pub. No. (PHS) 87-1250. Public 

Health Service. Hyattsville, Md. 

Seemrmj T.E., G.A. Kaplan, L. Knudsen et al. 1987. Social 

network ties and mortality among the elderly in the Alameda 

County Study. Am. J. Epidem”ol. 126(4):714-723. 
Table 1. People who were 70 years and over and living alone by 

housing characteristics and whether they were receiving help 

with one or more Activities of Daily Living in 1984: United States 

o 

W7rether receiving help 

Housing 

character~Ucs Sample Toiel NO Yes 

Number Populatkm in thousands Percent 

Allpeople . . . . . . . . . . . 1,921 6,351 5,873 478 7.5 

Steps to outside 

No . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 408 1,365 1,265 99 7.3 

Yes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,513 4,966 4,607 379 7.6 

Levels inside 

One . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,166 3,926 3,631 297 7.6 

Morethan one . . . . . . . . 733 2,423 2,242 181 7.5 

Need bedroom, bathroom, 

ktchen on same floor 

Yes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 653 2,006 1,590 418 20.8 

No . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,266 4,343 4,262 60 1.4 

Have bedroom, bathrcom, 

kiichen on same floor 

Yes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,762 5,816 5,359 456 7.8 

Needed . . . . . . . . . . . 627 1,911 1,502 4ci9 21.4 

Notneeded . . . . . . . . 1,135 3,905 3,856 47 1.2 

No . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 159 535 513 2%2 4.1 

NeededI . . . . . . . . . . 26 97 89 9 8.8 

Notneeded . . . . . . . . 133 436 425 13 3.1 

Need walk-in shower 

Yes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 321 954 729 225 23.6 

No . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,600 5,397 5,144 253 4.7 

Have walk-in shower 

Yes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 325 1,102 1,041 61 5.5 

Needed’ . . . . . . . . . . 79 242 206 14.1 

Notneeded . . . . . . . . 246 2 3.1 

No . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,596 5%’ 4,E 417 7.9 

Needed . . . . . . . . . . . 242 712 520 191 26.9 

Not needed . . . . . . . . 1,354 4,537 4,312 226 5.0 

‘Fewer than lm sample perscms 

. 

o 

acivancedata 5 

Table 2. People who were 70 years and over and living alone by 

contacts with children and whether they were receiving help with 

one or more Activities of Daily Living in 198* United States 

Whether receiving help 

Contact wiih 

children Sample Total No Yes 

Population in thousands Percent 

All people . . . . . . . . . . . 1,921 6,351 5,873 478 7.5 

Noliiingchildren. . . . . . 530 1,744 1,665 79 4.5 

WITH LIVING CHiLDREN 

Sax of children 

Sonsoniy . . . . . . . . . . . 362 1,166 1,101 64 5.5 

Daughters only . . . . . . . 326 1,112 1,017 95 8.5 

Both . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 702 2,327 2,067 241 10.3 

Time for nearest child to 

get here 

VVithinlOminutae. . . . . . 406 1,336 1,159 179 13.4 

10minutesormore. . . . . 3,269 3,049 221 6.7 

Frequency of seeing a 

child 

Daily . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 376 1,209 1,041 167 13.8 

2-6times a week . . . . . . 265 927 636 66 9.5 

Weekly . . . . . . . . . . . . 26a 946 869 60 8.4 

Lesslhenwwkly. . . . . . 450 1,524 1,459 64 4.2 

Frequency of taIkkrg with 

a child 

Daily . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 564 1,632 1,594 237 13.0 

2-6timas a week . . . . . . 267 903 854 49 5.4 

Weekly . . . . . . . . . . . . 254 666 826 40 4.6 

Lessthan weekly . . . . . . 306 1,007 934 73 7.3 

Frequency of sealng or 

talking with a child 

Daliy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . aao 2,166 1,917 271 12.4 

