本場次聚焦高齡化社會的幾個重要議題，包括單身高齡家戶的變遷趨勢、中高齡手足的互動與支持、以及主觀福祉在年齡層、世代間的差異。

摘要/ Abstract：
The U-curve hypothesis about age and happiness has recently been reexamined to ascertain its validity in cross-national contexts. A prevalent argument is that it is not universal as a life course pattern and that the difference across genders are of a great magnitude. This paper attempts to address these two major issues by using a large-scale global survey data and investigates the hypothesis that life satisfaction tends to decline in middle age and rebounds later on and that females are no different from males in showing such a pattern. On the basis of World Values Survey, this study is able to pool multiple waves (4-5 fives) in a time span of over 20 years in a number of higher-, middle-, and lower-income countries and differentiate age effects from those of periods and cohorts. The outcomes from the Age-Period-Cohort Analysis of the US, Mexico, Turkey, Japan, South Korea, China, Chile and Peru are provided for the interest of cross-national comparison.

摘要/Abstract：
Over the past decades, the aging population has increased, and family structure changes have raised health, well-being, and caregiving issues among older adults. Prior studies have found that family patterns change rapidly among the older population in Western societies. For example, older adults tend to get divorced (gray divorce) and are likely to have diverse partnership experiences (dating, cohabitation, or living apart together relationships). The other trend about kinlessness also indicates that older adults are likely to be single without a spouse or children because people are likely to unmarried and have fewer children.   

Recent trends show that the older population is increasing fast in East Asian societies such as Taiwan. Moreover, later and fewer marriages, low fertility, and longer life expectancy in Taiwan imply that the society will face pressure with a lack of labor force and high costs and burdens in the healthcare system due to the growth of the aging population. When family remains to play the critical role of providing support and care, exploring how the family structure changes among older adults in Taiwan is essential. Do we have similar patterns of changes in family structure as in Western society? How do we cope with these changes in the aging population of Taiwan? Although there are studies to examine singlehood in Taiwan, most research focuses on young adults, and limited studies examine how family structure changes among older adults in Taiwan. This paper uses Taiwan census data to examine how singlehood and marital status among adults aged 50 and older change over time. Additionally, we use data from the Taiwan Social Change Survey to explore the characteristics of single older adults in Taiwan.  

The preliminary findings from the census data showed that the proportion of single adults aged 50 and older increased from 26% of the total population in 1996 to 35% in 2022. Though most singlehood was due to widowhood in Taiwan, the number of never married and divorced adults aged 50 and older increased between 1996 and 2022. When we used data from the Taiwan Social Change Survey in 2006 and 2016, the findings showed that compared to married adults aged 50 and older, singles were likely to have lower educational attainments and are currently unemployed. Singles were also more often to be women and living alone. 

The increase in singlehood implies that more older adults lack support from close family. These singles, such as women, may be vulnerable in health and well-being. Accordingly, this study will provide implications for future research or policymakers to consider whether the welfare system prepares and provides available resources for older singles in Taiwan. We will keep exploring how health indicators or well-being are associated with singlehood and whether single older adults are likely to be disadvantaged in health and well-being in Taiwan.

摘要/Abstract：
This study has two goals: First, we explore the LTC preferences among the young, middle-aged and older cohorts of Taiwan adults. Then, we analyzed the effects of the filial norms and family relationships on people’s LTC preferences. Data were taken from the 2021 Taiwan Social Change Survey, phase five, wave two (Institute of Sociology, Academia Sinica, Taiwan, 2021). After deleting subjects with missing data, the final sample included 1498 respondents. Participants were categorized by age into young adults (ages 18-39), middle-aged adults (ages 40-64), and older adults (aged older than 64). Respondent's attitudes toward LTC models were collected by asking respondents to suggest the best choice of care for a family if the family had to take care of a dependent older adults. According the Long-term Care Service Act amended in 2021, this study divided the preferences for future care needs into three types. The first type: Home Care included help provided mainly by relatives or other care services provided within the home. The second type: Community-Based Care services included day and temporary care. The third type: Institutional Care delivered by persons from outside the primary group, such as assisted living facilities, or nursing homes. Multinomial logistic regression (MLR) was performed to analyze the effects of the personal characteristics, filial norms and family relationships among different age groups’ preferences for the LTC models for older adults. Family care (56.7%) was the first preference LTC model and 31.2% chose Community-Based Care services, but only 12.1% chose Institutional Care. LTC preferences differed by age groups. Middle-aged and older adults were more than young adults inclined to believe that “Institutional Care” was ideal for the older adults. Regardless of age, more educated preferred “Community- Based Care”, and stronger sense of filial norms tended to prefer “Home Care”. Furthermore, our analysis shows the importance of interaction in families, family relation satisfaction influences on LTC model preferences. The present study expands the current knowledge about different age groups’ LTC preferences, by not only taking into account individual characteristics, but also looks at examining how social norms and family relationships affect those preferences. In conclusion, the findings inform both policymakers and service providers considering the planning and implementation of long-term care options for older adults.
 
Keywords: Long-term Care, Preferences, Family Relationships, Filial Norms