Howard Litwin
Biographic Data
| ID | 205036 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Howard Litwin |
| GIVEN NAMES | Howard |
| FAMILY NAME | Litwin |
| SIGNATURE | LITWIN H |
| AFFILIATIONS | Hebrew University of Jerusalem |
| ORCID | 0000-0003-1323-4562 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 55 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 350 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 54 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 1 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 1983 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2023 |
| H-INDEX | 11 |
The Interplay of Personality Traits and Social Network Characteristics in the Subjective Well-Being of Older Adults
Using data from the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe, we regressed three well-being measures (CASP, life satisfaction and Euro-D depressive symptoms) on indicators of personality and social network. Personality was indicated by the Big-Five personality traits, while social network was measured in terms of size, contact frequency and emotional closeness. The analysis also considered personality—network interactions, controlling fo…
A longitudinal study on public policy and the health of in-house caregivers in Europe
Always alone? Network transitions among detached older Europeans and their effects
The present study investigated the changes that occurred within the interpersonal environments of a sample of socially isolated older Europeans after four years. Based upon data from the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARE), the inquiry looked at 834 older people who were socially detached at baseline, at follow-up or at both time-points. The analysis traced changes in relation to the social network types that they acquired o…
The association of mobility limitation and social networks in relation to late-life activity
The current study examines the interaction between mobility limitations and social networks in relation to activity in later life. Although the importance of activity participation to successful ageing has been well established, it is still unclear what contributes to higher levels of activity. This research addresses this issue, using data from the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe. The analysis focuses on a sub-sample of respond…
Religiosity and well-being among older Jewish Israelis: Findings from SHARE
This study examined the correlates of religiosity among Jewish Israelis aged 50 and older. Based on the second wave of Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe, the findings show that almost half the Jewish respondents never pray and that, on average, prayer frequency is lower among Jewish Israelis than it is among most of their European counterparts. Multivariate logistic analyses revealed that those who pray more often have more health…
The Complex Association Between Fear of Falling and Mobility Limitation in Relation to Late-Life Falls: A SHARE-Based Analysis
The analysis underscores a complex association between FOF and mobility limitation in relation to late-life falls. People who are worried about falling tend to fall more. Those having high mobility limitation but lacking FOF are also more likely to fall. In cases of considerable mobility limitation, FOF may act as a protective buffer. The less worried in this group, however, may be subject to greater falling, and thus require greater attention
The Reciprocal Relationship Between Social Connectedness and Mental Health Among Older European Adults: A SHARE-Based Analysis
The results of this study demonstrate the dynamic inter-relationship of social networks and mental health. It highlights the need to take into account both directions of influence when studying the impact of social relationships on mental health
Ageing in Europe - Supporting Policies for an Inclusive Society
SHARE is an international survey designed to answer the societal challenges that face us due to rapid population ageing. How do we Europeans age? How will we do economically, socially and healthwise? How are these domains interrelated? The authors of this multidisciplinary book have taken a further big step towards answering these questions based on the recent SHARE data in order to support policies for an inclusive society
The Role of the Social Network in Early Retirement Among Older Europeans
Drawing upon data from the fourth wave (2010) of the Survey of Health Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARE), the current analysis used a cross-nationally harmonized, name-generating personal social network inventory to examine the network correlates of early exit from the work force. The sample included all respondents younger than the official retirement age in 16 countries (N = 15,305, of whom 1,104 had retired early). Early retirement status…
Comparaison de l’entraide familiale à l’échelle européenne: Idées reçues, réalités et incertitudes
La solidarité familiale intergénérationnelle est bien vivace en Europe, ce que confirment les résultats des vagues successives de l’enquête Share. La variation de ses formes d’un pays à l’autre ne peut se résumer à l’opposition entre un Nord « individualiste » et un Sud « familialiste », et ne correspond pas nécessairement aux types d’État-Providence, définis par Esping-Andersen. Dans tous les pays, le soutien financier va des plus âgés vers les …
Changes in Health Behaviors and Their Associations With Depressive Symptoms Among Israelis Aged 50
Changes in health behaviors are related to mental health in late life, but their effect is mediated by physical and functional health. Future interventions should nevertheless target older individuals who stop physical activity and those who remain inactive to lessen the risk of depression
The Effect of Lifetime Cumulative Adversity and Depressive Symptoms on Functional Status
