Population Surveyed

The VLV survey represents the diversity of the country by including all three lin-guistic regions (and by ensuring a mixture of areas that are predominantly catholic or protestant, and taking into account different degrees of urbanization. The can-tons⁶ included are: French speaking Geneva (GE) and Valais (VS), German speak-ing Berne (BE) and Basel (BS and BL) and Italian speakspeak-ing Ticino (TI).

The sample was drawn at random and is stratified by sex, age (ranging from 65–69, 70–74 till 90 plus) and canton, corresponding to 60 strata of each 60 indi-viduals. The targeted sample size of 3600 individuals was met for most strata though some data sets are partial due to the above described proxy-procedure.

Of an overall target of 3600 interviews, a total of 3080 complete interviews were conducted (Appendix).

Splitting up the distribution by the stratifying variables sex and age reveals that men responded more frequently than women in all cantons. For the age groups 65–69, 70–74 and 75–79 the strata are largely complete (more than 90%). Among the octogenarians we reached an average of 80% of the targeted strata size. For the age group 90 and older we had to resort more frequently to proxy-interviews, result-ing in an average of only 35 full data sets instead of the 60 that were targeted for one

5 These figures were calculated for Geneva and Central Valais.

6 In the canton of Valais, only the region ‚Central Valais’ was covered; in the canton of Berne, the survey was limited to the regions Oberland, Seeland and Mittelland. For reasons of simplicity we will refer to these cantonal regions as ‚cantons’ even though Valais and Berne were only partly sampled whereas ‚Basel’ represents both, Basel-Landschaft and Basel-Stadt.

6.3 Population Surveyed

stratum. All cantons and both sexes taken together the subsample 90+ is still among the largest data sets of the ‘oldest old’ that have been collected in Europe.

Appendix: Sample Distribution of the VLV Survey, Without Proxy Data

This table does not include proxy-data that were excluded from our analysis since the shortened questionnaire (filled out by a third party) obviously did not feature any of the subjective questions relevant for this research.

Geneva Valais Berne Basel Ticino

Age groups Women Men Women Men Women Men Women Men Women Men Total

65 – 69 58 58 58 59 62 70 67 67 58 56 613

70 – 74 56 54 58 59 65 62 57 59 57 67 594

75 – 79 58 55 50 60 63 65 57 57 55 52 572

80 – 84 43 49 45 51 54 60 56 49 43 49 499

85 – 89 44 45 35 43 49 58 40 44 44 49 451

90 + 23 35 28 30 37 39 31 52 34 42 351

Total 282 296 274 302 330 354 308 328 291 315 3080

References

Lalive d’Epinay, C., & Christe, E. (1983). Vieillesses: situations, itinéraires et modes de vie des personnes âgées aujourd’hui. Saint-Saphorin: Ed. Georgi.

Lalive d’Epinay, C., Bickel, J.-F., Maystre, C., & Vollenwyder, N. (2000). Vieillesses au fil du temps 1979–1994: une révolution tranquille: santé, situations de vie, formes de participation et visions du monde des personnes âgées en Suisse. Lausanne: Réalités sociales.

Ludwig, C., Cavalli, S., & Oris, M. (2014). “Vivre/Leben/Vivere”: An interdisciplinary survey addressing progress and inequalities of aging over the past 30 years in Switzerland. Archives of Gerontology and Geriatrics, 59(2), 240–248.

Oris, M., & Nicolet, M. (2016). Mesures et capture de la vulnérabilité dans une enquête sur les conditions de vie et de santé des personnes âgées. L’expérience de VLV (Vivre-Leben-Vivere) en Suisse. In Oris, Michel & Cordazzo, Philippe & Bellis, Gil & Brown, Elizabeth & Parant, Alain. Les populations vulnérables. Actes du XVIe colloque national de démographie (207–

224). Aix-en-Provence - 28-31 mai 2013 - Bordeaux: CUDEP (Conférence Universitaire de Démographie et d’Étude des Populations).

Tholomier, A. (2011). De l’huile dans les rouages de VLV. Les questionnaires d’une enquête inter-disciplinaire sur les personnes âgées en Suisse. Master thesis. Geneva: University of Geneva.

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© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2020

J. Henke, Revisiting Economic Vulnerability in Old Age, Life Course Research and Social Policies 11, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-36323-9_7

Chapter 7

Theoretical Model and Research Questions

The overarching objectives of this volume is to assess the contribution of a triangu-lar approach to measuring low levels of economic quality of life in view of a more nuanced profiling of economic vulnerability in wealthy countries like Switzerland, and as part of this endeavor, to evaluate the added value of distinguishing between two types of subjective measures. Figure 7.1 shows the theoretical model on which the empirical analysis is based. In line with the vulnerability framework presented earlier, the three indicators are conceptualized as simultaneously measurable mani-festations of economic vulnerability: low income, economic strain and economic stress. Though they are not considered to be different points in a process, it helps to represent them in the order of increasing subjectivity (left to right), moving from the objective to the self-assessed to the perceived measure. This way of linking the three measures moreover visualizes the increasing complexity of factors that are captured by each outcome measure as we move from objective to subjective, as well as the relative closeness between objective and self-assessed measures (shared substance level), and self-assessed and perceived measures (shared mode of evaluation). So just as shown in Fig. 4.1, where the relation between the objective and the self- assessed measure is depicted as an extension of the measure of one and the same phenomenon, a lack of financial resources (measured by the objective indicator), the same overlap is hypothesized for the perceived measurement angle: having its basis in the cognitive appraisal of the economic situation (self-assessed measure), it is moreover influenced by a series of psycho-social factors. As discussed in Part I, the analysis of how the objective and the self-assessed measure are linked has already received considerable attention across disciplinary lines; what is original in the approach presented here is the attempt to further nuance between the self-assessed and the perceived measure, while preserving the embeddedness in the objective resource situation.

