An Overview of Social Participation in Older Adults: Concepts and Assessments

The impact of social participation on Subjective Wellbeing in the older adult: the mediating role of anxiety and the moderating role of education

Introduction

The study aims to examine the mediating role of anxiety in the relationship between social participation and Subjective Wellbeing among Chinese older adults. Additionally, it investigates the moderating ed of education in this relationship.

Methods

The data came from the Chinese Longitudinal Healthy Longevity Survey (CLHLS) published by peking University, with a sample size of 10,626 individuals aged 60 years and above. SPSS 21.0 was used for the statistical analysis of the data, and Mplus 8.0 was used for the statistical processing of the mediating and moderating effects analysis.

Results

(1) The social participation significantly and positively predicated Subjective Wellbeing; (2) Anxiety partially mediated the eect between social participation and Subjective Wellbeing. The mediating eect value was 0.103; (3) Education plays a moderating role in the impact of social participation on subjective Wellbeing.

Discussion

In summary, social participation can reduce the anxiety and enhance their Subjective Wellbeing. Meanwhile, the eet of social participation on Subjective Wellbeing was the greatest for the older adult with high education. The findings suggest that community-led activities can be initiated to improve social participation in the older adult. Furthermore, educational courses could be to support the healthy aging of older adults in China.

Intrinsic capacity trajectories, predictors and associations with care dependence in community-dwelling older adults: A social determinant of health perspective

AIMS

To identify intrinsic capacity trajectories, predictors of intrinsic capacity trajectories and associations between intrinsic capacity trajectories and care dependence in community-dwelling older adults in China.

METHODS

A retrospective longitudinal study was conducted, and the data were obtained from a five-year national longitudinal cohort study of older adults in China between 2011 and 2015. The social determinants of health framework informed the data analysis and interpretation.

RESULTS

A total of 3893 older adults met the selection criteria and were included in the study. Three intrinsic capacity trajectories were identified: high trajectory (15.7 %), stable trajectory (52.7 %) and declining trajectory (31.6 %). Social determinants contribute to intrinsic capacity decline in older adults. Decreased cognitive function, psychological status, and locomotion at baseline were associated with care dependence.

CONCLUSION

Approximately thirty percent of the older adults in this cohort study experienced a decline in intrinsic capacity within a 5-year period. Social determinants contributed to this decline in older adults.

The Mediating Role of Social Participation in Motoric Cognitive Risk and its Relation to Depression and Loneliness in Older Adults

BACKGROUND

Motoric cognitive risk syndrome (MCR) reduces the quality of life, independence, and social interaction in older adults. Social participation is a potentially modifiable factor that benefits cognitive and mental health. This study explored the mediating roles of social participation between MCR and depression and between MCR and loneliness.

METHODS

We performed a secondary analysis of data from the 2015-2016 National Social Life, Health, and Aging Project. Slow gait speed and cognitive decline were used to assess MCR. Mediation analysis was applied to two models, both of which used MCR as an exposure and social participation as a mediator. The outcomes were depression and loneliness for each model, respectively.

RESULTS

Among 1,697 older adults, 196 (11.6%) had MCR. The mediating role of social participation was statistically significant in both models. The indirect effect (β=0.267, p=0.001) of MCR on depression through social participation comprised 11.97% of the total effect (β=2.231, p<0.001). The indirect effect (β=0.098, p=0.001) of MCR on loneliness through social participation was 19.48% of the total effect (β=0.503, p<0.001).

CONCLUSION

Interventions to increase social participation may reduce depression and loneliness of older adults with MCR.

The Importance of Place Attachment in the Understanding of Ageing in Place: "The Stones Know Me"

As academic literature has shown, there is a preference among older adults to experience old age independently, in their own homes, giving shape to what has been called ageing in place. This phenomenon links residence, life cycle, and the experience of old age. Although it depends on many factors (housing characteristics, the elderly's economy, or their social support, among others) it is based on place attachment as a key aspect, which comprises two different but interwoven dimensions: the home (private space) and the neighbourhood (social space), understood as an extended sphere of the home. Despite its importance, and beyond the consensus that the time spent in a place increases attachment to it, the processes whereby place attachment is constructed by the elderly and the role of the experience of neighbourhood are little known. This article intended to delve into the meaning of place attachment, its importance, and how it is built by the elderly population in urban areas. For this purpose, a qualitative study was conducted in Spain, selecting Madrid (the biggest city in the country) as a case study of how place attachment is shaped in an urban setting. To obtain in-depth information, data were collected through ethnographic interviews with 37 people aged 65-95 and 1 focus group among elderly aged 65-71. The most relevant finding of the qualitative analysis is the emotional significance of attachment to the local space as an element that enables continuity-as opposed to the rupture to which we associate old age- in the experience of the life cycle of the elderly. It should be noted that some of the results are conditioned by the specificities of Spanish society, particularly with regard to family ties. Potential extrapolations to other realities should take this point into account.

Differences According to Sex in the Relationship between Social Participation and Well-Being: A Network Analysis

This study aimed to explore the effects of different types of social participation on the components of well-being, as well as the differences according to sex in the relationship between social participation and well-being. This was a cross-sectional community study. Well-being was measured using the positive emotion, engagement, relationships, meaning, and accomplishment (PERMA) profile. Social participation included activities of daily life, sports and entertainment activities, and social service activities. The independent association between each type of social participation and the components of well-being was examined by using a network analysis in both males and females. Of all 1276 participants surveyed, 60% were females. The results of the network analysis showed that positive emotion-housework (0.263), positive emotion-games (0.102), engagement-housework (0.107), engagement-work (0.054), and meaning-socializing (0.085) had unique connections in males; the average predictability in the network was 0.417. For females, positive emotion-physical activity (0.102), engagement-associations or societies (0.071), relationships-physical (0.090), relationships-socializing (0.092), and relationships-volunteering activities (0.133) had significant connections; the average predictability in the network was 0.358. Different types of social participation may have different effects on the components of well-being. Furthermore, differences according to sex in the relationship between social participation and well-being should be considered when formulating interventions to improve well-being.