Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-mkpzs Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-30T23:01:10.215Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

The effect of social participation on the subjective and objective health status of the over-fifties: evidence from SHARE

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  11 March 2015

TIZIANA LEONE  and
PHILIPP HESSEL
TIZIANA LEONE*
Affiliation:
LSE Health, London, UK.
PHILIPP HESSEL
Affiliation:
LSE Health, London, UK.
*
Address for correspondence: Tiziana Leone, LSE Health, Department of Social Policy, Houghton Street, London WC2A 2AE, UK E-mail: [email protected]
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Increasing social participation among older individuals to increase health and wellbeing has become a distinct policy goal of many national governments and the European Commission. However, to date the evidence on how social participation affects health, both subjective and objective, remains limited, especially since most studies do not account for the reciprocal relationship. The aim of this study is to analyse how changes in social participation affect both the subjective and objective health of older Europeans as well as how changes in health status affect social participation. Using longitudinal data from the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARE), the results suggest that both the uptake as well as the continuation of social activities increase the chances of improvements in subjective as well as objective health. Furthermore, improvements in self-rated health as well as grip strength significantly increase the chances of taking up new activities as well as continuing with existing ones. Country effect is not as strong as expected and the benefits could be homogeneous across different cultures once we control for socio-economic status. Overall, the results stress the need for taking into account the reciprocal relationship between social participation and health. The paper highlights the importance of focusing on both uptake and continuation of social participation when devising policy aimed at improving healthy ageing.

Keywords

healthy ageingsocial participationlongitudinalsubjective healthgrip strength
Type
Articles
Information
Ageing & Society , Volume 36 , Issue 5 , May 2016 , pp. 968 - 987
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2015 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Andersen-Ranberg, K., Petersen, I., Frederiksen, H., Mackenbach, J. P. and Christensen, P. 2009. Cross-national differences in grip strength among 50+ year-old Europeans: results from the SHARE study. European Journal of Ageing, 6, 3, 227–36.Google Scholar
Avendano, M., Glymour, M.M., Banks, J. and Mackenbach, J. P. 2009. Health disadvantage in U.S. adults aged 50 to 74 years: A comparison of the health of rich and poor Americans with that of Europeans. American Journal of Public Health 99, 3, 540–548.Google Scholar
Baron-Epel, O. and Kaplan, G. 2001. General subjective health status or age-related subjective health status: does it make a difference? Social Science & Medicine, 53, 10, 1373–81.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Berkman, L. F. 1995. The role of social relations in health promotion. Psychosomatic Medicine, 57, 3, 245–54.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Borgonovi, F. 2008. Doing well by doing good. The relationship between formal volunteering and self-reported health and happiness. Social Science & Medicine, 66, 11, 2321–34.Google Scholar
Börsch-Supan, A., Brugiavini, A., Jürges, H., Kapteyn, A., Mackenbach, J., Siegrist, J. and Weber, G. (eds) 2008. First Results from the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (2004–2007): Starting the Longitudinal Dimension. Research Institute for the Economics of Aging, Mannheim, Germany.Google Scholar
Brown, T. T., Scheffler, R. M., Seo, S. and Reed, M. 2006. The empirical relationship between community social capital and the demand for cigarettes. Health Economics, 15, 11, 1159–72.Google Scholar
Cornwell, E. Y. and Waite, L. J. 2009. Social disconnectedness, perceived isolation, and health among older adults. Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 50, 1, 31–48.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
d'Hombres, B., Rocco, L., Suhrcke, M. and McKee, M. 2010. Does social capital determine health? Evidence from eight transition countries. Health Economics, 19, 1, 56–74.Google Scholar
Erlinghagen, M. and Hank, K. 2006. The participation of older Europeans in volunteer work. Ageing & Society, 26, 4, 567–84.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
European Commission 2007. Healthy ageing: keystone for a sustainable Europe. Discussion paper of the Services of DG SANCO, DG ECFIN, DG EMPL, Brussels.Google Scholar
Folland, S. 2007. Does ‘community social capital’ contribute to population health? Social Science & Medicine, 64, 11, 2342–54.Google Scholar
Frederiksen, H., Gaist, D., Petersen, H. C., Hjelmborg, J., McGue, M., Vaupel, J. W. and Christensen, K. 2002. Hand grip strength: a phenotype suitable for identifying genetic variants affecting mid- and late-life physical functioning. Genetic Epidemiology, 23, 2, 110–22.Google Scholar
Hank, K. and Erlinghagen, M. 2010. Dynamics of volunteering in older Europeans. The Gerontologist, 50, 2, 170–8.Google Scholar
Hank, K., Jürges, H., Schupp, J. and Wagner, G. 2009. Isometrische Greifkraft und sozialgerontologische Forschung. Zeitschrift für Gerontologie und Geriatrie, 42, 2, 117–26.Google Scholar
Hank, K. and Stuck, S. 2008. Volunteer work, informal help, and care among the 50+ in Europe: further evidence for ‘Linked’ productive activities at older ages. Social Science Research, 37, 4, 1280–91.Google Scholar
Haski-Leventhal, D. 2009. Elderly volunteering and well-being: a cross-European comparison based on SHARE. International Journal of Voluntary and Nonprofit Organizations, 20, 4, 388–404.Google Scholar
Jamieson, A. 2006. The role of the European Union in promoting healthy ageing. Social Science & Medicine, 39, 11, 1497–9.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Jürges, H. 2007. True health vs. response styles: exploring cross-country differences in self-reported health. Health Econ. 16, 2, 163–78.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Kaplan, G. and Baron-Epel, O. 2003. What lies behind the subjective evaluation of health status? Social Science & Medicine, 56, 8, 1669–76.Google Scholar
Kohli, M., Hank, K. and Künemund, H. 2009. The social connectedness of older Europeans: patterns, dynamics and contexts. Journal of European Social Policy, 19, 4, 327–40.Google Scholar
Kondo, N., Minai, J., Imai, H. and Yamagata, Z. 2007. Engagement in a cohesive group and higher-level functional capacity in older adults in Japan: a case of the Mujin. Social Science & Medicine, 64, 11, 2311–23.Google Scholar
Li, Y. and Ferraro, K. F. 2006. Volunteering in middle and later life: is health a benefit, barrier or both? Social Forces, 85, 1, 497–519.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lillard, L. A. and Waite, L. J. 1995. Til death do us part: marital disruption and mortality. The American Journal of Sociology, 100, 5, 1131–56.Google Scholar
Lum, T. Y. and Lightfoot, E. 2005. The effects of volunteering on the physical and mental health of older people. Research on Aging, 27, 1, 31–55.Google Scholar
Mannheim Research Institute for the Economics of Ageing 2011. Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe: Release Guide 2.5.0 Waves 1 & 2. Mannheim Research Institute for the Economics of Ageing, Mannheim, Germany.Google Scholar
Melchior, M., Berkman, L. F., Niedhammer, I., Chea, M. and Goldberg, M. 2003. Social relations and self-reported health: a prospective analysis of the French Gazel cohort. Social Science & Medicine, 56, 8, 1817–30.Google Scholar
Morrow-Howell, N. 2010. Volunteering in later life: research frontiers. Journals of Gerontology: Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences, 65B, 4, 461–9.Google Scholar
Mutchler, J. E., Burr, J. A. and Caro, F. G. 2003. From paid worker to volunteer: leaving the paid workforce and volunteering in later life. Social Forces, 81, 4, 1267–94.Google Scholar
Pearce, N. and Davey Smith, G. 2003. Is social capital the key to inequalities in health? American Journal of Public Health, 93, 1, 122–9.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Rantanen, T., Guralnik, D. J. M., Foley, D., Masaki, K., Leveille, S., Curb, J.D. and White, L. 1999. Midlife hand grip strength as a predictor of old age disability. Journal of the American Medical Association, 281, 6, 558–60.Google Scholar
Ronconi, L., Brown, T. T. and Scheffler, R. M. 2012. Social capital and self-rated health in Argentina. Health Economics, 21, 2, 201–8.Google Scholar
Siegrist, J. and Wahrendorf, M. 2009. Participation in socially productive activities and quality of life in early old age: findings from SHARE. Journal of European Social Policy, 19, 4, 317–26.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sirven, N. and Debrand, T. 2008. Social participation and healthy ageing: an international comparison using SHARE data. Social Science & Medicine, 67, 12, 2017–26.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Sirven, N. and Debrand, T. 2012. Social capital and health of older Europeans: causal pathways and health inequalities. Social Science & Medicine, 75, 7, 1288–95.Google Scholar
Smith, K. P. and Christakis, N. A. 2008. Social networks and health. Annual Review of Sociology, 34, 405–29.Google Scholar
Stephens, K. K. and Rimal, R. N. 2004. Expanding the reach of health campaigns: community organizations as meta-channels for the dissemination of health information. Journal of Health Communication, 9, supplement 1, 97–111.Google Scholar
Van Willigen, M. 2000. Differential benefits of volunteering across the life course. Journals of Gerontology: Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences, 55B, 5, S308–18.Google Scholar
Veenstra, G. 2000. Social capital, SES and health: an individual-level analysis. Social Science & Medicine, 50, 5, 619–29.Google Scholar
Verropoulou, G. 2009. Key elements composing self-rated health in older adults: a comparative study of 11 European countries. European Journal of Ageing, 6, 3, 213–26.Google Scholar