Let it be said clearly, however, that our objective here is not the analysis of the two processes of appraisal that lead from low income to economic strain and from economic strain to economic stress. Rather, we are proposing a series of analyses that take each of the measures of manifest economic vulnerability as outcome

variables in regression models, or simultaneously (self-assessed and perceived mea-sures) in structural equation models (SEM). The three outcomes of low levels of economic quality of life therefore represent a snapshot ex-post the risk cycle, when the mediating model components (Financial Needs and Expectations and Psychosocial Symptoms and Consequences) are thought to have reached a set-point as a result of an individual homeostatic process. The arrows in the theoretical model (and in the SEMs) therefore only represent pathways of causality in a very restricted sense: the relationship between the three measures and the covariates is grounded in our theoretical argument and cannot be ascertained.

The fact that we consider the measurement of all of these variables to be at ‘the end’ of the risk cycle (latent vulnerability) means that we are looking at a chronic type of economic vulnerability, where the primary stressor of a diminished income at retirement¹ has been met with (if available and wanted) coping strategies, both, those aimed at changing the situation and those that merely modify the subjective meaning of the situation. Therefore, variables pertaining to self-concept and mas-tery, too, reflect the success or – put negatively – the personal ‘cost’ these strategies have incurred for the affected individual in terms of psychological and social conse-quences. The path-model is embedded in what we refer to as Background Characteristics, encompassing contextual factors and demographic characteristics.

These also include social statuses that may potentially influence any of the other model components because these characteristics tend to reflect the position of peo-ple within the larger systems of society (Pearlin 2006, p. 397, 398) and regulate access to social and cultural resources (Mayer and Wagner 1996).

Let us consider each of the model components. Low income (objective measure) is connected to the more general model component of economic resources, which includes home ownership and wealth, with the potential to jointly result in eco-nomic strain (self-assessed measure). The relationship between the model

1 The decision to focus on‚ low income’ rather than‚ economic resources’ as the objective indicator reflects the desire to make the empirical analysis pertinent for the social policy debate where income-based poverty measures are prevalent.

Psychosocial symptoms and consequences

Economic Stress

Low income Economic resources

Financial needs and expectations

Economic Strain

Background Characteristics

Fig. 7.1 Model for measuring economic vulnerability in a triangular approach

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component economic resources and economic strain is mediated by (higher) expec-tations of a certain living standard and (increased) financial needs. It is not always easy to distinguish between the two. Tough we will attempt to differentiate them in the interpretation of our statistical models we conceptualize them as one single source of influence on economic strain. The added value of our model lies exactly in the possibility of taking the analysis a step further: two people who report the same level of economic strain, that is they experience some degree of inadequacy of resources, do not suffer of it in same way psychologically. We therefore posit that, in addition to the direct effect of economic strain on economic stress (perceived measure), the influence of economic strain is mediated by psychosocial symptoms and consequences, for example (higher) social isolation, (lower) sense of self and a (lower) sense of mastery.

Before we move on to the specific research questions, we need to briefly expound on the theoretical distinction between the sense of mastery and the self-concept on the one hand (as part of model component Psychosocial Symptoms and Consequences) and the perceived measure of economic vulnerability. In a discus-sion of the relationship between the above-mentioned psychological concepts and their predictive power for depression, Pearlin raises the legitimate question whether

‘lowered self-esteem and mastery are inherent and inseparable symptoms of depres-sion itself, not independent conditions whose loss contributes to the exacerbation of depression’ (Pearlin 1989, p. 346). The same question must be asked about the dis-tinctiveness of these concepts from economic stress as outcome variable. If it is true that, as we posit in our model, a lower self-esteem and a decreased sense of mastery are independent conditions that contribute to economic stress, we should be able to observe situations were economic stress exists but independently from lower levels of mastery and self-esteem. Indeed, we argue that that the presence of these psycho-social conditions reflects a perceived ineffectiveness or inadequacy of coping capac-ities resulting in an increased probability that resource inadequacy (economic strain) provokes stress. Inversely, elders possessing a strong sense of mastery may be more efficient in working out strategies to modify a potentially stressful environment.

This problem-oriented coping can enable older adults to reduce financial difficulties in the future and to effectively contain economic hardship so that it does not intrude into other aspects of life and threaten their role and relationship functioning.

Therefore, successful problem solving can prevent distress associated with difficult financial circumstances. Additionally, elders with high mastery may be more likely to appraise financial difficulties as controllable, focusing on those aspects of their financial situation that are amenable to change (Lazarus and Folkman 1984; Taylor and Aspinwall 1996). Analogous to Pearlin’s logic, we may test this possibility by assessing the variations in mastery and self-esteem, on the one hand, and economic stress, on the other hand. If they vary independently from each other, we have found evidence that they are not merely measures of the same underlying condition of economic vulnerability.

From the general aims of this volume, stated at the end of Part I, arise the follow-ing research questions and hypotheses that will guide our empirical research: