UCSF

The thesis critically explores the experience of living alone in older age in urban America. It develops the argument that living alone is a distinctive condition deserving particular sociological and political attention. The thesis is split into three parts. Part one covers theoretical and methodological issues, using a macro, meso and micro-sociological framework, drawing as well upon critical gerontology. This section also reviews the methodological approach adopted in the study, reviewing the development of an ethnographic method of analysis built around a theoretical sample of 47 San Franciscans over 75 living alone. Part two presents findings from the interviews conducted for the study, highlighting the precariousness of life in older age using the various levels of analysis. The structure of the thesis relates the personal level of analysis with the social, political, and economic levels. The micro level of analysis examines the struggle to maintain and gather resources on a personal level. The meso level moves the lens towards the interplay between the older solo dweller and institutions such as family, and community organizations as well as emissaries of institutions such as home care aides. Finally, the macro level of analysis assesses the mechanisms behind the allocation of resources to older solo dwellers. The influence of the state, the market economy, and globalization gain prominence in this analysis. The Third part of the thesis provides a discussion around evidence for the distinctiveness of living alone in urban America, followed by a conclusion summarizing some of the key issues raised by the research as well as its limitations.

The sociological significance of this dissertation lies in its emphasis on the distinctive traits of living alone in older age, and in the original adoption of a notion, precariousness, within the sociology of aging. This study is also significant for allowing policy-makers and the public to further their understanding of a growing, but often invisible, living condition.