An Exploration of Gender Differences on the Reasons for Living Inventory Among Older Adults

This study evaluated gender differences on the Reasons for Living Inventory specifically among older adults. Community-dwelling men & women completed the Inventory. Results showed no significant gender differences on the subscales & total score. The rank order of the subscales was also the same for older men & women. An implication of these findings is that the robust gender differences found among young individuals appear to diminish with advancing age, although it is unclear to what extent older men improve in the reasons for staying alive or older women decline in their reasons for staying alive. (20 refs.)