More responsibilities at the older ages: the study of trends and patterns of elderly living arrangements in Iran

Elderly living arrangements in developing countries are important because governments cannot support them due to the lack of advanced health care systems. This study aimed to investigate the changes in living arrangements of people 60 years old and over during the last four decades (1984-2019) in Iran. The Household Income and Expenditure Survey (HIES) data conducted by the Statistics Center of Iran were analyzed. Findings indicated that elderly headship rate has increased over time. Although this growth observed for both sexes, it was double as high for women as for men. Most households headed by old men are nuclear households while women often take care of solo and single-parent households. More elderly people live alone nowadays and their household size has decreased during the time. Howbeit the number of households with an elderly head with an adult child has increased, but this co-residence does not have benefits for elderly parents. Indeed, changes in elderly living arrangements in Iran over the past three decades have led to more increasing pressure on the old ages and they have to accept more responsibilities such as household head and managing its needs.