LCA is associated with a hastening of the disablement process, especially under conditions of high distress. Although the overall modest effects imply that resilience to lifetime adversity is widespread among older adults, prevention and intervention programs should consider that distressed older adults previously exposed to high levels of lifetime adversity are at risk for more rapid impairment in functional status
Financial worry among older people: Who worries and why
Social networks and subjective wellbeing among older Europeans: Does age make a difference
This inquiry examined whether social networks are associated with wellbeing among older-old people in the same way that they are among younger-old persons. The study focused on family respondents, aged 60 and older, from the second wave of the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (N=14,728). The statistical analysis regressed two wellbeing measures (the CASP quality of life scale and life satisfaction) on a range of social network va…
Self-Reported Functional Status Among the Old-Old: A Comparison of Two Israeli Cohorts
The findings suggest that different measures used to assess the disablement process capture different aspects and that contextual factors influence how older people rate their own functional capacity
Modernisation and filial piety among traditional family care-givers: A study of Arab-Israelis in cultural transition
The purpose of this paper was to examine the association of modernisation and filial piety among adult children care-givers of elderly Arab parents in Israel, and to identify factors that mediate the association. Cross-sectional data were collected in 2006–07 through structured interviews with 250 randomly sampled Arab-Israeli adult children care-givers. Hierarchical regression was then applied to the study variables in the respondents’ scores on…
Potentially traumatic events at different points in the life span and mental health: Findings from SHARE-Israel
This study addressed the association between adversity cumulated at different points in the life span and present mental health. Data of 1,130 participants aged 50+ were drawn from the Israeli component of the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARE). Measures included an inventory of potentially traumatic events, mental distress (depressive symptoms), and well-being (quality of life, life satisfaction). Adversity reported to hav…
Social network type and health-related behaviors: Evidence from an American national survey
Social Network Type and Subjective Well-being in a National Sample of Older Americans
PURPOSE: The study considers the social networks of older Americans, a population for whom there have been few studies of social network type. It also examines associations between network types and well-being indicators: loneliness, anxiety, and happiness. DESIGN AND METHODS: A subsample of persons aged 65 years and older from the first wave of the National Social Life, Health, and Aging Project was employed (N = 1,462). We applied K-means clust…
The Subjective Well-Being of Immigrants Aged 50 and Older in Israel
Perceived Income Adequacy Among Older Adults in 12 Countries: Findings From the Survey of Health, Ageing, and Retirement in Europe
PURPOSE: To validate a survey research measure of subjective income, as measured by perceived income adequacy, in an international context. DESIGN AND METHODS: The study population comprised persons aged 50 years and older in 12 countries from the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (n = 28,939). Perceived difficulty in making ends meet was regressed on sociodemographic variables, economic indicators, health status measures, and exp…
Social Networks and Well-being: A Comparison of Older People in Mediterranean and Non-Mediterranean Countries
The findings underscore that the social network phenomenon is contextually bound. The social networks of older people should be seen within their unique regional milieu and in relation to the values and social norms that prevail in different sets of societies
Who supports delayed retirement? A study of older workers in Israel
Delayed retirement is a policy measure aimed at ensuring financial stability in many countries, but this particular pension reform mechanism still lacks public support. Using data from the Israeli sample of the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement (SHARE) in Europe, this article examines factors which predict support for delayed retirement among older Israeli workers (n=556). Hierarchical regression analysis of agreement with recently institut…
Understanding Aging in a Middle Eastern Context: The SHARE-Israel Survey of Persons Aged 50 and Older
The inter-relationship between formal and informal care: A study in France and Israel
This study examined whether formal care services delivered to frail older people's homes in France and Israel substitute for or complement informal support. The two countries have comparable family welfare systems but many historical, cultural and religious differences. Data for the respondents aged 75 or more years at the first wave of the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARE) were analysed. Regressions were examined of three…
The Subjective Well-Being of Immigrants Aged 50 and Older in Israel
Social Networks and Well-being: A Comparison of Older People in Mediterranean and Non-Mediterranean Countries
The findings underscore that the social network phenomenon is contextually bound. The social networks of older people should be seen within their unique regional milieu and in relation to the values and social norms that prevail in different sets of societies
Social network type and health status in a national sample of elderly Israelis
Social network type and social support among the old-old
The social networks of elderly immigrants: An analytic typology
The association between activity and wellbeing in later life: What really matters