2-6times tweak . . . . . . 276 930 673 57 6.2 

Weekly . . . . . . . . . . . . 236 621 786 35 4.2 

Lessthanweekly. . . . . . 199 666 632 36 5.4 
6 advancedata 

Table 3. People who were 70 years and over and living alone by 

recent social contacts snd whether they were receiving help with 

one or more Activities of Daily Living in 1984: United States 

Whether receiving help 

Contacts within 2 waeks Sample Tot&f NO Yes 

Number Population in thousands 

All people . . . . . . . . . . . 1,921 6,351 5,673 478 7.5 

Got together with friends 

or neighbors 

Yes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,366 4,609 4,358 251 5.4 

No . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 555 1,742 1,515 227 13.0 

Talked on telephone w~h 

friends or neighbors 

Yes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,608 5,323 4,984 339 6.4 

No . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 315 1,027 866 139 13.5 

Got together with relatives 

Yes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,486 4,6e7 4,514 363 7.8 

No . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 455 1,454 1,356 95 6.6 

Talked on telephone with 

retatwes 

Yes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,650 5,462 5,060 402 7.4 

No . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 271 669 813 76 6.6 

Went to church or 

synagogue 

Yes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 962 3,300 3,189 111 3.4 

No . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 939 3,051 2,684 367 12.0 

Went to other group 

event 

Yes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 486 1,724 l,66a 36 2.1 

No . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,433 4,627 4,185 442 9,6 

Table 4. Status in 1986 of people who were 70 years and over, 

living alone and not receiving help with Activities of Daily Living 

in 1964, according to housing characteristics in 198& 

United States 

Status in 1986 

In community 

Houslrrg characteristics With 

In 1964 Total Totet Alone othets Institution Dead e 

Percent distribution 

All people . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100.0 67.3 79.9 7.5 3.7 9.0 

Steps to outside 

No . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100.0 85.8 79.3 6.5 4.9 9.3 

Yes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100.0 87.8 80.0 7.7 3.3 8.9 

Levels inside 

One . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100.0 87.3 80.0 7.3 3.4 9.3 

Morethan one . . . . . . . . . . 100.0 87.4 79.7 7.7 4.1 8.5 

Need bedroom, bathroom, 

kitchen on same floor 

Yes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100.0 78.2 70.0 8.2 6.7 15.1 

No . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100.0 90.6 83.5 7.2 2.6 6.8 

Have bedroom, bathroom, 

Ktchen on same floor 

Yes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100.0 86.7 79.5 7.3 3.8 9.4 

Needed . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100.0 77.2 70.1 7.1 7.1 15.7 

Notneeded . . . . . . . . . . 100.0 90.4 83.0 7.3 2.6 7.1 

No . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100.0 93.6 84.2 9.4 1.8 4.6 

Needed’ . . . . . . . . . . . . 100.0 94.9 68.8 26.0 0.0 5.1 

Notneeded . . . . . . . . . . 100.0 93.3 67.6 5.7 2.2 4.5 

Need walk-in shower 

Yes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100.0 75.2 65.3 9.9 6.3 16.6 

No . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1rxl.o 89.0 81.9 7.1 3.3 7.7 

Have walk-in shower 

Yes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100.0 86.9 76.4 10.4 4.0 9.1 

NeededI . . . . . . . . . . . . 100.0 69.4 68.9 10.4 6.7 24.0 

Notneeded . . . . . . . . . . 100.0 91.2 60.7 10.4 3.4 5.5 

No . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100.0 87.4 60.6 6.8 3.6 9.0 

