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Does Socio-economic Inequality Exist in One-person Household Among Older Adults in India? Evidence From National Family Health Survey, 2015–16
Authors: S. K. Singh, Shobhit Srivastava, Debashree Sinha, Pradeep Kumar, Prem Shankar Mishra, and Thalil Muhammad
Source: Ageing International, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12126-022-09497-3
Topic(s): Elderly
Household decision-making
Inequality
Country: Asia
  India
Published: MAY 2022
Abstract: Amidst a rapidly aging population, living alone is considered as a living arrangement with various disadvantages. The study aimed to assess the association between older adults living in one-person-households (OPH) and their socio-economic status along with associated inequalities. The data for the present study was utilized from National Family Health Survey, 2015–16 (n?=?146, 657). Descriptive, bivariate along with multivariable analysis was used to fulfil the aim of the present study. For assessing socio-economic differentials in OPH, concentration index along with Wagstaff decomposition analysis was used. It was revealed that poor older adults had a higher proportion of OPH (12.7%) than older adults from the non-poor category (3.8%). The value of concentration index was -0.38 indicating the concentration of OPH among poor older adults. Manipur had the highest value of concentration index (-0.614). The highest percentage of poor OPH among older adults was in Kerala (30.7%) and whereas it was lowest among older adults in Bihar (5.9%). About 33.6% of socio-economic status related-inequality was explained by the marital status of older adults followed by older adults’ place of residence (30.9%) and gender (29.3%). Older adults who are poor, women, never married, and living in rural areas need greater attention from both governmental and non-governmental organizations. In addition, policies should be designed by differentiating between older adults who live alone by choice and those who are forced by circumstances to map the vulnerabilities effectively.
Web: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12126-022-09497-3