This paper reports a study of the complex associations between older people's participation in activities and their wellbeing in later life using data from a national sample of 1,334 Jewish-Israeli retirees. Confirmatory factor analysis substantiated a division of the activities into solitary, formal and informal categories, as postulated by activity theory. The outcome measure, the latent construct wellbeing, was compiled from scores on the 12-i…
Social network type and health-related behaviors: Evidence from an American national survey
The inter-relationship between formal and informal care: A study in France and Israel
This study examined whether formal care services delivered to frail older people's homes in France and Israel substitute for or complement informal support. The two countries have comparable family welfare systems but many historical, cultural and religious differences. Data for the respondents aged 75 or more years at the first wave of the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARE) were analysed. Regressions were examined of three…
Social Networks and Self-Rated Health: A Cross-Cultural Examination Among Older Israelis
The findings demonstrate that social networks impact health differently in different cultural groups and under conditions of social change, such as migration in later-life
Social networks and subjective wellbeing among older Europeans: Does age make a difference
This inquiry examined whether social networks are associated with wellbeing among older-old people in the same way that they are among younger-old persons. The study focused on family respondents, aged 60 and older, from the second wave of the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (N=14,728). The statistical analysis regressed two wellbeing measures (the CASP quality of life scale and life satisfaction) on a range of social network va…
Elder participation in cyberspace: A qualitative analysis of Israeli retirees
The network shifts of elderly immigrants: The case of Soviet Jews in Israel
Does early retirement lead to longer life
It has been claimed, but not empirically supported, that early retirement leads to longer life. The present investigation addressed this question using data from a 1997 Israeli national household survey of adults aged 60 or more years linked to mortality records from the national death registry, for 2004. The study examined the association between early retirement and seven-year all-cause mortality among the population of older Jewish Israelis wh…
Modernisation and filial piety among traditional family care-givers: A study of Arab-Israelis in cultural transition
The purpose of this paper was to examine the association of modernisation and filial piety among adult children care-givers of elderly Arab parents in Israel, and to identify factors that mediate the association. Cross-sectional data were collected in 2006–07 through structured interviews with 250 randomly sampled Arab-Israeli adult children care-givers. Hierarchical regression was then applied to the study variables in the respondents’ scores on…
Late-Life Migration, Work Status, and Survival: The Case of Older Immigrants from the Former Soviet Union in Israel
This analysis examined mortality among late-life Soviet Jewish immigrants in Israel, and the contribution of post-migration work status to their survival. The study linked 1997 survey data to mortality records, seven years hence. The results revealed that mortality was associated with older age, male gender, morbidity, and having less resourceful social networks. More importantly, after controlling for these background variables work status remai…
Social Networks, Social Support, and Self-Ratings of Health among the Elderly
Social networks and the support they may provide have been shown to be important determinants of the health of the elderly. This study compares structural and support aspects of those networks in their relationship with self-latings of health among 200 elderly residents of the city of Jerusalem. Perceived social support was found to be a more important predictor of health than were measures of network structure. Further, the relation between supp…
Social Networks and the Poor: Toward Effective Policy and Practice
A social network approach to social welfare is gaining in popularity. A study of a large random sample of adults, however, revealed significantly fewer network resources among the poor than among higher income groups. Therefore, the authors assert that social workers must avoid addressing the problems of the poor solely through informal networks and target network interventions carefully to achieve maximum effectiveness
The Role of the Social Network in Early Retirement Among Older Europeans
Drawing upon data from the fourth wave (2010) of the Survey of Health Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARE), the current analysis used a cross-nationally harmonized, name-generating personal social network inventory to examine the network correlates of early exit from the work force. The sample included all respondents younger than the official retirement age in 16 countries (N = 15,305, of whom 1,104 had retired early). Early retirement status…
Financial worry among older people: Who worries and why
The Effect of Lifetime Cumulative Adversity and Depressive Symptoms on Functional Status
LCA is associated with a hastening of the disablement process, especially under conditions of high distress. Although the overall modest effects imply that resilience to lifetime adversity is widespread among older adults, prevention and intervention programs should consider that distressed older adults previously exposed to high levels of lifetime adversity are at risk for more rapid impairment in functional status
The Path to Well-Being among Elderly Arab Israelis
Social networks, ethnicity and public home-care utilisation