Needed . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100.0 77.5 

Notneeded . . . . . . . . . . 100.0 68.6 

67.9 

62.1 

9.6 

6.5 

6.1 

3.3 

16.4 

8.1 

0 

lBasad on fewerthan 100 persons In the sample. 
Table 5. Status in 1986 of people who were 70 years and over, 

living alone, and not receiving help with Activities of Daily Living 

in 1984, according to contacts with children in 198& 

United States 

Status In 1986 

In oommunlty 

contactswith Wflh 

0 children in 1984 Total Total Alone others Institutbn Dead 

Percent cfiitrtbution 

Allpeople . . . . . . . . . . . 100.0 87.3 79.9 7.5 3.7 9.0 

No Iiiing children. . . . . . 100.0 67.2 81.6 5.6 4.0 6.8 

WITH UVING CHILDREN 

Sex of children 

Sonsonly . . . . . . . . . . . 100.0 89.6 83.6 6.0 3.6 6.9 

Daughters only . . . . . . . 100.0 88.8 82.6 2.9 8.3 

Both . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100.0 85.5 75.0 IN 3.8 10.7 

Time for nearest child to 

get here 

Wfihin 10 minutes. . . . . . 100.0 66,3 78.6 9.7 2.7 9.0 

10minufes ormore. . . . . 100.0 87.0 79.4 7.6 3.8 9.2 

Frequency of seeing a 

child 

Dally . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100.0 87.9 76.6 11.1 2.8 9.3 

2-6timesaweek . . . . . . Ioir.o 66.2 78.5 7.7 5.4 8.4 

Weekly . . . . . . . . . . . . 100.0 63.5 74.9 8.7 3.7 12.7 

Lessthan weekly. . . . . . 100.0 89.9 83.7 6.2 2.9 7.2 

Frequency of tetking with 

a child 

Daily . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100.0 74.8 9.6 3.9 11.7 

2-6timesaweek . . . . . . 100.0 :; 65.2 5.8 3.9 5.1 

Weekly . . . . . . . . . . . . 100.0 91.8 83.5 8.0 2.3 6.1 

Lessthenweekly. . . . . . 100.0 65.3 77.2 8.1 3.7 11.1 

Frequewy of seelrrg or 

talklno with a child 

ally . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100.0 65.2 75.3 9.9 4.2 10.7 

fimesaweek . .. . . . . 100.0 90.2 82.2 8.0 3.5 6.3 

eekly . . . . . . . . . . . . 100.0 60.4 82.5 6.9 3.3 7.3 e Lessthenweekly. . . . . . Irxr.o 87.4 823 5.1 21 10.5

advancedata 7 

Table 6. Status in 1986 of people who were 70 years and over, 

living alone and not receiving help with Activities of Daily Living 

in 1984, according to recent social contacts in 1984 

United States 

Status in 1986 

In community 

Contacts within 2 weeks Wflh 

in 1984 Totaf Total AIone others Institution Dead 

Allpaople . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100.0 87.3 79.9 7.5 3.7 9.0 

Got together w~h fdends or 

ne!ghbore 

Yes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100.0 89.3 829 6.5 3.2 7.5 

No . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100.0 81.5 71.2 10.3 5.1 13.4 

Talked on telephone wtih 

triinds or neighbors 

Yes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100.0 86.7 62.0 6.7 3.3 7.9 

No . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Ico.o 78.8 67.0 11.8 5.5 15.6 

Got tcgefher with reletwee 

Yes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100.0 66.0 79.8 8.2 3.4 8.6 

No . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100.0 85.0 80.1 5.0 4.6 10.4 

Talked on telephone with 

relatiies 

we.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100.0 87.9 60.3 7.6 3.5 8.6 

No . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100.0 83.2 76.6 6.6 4.6 12.0 

Went to church or 

synagogue 

Yes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100.0 91.9 84.2 7.6 3.1 5.1 

No . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100.0 81.9 74.6 7.2 4.4 13.8 

Went to other group event 

Yes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100.0 93.6 87.4 6.2 1.7 4.7 

No . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100.0 64.7 76.7 8.0 4.5 10.8 
advancedata 9 

] 

Technical notes 

The National Health Interview Survey is the large 

continuing survey of the National Center for Health Statis­

-tics that is used to collect information about the health 

!atus of people living outside of institutions in the United 

,tates. Each year through 1984 (the sample size and design 

were changed in 1985) people in about 42,000 households 

were interviewed in the household by U.S. Bureau of the 

Census Interviewers (NCHS, 1985). 

