Differences in the Quality of Housing Units Occupied by Elderly Men versus Elderly Women

Unmet housing needs can be more costly and more hazardous to health and well-being in the case of elderly than in the case of nonelderly, because the elderly in general spend more time in their homes. The purpose of this paper, based on the data from the 1991 wave of the American Housing Survey, is to examine the adequacy/ quality of housing units headed by those aged 65 years or older and to examine factors that would predict poor-quality housing headed by older persons. The findings indicate that housing units occupied by older minority women, especially those living with relatives or with nonrelatives were the most likely to be deficient, whereas those occupied by white older women living alone were the least likely to be deficient. Policy and social service implications of the findings are also discussed.