Department of Marketing

The Center for Mature Consumer Studies Research Report

LIST OF SEGMENT-SPECIFIC RESEARCH  REPORTS   

4.  Baby Boomers and Their Parents : Surprising Findings About Their Lifestyles, Mindsets, And Well-Being
The manuscript contains information about a wide variety of topics relevant to baby boomers and older adults. This information should be of interest of millions of people in these two generations that face a wide variety of circumstances specific to their stage in life, such as concerns about aging and old age, health problems, finances, retirement, and care-giving responsibilities. The information helps them compare and validate their own circumstances to those at similar life stages, giving these individuals a better understanding of issues they face and their well-being relative to others.

In addition, because of the increasingly large number of years people are spending at late stages of life(as a result of recent dramatic increase4 in life expectancy), the manuscript emphasizes the need for people of nay age to plan for longevity.
 
By presenting information from our research, as well as from other studies, this project makes people aware of many factors that promote longevity and enhance a person's well being in later life. Based on this information, we suggest actions that should be taken today to help one live a longer and happier life. ($500.00, 200 pages)
 

TABLE OF CONTENTS 

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

CHAPTER 1.

OVERVIEW

1

 

a. The Aging Of The Population

3

 

b. Why We Should Be Concerned

5

 

c. About Our Studies Of Baby Boomers And Their Parents

7

 

d. Some Surprising Findings

7

 

    •  Physical and emotional well-being

 

 

    •  How they feel about old age and aging

 

 

    •  Financial well-being

 

 

    •  Millionaires are not what you think

 

 

    •  Lifestyles

 

 

    •  Buying habits

 

 

    •  What they have, what they want

 

 

    •  Their main concerns

 

CHAPTER 2.

WHAT'S ON THEIR MIND AS THEY AGE

26

 

a. Feeling, Thinking and Acting Younger

27

 

b. Defying Aging  

31

 

c. Concerns and Desires

35

 

    •  Health

 

 

    •  Money

 

 

    •  Old age

 

 

    •  Day-to-day living

 

 

    •  Work and retirement

 

 

    •  Relationships

 

 

    •  Personal safety

 

 

    •  Having fun

 

 

    •  Staying healthy

 

 

    •  Caring and giving

 

CHAPTER 3.

PHYSICAL AND EMOTIONAL WELL-BEING

58

 

a. Physical Health

60

 

    •  Chronic conditions

 

 

    •  Recent health problems

 

 

    •  Medications

 

 

    •  The role of heredity

 

 

    •  Patterns of disease development

 

 

    •  Health-related lifestyles

 

 

b. Emotional Health

74

 

    •  Stress

 

 

    •  Depression

 

 

c. It Matters What And How We Think

80

CHAPTER 4. 

LIFESTYLES

91

 

a. Living Arrangements

92

 

b. Work After Retirement

94

 

c. Lifelong Learning

97

 

d. Leisure 

100

 

    •  Travel

 

 

    •  At-home leisure activities

 

 

    •  Attendance of events

 

 

    •  Other leisure activities

 

 

e. Volunteering

106

 

f. Religiosity 

107

 

g. Caregiving

108

 

h. Preparing for Old Age  

110

 

    •  Awareness of older adults' needs

 

 

    •  Preparation for old age

 

CHAPTER 5.

FINANCIAL AFFAIRS

114

 

a. Spending Habits 

115

 

    •  Use of Credit

 

 

b. Saving Habits

118

 

c. Financing Retirement 

122

 

d. The Affluent

124

 

    •  Differences between the two generations

 

 

    •  Millionaires vs. non-millionaires

 

 

    •  Self-made vs. old money

 

CHAPTER 6.

WHAT THEY HAVE, WHAT THEY USE

139

 

a. What They Own 

140

 

    •  The older folks have more

 

 

    •  The American dream

 

 

    •  Appliances and home furnishings

 

 

    •  Other possessions

 

 

b. What Kinds of Services They Prefer

147 

 

    •  Financial services

 

 

    •  Travel & leisure

 

 

    •  Insurance services

 

 

    •  Health care

 

CHAPTER 7.

BUYING HABITS

153

 

a. Reasons for Patronage

155

 

    •  Restaurants

 

 

    •  Grocery/food stores

 

 

    •  Department stores

 

 

    •  Lodging

 

 

    •  Airlines/Cruise lines

 

 

    •  Financial institutions

 

 

    •  Insurance companies

 

 

    •  Hospitals

 

 

    •  Physicians & surgeons

 

b. Buying Products

162

 

    •  Choosing specific brands

 

 

    •  At home buying

 

 

    •  Reasons for direct buying

 

 

    •  Information sources

 

 

    •  The influence of relatives

 

 

    •  Loyal customers

 

 

    •  Preferences for methods of payment

 

 

c. Dis/Satisfaction and Complaining

180 

 

d. Excessive Buying

182 

CHAPTER 8.

PLANNING FOR LONGEVITY

186

 

a. Determinants of Longevity and Life Satisfaction 

187

 

    •  Physical and emotional health

 

 

    •  Positive attitude

 

 

    •  Active lifestyle

 

 

    •  Financial assets

 

 

b. Strategies for Longevity and Well-being 

191

 

    •  Adding Years to Your Life

 

 

    •  Improving Quality of Life

 

REFERENCES

 



   image of cover of Baby Boomers and Their Parents
  New book by Dr. George Moschis, marketing faculty, says baby boomers are not as well off as their "greatest generation" parents. 
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