How Baby-Boomers in the United States Anticipate Their Aging Future: Implications for the Silver Market

M. Silverstein and A. Abramson
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M. Silverstein: University of Southern California
A. Abramson: Retirement Living TV

Chapter 5 in The Silver Market Phenomenon, 2008, pp 55-69 from Springer

Abstract: Abstract This chapter examines three types of aging anxiety among baby-boomers in the United States and discusses their implications for the silver market of older consumers. We use data from a national sample of 473 baby-boomers to examine the structure and predictors of aging anxiety. We find that three dimensions adequately describe the apprehensions that this generation has about growing old: anxiety over the loss of autonomy emerged as the most powerful factor, followed by uneasiness over the physical manifestations of aging, and optimism/pessimism with regard to expecting continuity and contentment in old age. A variety of factors are associated with these dimensions, including gender, marital status, income, knowledge about aging, and exposure to older adults. We discuss how an appreciation of the sources of aging anxiety among baby-boomers can help marketers and advertisers better understand the pre-elderly consumer market, and suggest ways of addressing baby-boomers’ fears with positive images of growing old.

Keywords: Successful Aging; Physical Aging; Physical Manifestation; Aging Optimism; Physical Worry (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2008
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:spr:sprchp:978-3-540-75331-5_5

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DOI: 10.1007/978-3-540-75331-5_5

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