Age Differences and Age Changes in Activities: Baltimore Longitudinal Study of Aging

Abstract

This study examines cross-sectional age differences, longitudinal age changes, and secular changes in obligatory, committed, and discretionary activities, using activity questionnaire completed by men and women participants in the Baltimore Longitudinal Study of Aging between 1958 and 1992. (1) Time spent, on obligatory activities and passive leisure is greatest, and on committed activities and active leisure least, for older adults. (2) Longitudinal patterns usually mirror cross-sectional ones. There are pronounced exceptions for women whose paid work time has been increasing and housework decreasing, while cross-sectional patterns show the reverse. (3) Over recent decades, time in committed activities shifted in opposite ways for men and women. Men decreased paid work and increased housework, repairs and yardwork, shopping, and child-care, while women increased paid work and decreased housework. In sum, the age structure of activities has persisted in the midst of new social opportunities; gender roles have proven more malleable than age roles.

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