This article examines the relationships between support networks, ethnicity and the utilisation of formal care services, taking into account background characteristics and functional health status among 3,403 older people in Israel. Data were drawn from a national survey in 1997 of people aged 60 or more years. The outcome variable was the use of publicly-financed personal care or homemaking services. About 15 per cent of the study population mad…
The Association of Disability, Sociodemographic Background, and Social Network Type in Later Life
The article examines the association of disability and sociodemographic background with the type of social network in which elders are embedded and considers the implications of such associations for network continuity. METHODS. Secondary analysis of data from a national probability sample of Jewish adults aged 60 and older in Israel (N = 2,079) was used. Multinomial logistic regression analysis was employed to predict membership in different net…
The Parameters of Network Intervention: A Social Work Application
Parallel to the recent expansion of knowledge about social networks and their implications for physical and emotional well-being, there has been a move by social policymakers and social work practitioners to engage actively in network interventions. These interventions are employed, for the most part, independently of theoretical developments in this area. This article builds on a review of network theories to present an analytical paradigm. By p…
The Reciprocal Relationship Between Social Connectedness and Mental Health Among Older European Adults: A SHARE-Based Analysis
The results of this study demonstrate the dynamic inter-relationship of social networks and mental health. It highlights the need to take into account both directions of influence when studying the impact of social relationships on mental health
Volunteers as Ombudsmen for the Aged in Long-Stay Institutions
Long Term Care Advocacy Delivery Systems: State and Local Responsibilities
This paper reports the results of a national comparative study of nursing home ombudsman programs for the institutionalized elderly. Of recent origin, patient representative programs have received little critical assessment as to their success in improving the quality of life of America's most vulnerable aged. At the same time, anticipated increases in the number of institutionalized aged coupled with current austerity measures in the health and …
Community Monitoring of Nursing Home Care: Proprietary and Non-Profit Association Perspectives
Data obtained from a national population of state representatives of non-profit and proprietary nursing home associations (N =55) are used to identify normative stances taken by longterm care spokespersons. Findings fail to confirm the idea of community surveillance of patient care by nursing home ombudsmen on the part of proprietary long-term care association representatives. Non-profit spokespersons were significantly more likely to agree that …
Resolving Grievances in the Nursing Home: A Study of the Ombudsman Program
1. Antecedents of the Ombudsman Program 2. Structuring Quality Assurance Mechanisms for the Elderly in Long-Term Care 3. Study Methodology 4. The Ombudsman and the Complaint Grievance Process 5. What Do Ombudsmen Do? 6. Do Ombudsman Programs Get Results? 7. The Future of the Ombudsman
The Parameters of Network Intervention: A Social Work Application
Parallel to the recent expansion of knowledge about social networks and their implications for physical and emotional well-being, there has been a move by social policymakers and social work practitioners to engage actively in network interventions. These interventions are employed, for the most part, independently of theoretical developments in this area. This article builds on a review of network theories to present an analytical paradigm. By p…
Sociability and Patterns of Participation: Implications for Social Service Policy
In policy circles, a response to meeting human needs through social networks and voluntary organizations is increasingly viewed as a substitute for publicly provided services. While prior research suggests that participation in these two types of voluntary activity may be related, the relationship is little understood. A secondary analysis of national survey data was carried out using bivariate and multivariate techniques to ascertain the relatio…
Between Social Networks and Formal Social Services
This article reports a study of the social networks of recent applicants to the social welfare bureaux of Jerusalem. Beyond review of the relevant study variables as reflected in the literature, and an overview of Israeli social services for the aged, the article addresses why the social networks of the elderly claimants turned to formal assistance. The study revealed that networks were most likely to be the source of referral to social services …
Social Networks and the Poor: Toward Effective Policy and Practice
A social network approach to social welfare is gaining in popularity. A study of a large random sample of adults, however, revealed significantly fewer network resources among the poor than among higher income groups. Therefore, the authors assert that social workers must avoid addressing the problems of the poor solely through informal networks and target network interventions carefully to achieve maximum effectiveness
Social Networks, Social Support, and Self-Ratings of Health among the Elderly
Social networks and the support they may provide have been shown to be important determinants of the health of the elderly. This study compares structural and support aspects of those networks in their relationship with self-latings of health among 200 elderly residents of the city of Jerusalem. Perceived social support was found to be a more important predictor of health than were measures of network structure. Further, the relation between supp…
