The purpose of this study was to examine changes in pre- to postretirement familial relationships as they are perceived by retirees. The goal is to both study the effect of retirement and aging on the late midlife individual and social system, and to create interest and expertise among family clinicians in working with this cohort. The Retirement Life Style Survey, consisting of 23 questions, was administered to 63 retirees, addressing changing familial relationship patterns from pre- to postretirement. Questions were designed to reflect varied response techniques, including (1) forced choice, (2) Likert-type scale, and (3) open ended answers which allowed the respondents to comment on their experiences. The sample population consisted of voluntary subjects from AARP, senior centers, and retiree volunteer and learning organizations. In an attempt to control the influence of aging, subjects were limited to those retired between six months and ten years. The hypotheses were drawn from the literature on retirement and human development, as well as from commonly held myths and stereotypes regarding retirement. Four hypotheses were tested. Hypothesis one states that there will be a correlation between retirement and the perception that roles have shifted. Retirees will see themselves as less influential in family decision-making and less powerful in the family hierarchy. Hypothesis two postulates that retirement will not be shown to adversely affect good familial relationships or positively affect poor familial relationships. Hypothesis three states retirees experiencing financial insecurity will be more likely to feel dissatisfied with retirement and their familial relationships than those who are secure. Hypothesis four states that postretirement life satisfaction will correlate significantly with preretirement life satisfaction. Contrary to the prediction of hypothesis one, there were not significant role shifts from pre- to postretirement. Subjects did not perceive that they had less influence in family decision-making and less power in the family decision-making. The first section of hypothesis two was supported in that good relationships were not adversely affected by retirement, but as 92.1% of the subjects viewed their families as close or somewhat close, the sample did not allow for evaluation of the second section of the hypothesis. Examination of the issue would require selection of either a much larger cohort, or one drawn from a dysfunctional population. Evaluation of this hypothesis is further complicated by a high nonresponse rate on questions concerning relationships with spouse due, in part, to a high percentage of subjects who are widowed. Hypothesis three was also not supported. However, the responses did raise points which would warrant further study. Over 67% viewed their income as adequate or more than adequate to meet their needs, but of those who did not, over half felt this affected their physical and emotional health. Again, examination of this issue would require a different sample. Hypothesis four was supported. There was a correlation between preretirement satisfaction and postretirement satisfaction. Activities changed somewhat, reflecting the increase in discretionary time and enjoyment of family relationships. However, as is to be expected, health declined. Implications for clinical practice focus on both what is supported and what remains unclear.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:UMASS/oai:scholarworks.umass.edu:dissertations-9035 |
| Date | 01 January 1995 |
| Creators | Christiansen, JoAnn |
| Publisher | ScholarWorks@UMass Amherst |
| Source Sets | University of Massachusetts, Amherst |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | text |
| Source | Doctoral Dissertations Available from Proquest |
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