The National Health Interview Survey uses a basic 

questionnaire to collect information about everyone living 

in the households selected in the sample and supplements, 

which are usually added for 1 year, to collect information 

on special topics or about special populations. 

In 1984 the supplement was designed to obtain information about people age 55 years and over living in households. This supplement, the Supplement on Aging, has 

been described and the questionnaire has been published 

(NCHS, 1987a). Its importance in the present context is 

that it was also designed to be the basis for longitudinal 

studies. The name, address, and telephone number of 

someone not living in the household was obtained along 

with permission to link information from the survey with 

other existing files of data. The longitudinal studies based 

on the Supplement on Aging are known collectively as the 

Longitudinal Study of Aging (LSOA). 

The first Longitudinal Study of Aging sample was 

selected to be reinterviewed in 1986. The focus was on the 

oldest-old and their changes in functional status and living 

~rrangements. Therefore, only people who had been age 70 

:ars and over in 1984 were selected for this reintewiew 

sample (table I). 

Table 1.Selaetion of the 1966 Longitudinal Study of Aging 

interview aampie from the Supplement on Aging aampie 

soA LSO.4 

Age and race Number Number R3rcent 

Total . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7,541 5,151 66.3 

Agein 1964 

70-79 years . . . . . . . . . . 5,446 3,061 56.2 

SOyears and over . . . . . 2,095 2,0eo 9%9 

Race 

White . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6,691 4,535 65.8 

All other . . . . . . . . . . . . 650 616 94.6 

Black . . . . . . . . . . . . 563 560 99.5 

Other . . . . . . . . . . . . 67 56 64,4 

Selection was in three stages. First, all households with 

a person age 80 and over were selected. Everyone age 80 

years and over in these households and their relatives age 

70 years and over were included. Second, all households 

with a black person age 70 years and over were selected. All 

black persons and their relatives age 70 years and older in 

0’112A list of referencesfoilowsthe text. 

these households were included. Finally, the remaining 

households with a person age 70-79 years were randomly 

sorted and one-half the households were selected. If there 

was more than one person age 70-79 in a household that 

was selected, all were included. Because the sample was 

selected from the Supplement on Aging file before final 

editing, five people who would have been selected from the 

final edited file were not included in the 1986 Longitudinal 

Study of Aging reinterview sample. 

The 1986 Longitudinal Study of Aging reinterviews 

were also conducted by the U.S. Bureau of the Census. 

However, data were collected by Computer Assisted Telephone Interviewing (CATI) rather than personal interviews 

in the household. If there was no telephone number for 

either the sample person or a contact person, or if there 

was no response to repeated telephone calls, a questionnaire with a postage-paid return envelope addressed to the 

U.S. Bureau of the Census was mailed. 

Of the 5,151 people selected for reinterview, the status 

of 92.3 percent was ascertained through the 1986 reinterview (table II). Almost all of the 7.7 percent of the people 

whose status was not ascertained were not located by the 

U.S. Bureau of the Census interviewers. A few were located but could not be interviewed because they were 

unable to speak on the telephone due to illness or hearing 

or language difficulties. 

Tabie ii. interview status of peopie in the Longitudinal Study of 

Aging 1966 interview aampie, aeeording to iiving arrangement 

in 1984 

Status tn 1964 

With 

Inkwkw status in 1966 Totet Alone others 

Number in sampie 

TotaisamPla . . . . . . . . . . . 5,151 1,921 3,230 

Percent distribution 

Total . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100.0 100.0 100.0 

Ascertained 

Incommuntiy . . . . . . . . . . . 76,5 75.6 76.9 

Alone . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31,0 6a.3 8.8 

Wthothers, . . . . . . . . . . 45.4 7.3 68.1 

Ininsttiution . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.7 4.9 3.0 

Oaad . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12.1 10.1 13.3 

Not ascertained 

Col located . . . . . . . . . . . . 7.5 9.1 6,5 

Other reason.......,,,. 0.2 0,2 0,2 

Three-quarters of the people who were in the 1984 

sample and who were still alive in 1986 answered the 

questions for themselves (table III). Of the people still 

living in the community in 1986, 79 percent answered all 

questions for themselves. Almost all the other respondents 

were residents of the sample person’s household when they 

answered the questions. Except for people who were residents of nursing homes in 1986, very little information was 

obtained from contact persons. 
10 advancedata 

Table 1[1.Respondents to the 1986 Longitudinal Study of Aging 

interviews 

Respondent 

Proxy 

With In same Contact 

Status in 1986 interview Total se/t house parson 

Number Percent distribution 

Total . . . . . . . . . . . 4,718 100.0 65.7 30.4 3.9 

Alive . . . . . . . . . . . 4,114 100.0 75.4 20.2 4.4 

[n community . . . 3,936 100.0 76.7 16.4 2.9 

Alone . . . . . . . . . 1,597 100.0 68.4 8.3 3.3 

Wih others . . . . 2,341 100.0 72.1 25.3 2.6 

In institution . . . . . 176 100.0 0 60.8 39.2 

Dead . . . . . . . . . . 604 100.0 0 100.0 0 

NOTE An additional 20 persons were located through matching with the 

National Death Index. They are not Included In this table. 

The Longitudinal Study of Aging has been described 

(Fitti and Kovar, 1987) and a description of the study, 

which includes a written version of the Computer Assisted 

Telephone Interviewing questionnaire, is available from the 

National Center for Health Statistics and the Government 

Printing Office (NCHS, 1987b). 

Analytic methods 

The Longitudinal Study of Aging 1986 reinterview is 

designed to produce national estimates for people who 

were age 70 years and over and living in the community in 

1984. The weights were recalculated to take the subsampling into account. All data in this report are national 

estimates for people who were age 70 years and over and 

living in households in the United States in 1984. 

The percent distributions that show the individual’s 

status in 1986 (tables 4-6) are based only on people whose 

status was ascertained in 1986. This is equivalent to assumNO’IE A list of references follows the text. 

ing that the people who were not located were the same as 

those who were. That assumption is not valid for many 

purposes. People who were not located in 1986 were more 

likely to be living alone (46 versus 37 percent) and less 

likely to have a telephone (87 versus 99 percent) than those 

whose status was ascertained. However, because the pu 

pose of this report is to describe people who had been Iivin,o alone, the first difference does not bias the data. The 

second one could, but there were so few people who did not 

have telephones themselves or give the name of a contact 

person with a telephone that the difference should not have 

much effect on the estimates. 

Because the sample of people living alone is relatively 

small, 1,921 persons, differences that appear to be large 

may not be statistically significant. The average weight for 

the Longitudinal Study of Aging sample is 3,365. For 

example, the population estimate of 1.7 million people who 

had not gotten together with friends or neighbors within 2 

weeks of the 1984 interview is based on 555 people in the 

sample. 

For general purposes, sampling errors for estimates 

shown in this report can be estimated by using the formula 

Variance = pqh 

where p = proportion of people with the characteristic 

q	 = (1 –p) 

= proportion of people without the characteristic 

n = number of people in the sample 

and then taking the square root of the variance. The sample 

numbers are given in tables 1-3. 

This approximation can be used for data in this repo 

because the impact of the clustering due to the compl 

sample design is negligible for older people living alone. e

The approximation is not necessarily appropriate for other 

data from the Longitudinal Study of Aging. It may not be 

appropriate for people living with others beeause the subsampling procedure was designed to collect information 

about all persons age 70 years and over in every household 

that was selected for the Longitudinal Study of Aging 1986 

reinterview sample. 
12 aclvancedata 

Recent Issues of Advance Data From Vital and Health Statistics 

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Suggested citation


National Center for Health Statistics, M. G. Kovar.


Aging in the eighties, people living alone–two years Copyright information


later. Advance Data From Vital and Heatth Statistics.


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