Correlates of Social Worker Contact with Clients' Family Networks
The study examined the degree of social worker contact with the family networks of a sample of new elderly applicants (N = 122) to the social welfare services of Jerusalem. Greater contact was correlated with frail status of the client and a request for institutional care. A curvilinear relationship was found with network accessibility. These correlations disappeared, however, when degree of family initiated contact with the social worker was con…
Ethnicity and informal support among filial caregivers: Analysis of an Israeli sample
Neighborhood Self-Management in Jerusalem: Planning Issues and Implementation Dilemmas
This article examines the emerging structure of neighborhood self-management in Jerusalem, a project based on the merger of various community decision organizations into a single neighborhood authority. Results from a field study of community opinion leaders and key informants revealed that the venture is seen to portend several potential benefits, such as encouraging uniform neighborhood participation, preventing community conflict and limiting …
The social networks of elderly immigrants: An analytic typology
The network shifts of elderly immigrants: The case of Soviet Jews in Israel
Social network type and health status in a national sample of elderly Israelis
The Social Networks of Older People: A Cross-National Analysis
Figures and Tables Introduction by Howard Litwin The Social Networks of Elderly People in Sweden by Lars Andersson and Gerdt Sundstrom The Lineage-Structured Social Networks of Older People in France by Claudine Attias-Donfut and Alain Rozenkier The Elderly in Spain: The Dominance of Family and the Wherewithal of the State by Francois Beland and Maria-Victoria Zunzunegui Profiles of the Social Networks of Canada's Elderly: An Analysis of 1990 Gen…
Support Network Type and Patterns of Help Giving and Receiving Among Older People
This study examined the relationship between support network types and the provision and receipt of support among adults aged 60 and over (N = 2646). Findings revealed different helping patterns by network type. The pattern in the diversified network was one of giving. Older people in the religious family focused type had a pattern of receiving. The traditional extended family network type reflected mutual exchange. Respondents in the friend and …
Measuring Rational and Organizational-Political Planning Activities of Community Organization Workers
Social planning in community organization work reflects two dominant planning styles-a rational style and an organizational-political style. Drawing upon literature from related disciplines, this article describes the development of an expert test that identified indices for the measurement of rational planning activity on the one hand, and organizational-political planning activity on the other. These indices were then applied to investigate the…
Social network type and social support among the old-old
Social Network Type and Morale in Old Age
PURPOSE: The aim of this research was to derive network types among an elderly population and to examine the relationship of network type to morale. DESIGN AND METHODS: Secondary analysis of data compiled by the Israeli Central Bureau of Statistics (n = 2,079) was employed, and network types were derived through K-means cluster analysis. Respondents' morale scores were regressed on network types, controlling for background and health variables. R…
The Association of Disability, Sociodemographic Background, and Social Network Type in Later Life
The article examines the association of disability and sociodemographic background with the type of social network in which elders are embedded and considers the implications of such associations for network continuity. METHODS. Secondary analysis of data from a national probability sample of Jewish adults aged 60 and older in Israel (N = 2,079) was used. Multinomial logistic regression analysis was employed to predict membership in different net…
A multivariate examination of explanations for the occurrence of elder abuse
The goal of the study was to determine the relative strength of four major explanations for the rise of elder abuse among a population in transition from traditional to modern culture. The study compared a sample of 120 abused elderly Arab Israelis with a control group of 120 nonabused older adults from the same background. The abuse status outcome was regressed in a hierarchical logistic procedure on indicators of sociodemographic status, depend…
Elder participation in cyberspace: A qualitative analysis of Israeli retirees
Social networks, ethnicity and public home-care utilisation
This article examines the relationships between support networks, ethnicity and the utilisation of formal care services, taking into account background characteristics and functional health status among 3,403 older people in Israel. Data were drawn from a national survey in 1997 of people aged 60 or more years. The outcome variable was the use of publicly-financed personal care or homemaking services. About 15 per cent of the study population mad…
Network Type and Mortality Risk in Later Life
PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to examine the association of baseline network type and 7-year mortality risk in later life. DESIGN AND METHODS: We executed secondary analysis of all-cause mortality in Israel using data from a 1997 national survey of adults aged 60 and older (N=5,055) that was linked to records from the National Death Registry up to 2004. We considered six network types--diverse, friend focused, neighbor focused, family fo…
Psychology (43 works) · Medicine (41 works) · Health disparities and outcomes (32 works) · Gerontology (30 works) · Political science (26 works) · Sociology (26 works) · Social Psychology (23 works) · Computer Science (17 works) · Demography (17 works) · Economics (16 works)