Aging Alone? The Well-being of Older Adults without Close Kin

Rachel Margolis (University of Western Ontario)

Each year, the Rotman Institute of Philosophy and the Department of Philosophy at Western University organize a public lecture series, co-sponsored with the London Public Library. The theme for this year’s lecture series is happiness and well-being. The four speakers taking part in this year’s series have expertise in a range of fields–ethics, feminist philosophy, philosophy of science, and sociology–and will address the theme from unique perspectives. All lectures will be held in the Stevenson & Hunt Room at Central Library, on Thursday evenings, from 7 – 8:30 pm, on the dates listed below. Attendance will be free and open to the general public.

ABSTRACT

Family members provide many important functions such as childcare, financial support and caregiving. Because of demographic changes, older people today may have fewer kin to reply on than in the past. This lecture addresses changes in family networks among older adults and the implications for health, well-being and social integration.

SPEAKER PROFILE

Rachel Margolis is an Associate Professor in the Department of Sociology at the University of Western Ontario. Her research addresses how family dynamics shape population change in developed countries. She works in the following areas: demography, fertility and family change, population aging, population health and well-being, and medical sociology. She did her PhD in Demography and Sociology at the University of Pennsylvania, MSc in Population and Development at LSE, and BA in Government at Cornell University.