Many sources of anxiety in the later adult years are mediated by genderrelated experiences. Survival is itself correlated with sex\/gender: the differential survival gap favoring females increases with advancing adult age (Gee, 1989). <\/p>\n\n\n\n
This means that elderly females are more likely to face anxieties related to (a) caring for a terminally ill spouse, (b) grieving his death, and (c) adjusting to postmarital life over an extended period of time. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Although fewer elderly men survive their wives, those who do tend to have more difficulty in sharing their grief and seeking social support (Stroebe & Stroebe, 1990).
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Gender is also a significant factor in many other types of vulnerability to anxiety in the later adult years. Elderly women tend to have fewer economic resources than men (Torres-Gil, 1992) and, as a result, have more reason to be concerned about basics such as food, transportation, home repairs, heating and telephone bills. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
In turn, a precarious financial situation is likely to arouse anxieties about losing one\u2019s own home and therefore also losing the sense of independence that is so highly valued in our society.
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Major gender differences also exist with respect to the sense of usefulness and social integration. Retirement from full-time, long-term occupational activity is still predominantly a challenge for men (although an indirect challenge, for their wives). <\/p>\n\n\n\n
It is more often the man who is faced with anxiety-arousing questions about personal identity, continued usefulness, and related issues. <\/p>\n\n\n\n