This article explores factors affecting the status of the elderly, looking particularly at type of family, economy, and wealth transfer.

This article explores factors affecting the status of the elderly, looking particularly at type of family, economy, and wealth transfer.

This article explores factors affecting the status of the elderly, looking particularly at type of family, economy, and wealth transfer.

This article explores factors affecting the status of the elderly, looking particularly at type of family, economy, and wealth transfer.

This article examines the status of the elderly cross-culturally, proposing that familial complexity, unlineal descent, and unilocal residence are predictors of high status. The authors theorize that elderly male status will be highest in patrilineal and patrilocal societies; elderly female status will be highest in matrilineal and matrilocal societies. Some support is found for these patterns, but the authors ultimately regard them as too simple to adequately predict status of the elderly.

This article reassesses the cross-cultural work on status of the elderly and tests two additional variables, socialization values and ancestor worship, as predictors of the status of the elderly.

This article investigates how status of the elderly is affected by economic type, family organization, inheritance of real property, and unilocal residence patterns. Multivariate analysis ultimately suggests that agricultural economy, patrilocal residence, and fully extended family systems are significant predictors of higher status of the elderly. No major gender differences were discovered.

This article examines the relationship between respect for the elderly and their socially valued activities. Support is found for this association under certain conditions: it is significant with independent families in societies with no belief in a single god and absence of slavery. Theories of disengagement and activity among the elderly are also discussed, and the authors propose that they be considered as a continuum.

This article reassesses the cross-cultural work on status of the elderly and tests two additional variables, socialization values and ancestor worship, as predictors of the status of the elderly.

This article examines the status of the elderly cross-culturally, proposing that familial complexity, unlineal descent, and unilocal residence are predictors of high status. The authors theorize that elderly male status will be highest in patrilineal and patrilocal societies; elderly female status will be highest in matrilineal and matrilocal societies. Some support is found for these patterns, but the authors ultimately regard them as too simple to adequately predict status of the elderly.