Sus vidas y amores… - AARP

Sus vidas y amores...

(Their Lives and Loves...)

Latino Singles At Midlife and Beyond

Commissioned by AARP Segunda Juventud Conducted by ICR

?Copyright 2005 AARP August 2005

Knowledge Management 601 E St. NW

Washington, DC 20049 Reprinting with permission only

For more information contact: Xenia P. Montenegro, Ph.D., Project Director at 202-434-3538, xmontenegro@

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AARP is a nonprofit, nonpartisan membership organization that helps people 50+ to have independence, choice and control in ways that are beneficial and affordable to them and society as a whole. We produce AARP The Magazine, published bimonthly; AARP Bulletin, our monthly newspaper; AARP Segunda Juventud, our bimonthly magazine in Spanish and English; NRTA Live & Learn, our quarterly newspaper for 50+ educators; and our website, . AARP Foundation is an affiliated charity that provides security, protection, and empowerment to older persons in need with support from thousands of volunteers, donors, and sponsors. We have staffed offices in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

Acknowledgements

We would like to thank ICR, especially Melissa Herman and Jennifer Schmidt for their work in conducting this survey and preparing the report. Millie DePallo also assisted with the analysis and report preparation. Many AARP staff contributed to this project. From AARP Segunda Juventud, the sponsor of the survey, we want to thank Gaby Goddard and Julia Lobaco for their sponsorship and creative insights. From National Member Research, Knowledge Management, Tracy Needham assisted with the Spanish questionnaire translation. Carol Keegan reviewed the final report and Jean Kalata assisted with the quality checks.

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Contents

Executive Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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Background and Objectives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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Methodology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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Detailed Findings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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1. Overall Life Satisfaction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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2. Singles Lifestyle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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3. Dating . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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4. Divorce . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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Demographic Profile . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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Summary Tables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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Annotated Questionnaire . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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Response Rate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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Executive Summary

Lifestyles, Dating and Romance: A Study of Midlife Singles, graced the pages of AARP The Magazine in the fall of 2003. The magazine showed how single men and women at midlife and beyond are not the stereotyped widows, widowers, spinsters, and confirmed bachelors of generations ago. This image has been changing as boomers liberalize sexual attitudes. Many singles never marry by their own choice. Divorce is also more common and divorcees now make up the plurality of singles between the ages of 40-69, followed by the never married.

Part of AARP's mission is to inform the public of issues that impact the midlife and older population. This research, commissioned by AARP's Spanish language and bilingual magazine, AARP Segunda Juventud, is designed to look into midlife and older Hispanics' thoughts and feelings about what it means to be single or divorced, and dating. AARP Segunda Juventud also wanted to feature in the magazine the lives and loves of midlife and older Hispanic singles. More importantly, the study results provide valuable guidance in developing programs and providing quality of life enhancement activities that will benefit Hispanic singles.

Key Findings

The findings in this report are based on a nationally representative sample of 504 telephone interviews with Hispanic midlife and older adults.

1. Latino Singles' Lifestyles

Most Latino singles have been living the single life for a while: 77% have either never married (32%) or have been single more than 5 years (45%). Most in this age group of 40-69 are women (58%), and half are between the ages of 40 and 50 years old. Men and women in this population are quite different in terms of their living arrangements: Men more often live alone while women have a much wider array of living situations, including living with roommates, family, kids and/or grandkids.

What life experiences have these single Latinos gone through? During the three years prior to the survey, the most common distressing experiences these singles had were a death in the family and/or illness of self or a family member. Additionally, about one-quarter have started or ended relationships, changed jobs, retired, or had children leave home in recent years.

How do these singles spend their leisure time? Most frequently, almost all watch TV and spend time with their families in their free time, followed by reading and socializing with friends. Almost half of the men say they play sports often, and a majority of the men exercise at least 3 times a week. About half of the respondents (mostly women) say they rarely or never spend a romantic evening with a date or partner.

What are the ups and downs of singlehood? While just a handful of singles surveyed (more often older ones) say there is nothing they like about being single, most admit that having personal freedom is tops. Relatedly, many say they enjoy not having to "deal with" another person.

Sus vidas y amores...Latino Singles at Midlife and Beyond 4

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