Poll Finds Older Americans Are Upbeat : Most Content With Lives, Prefer Good Health Over Success

Most older Americans would rather be healthier or better educated than more successful or better looking.

People 50 years of age and older--who now make up 34% of the adult population of the United States--also tend to think of themselves as independent, active, friendly and blessed with more common sense than others who they feel may be sexier, smarter and better off financially.

These and many other findings--some quite surprising--were unearthed in an intensive study of attitudes of so-called senior citizens. The study was just completed by the firm of Yankelovich, Skelly and White/Clancy, Shulman of Westport, Conn.

Traditional family values are strongly evident in the opinion study. More than 80% of seniors would march down the aisle again if they had their lives to live over. And 86% of these would marry the same person.

More than one-fourth of these older Americans have had four or more children. Some 90% would do so again, and half of them say having grandchildren is “very important” to them.

The 60 million Americans age 50 and over today have a total annual income of approximately $800 billion. As a result, companies are paying big bucks to find out more about this huge and recently discovered consumer market. They want to know what the older generation thinks and how it behaves in the marketplace.

And, because--according to the U.S. Census Bureau--this segment of the population will grow to 80 million by the year 2000, what older people think will be of increasing interest.

According to the Yankelovich study, three out of five mature Americans attend a house of worship and more than half donate to religious organizations. Unsurprisingly, only 11% of those between 65 and 74 are still working. Older people feel an obligation to contribute to their communities and want more contact with others, the survey reports, and more than half do volunteer work.

More surprising are such findings as:

If they need advice on an important decision, only 1% report that there is no one to turn to. And paying the bills is more likely to be the woman’s responsibility than “man’s work.”

Most mature Americans consult fewer than two doctors a year and take fewer than two prescribed medicines regularly.

Few--only 12%--of this elder age bracket admit to financial difficulties, although they report average household incomes of only $19,900. They say their economic status is “as good or better than they expected it to be.”

Although 76% report using coupons to buy products, only 5% say they use coupons to try new products and brands. To the probable disappointment of makers of new products, older Americans stick to familiar brands.

Mature women enjoy grocery shopping more than shopping for clothes. The opinion research firm guesses “it may be that supermarkets have been more responsive” to their needs than department or specialty stores.

Older people eat out frequently--even breakfast. Nearly one in three eats breakfast away from home and more than half eat lunch and/or dinner out once a week.

Contrary to popular wisdom, men over age 50 do not feel they need help in picking out new clothes. Some 78% say (for better or worse) they trust their own judgment.

Most 50-plus citizens feel positive when their last child has left home, thus “effectively debunking the pejorative connotation of the ‘empty nest’ syndrome,” says the study.

That doesn’t mean older people don’t want to see their kids. Among those whose children don’t live with them, 75% report that their offspring visit them at least once a month. More than half visit at least once a week--even in this mobile society where the younger generation often has moved away.

The older folk are more restrained in their visits to the kids. Less than one-third call on their children once a week.

And, contrary to TV sitcom stereotypes, most mature Americans “like and respect” their sons- and daughters-in-law. They think their child was fortunate in the marriage. In fact, 11% like the in-law better than their own child.

Mature people, however, are not locked into all the traditional concepts about family. A majority believes, for example, that a husband and wife is as much a family as a couple with children. And they say “there’s nothing wrong with a working wife/househusband arrangement.”

What do older people worry about? The Yankelovich study found women to be quite concerned about Alzheimer’s disease, gaining weight and falling down. Men tended to worry more about losing their driver’s license. But only one in five frets about having to live in a nursing home.

Most mature consumers live in their own houses. Most think it is better to live in an age-diverse community. And 80% engage in some form of regular physical activity, with gardening at the top of the list.

On the glum side, 80% also question the reality of the American dream. They believe their children can’t assume they will have a better life than their parents.

Finally, what do older Americans like to be called? The overwhelming choice, say the researchers, is “mature.” Not “old,” please.