Social participation is a key determinant of successful and healthy aging and therefore an important emerging intervention goal for health professionals. Despite the interest shown in the concept of ...social participation over the last decade, there is no agreement on its definition and underlying dimensions. This paper provides an inventory and content analysis of definitions of social participation in older adults. Based on these results, a taxonomy of social activities is proposed. Four databases (Medline, CINAHL, AgeLine and PsycInfo) were searched with relevant keywords (Aging OR Ageing OR Elderly OR Older OR Seniors AND Community involvement/participation OR Social engagement/involvement/participation) resulting in the identification of 43 definitions. Using content analysis, definitions were deconstructed as a function of who, how, what, where, with whom, when, and why dimensions. Then, using activity analysis, we explored the typical contexts, demands and potential meanings of activities (main dimension). Content analysis showed that social participation definitions (
n = 43) mostly focused on the person’s involvement in activities providing interactions with others in society or the community. Depending on the main goal of these social activities, six proximal to distal levels of involvement of the individual with others were identified: 1) doing an activity in preparation for connecting with others, 2) being with others, 3) interacting with others without doing a specific activity with them, 4) doing an activity with others, 5) helping others, and 6) contributing to society. These levels are discussed in a continuum that can help distinguish social participation (levels 3 through 6) from parallel but different concepts such as participation (levels 1 through 6) and social engagement (levels 5 and 6). This taxonomy might be useful in pinpointing the focus of future investigations and clarifying dimensions specific to social participation.
Social relationships consist of distinct dimensions. The literature on the effect of specific social relationship subdomains on cognitive function is limited. This large-scale, prospective cohort ...study examined the associations of social relationships with cognitive decline and further explored which subdomains of social relationships were predictive of cognitive decline among elderly Chinese individuals.
A total of 3314 older Chinese adults aged 65–110 years from the 2011–2012 wave of the Chinese Longitudinal Healthy Longevity Survey (CLHLS) were included. Cognitive decline was defined based on the Chinese version of the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE). Social relationships were divided into three subdomains: social activities, social networks, and social support. Linear and binary logistic regression analyses were conducted to assess the effect of social relationships and the social relationship subdomains on cognitive decline after adjusting for age, sex, education, residence, exercise, drinking, smoking, activities of daily living, chronic diseases, depression, and baseline cognitive function.
Seven hundred and sixty-eight participants (23.17%) developed greater cognitive decline during the 3-year follow-up. The social relationships score was negatively associated with cognitive decline. Binary adjusted odds ratios showed that after potential covariates were controlled, social relationships, activities, and networks significantly reduced the risk of cognitive decline. When all social relationships variables were entered simultaneously with all covariates, the effect of social activities and networks on the risk of greater cognitive decline remained significant. However, we did not observe a significant association between social support and the risk of greater cognitive decline.
Our findings suggest that social relationships and the subdomains of social activities and networks, but not social support, have a protective effect against greater cognitive decline in older adults. This implies that structural dimensions of social relationships might be more important than functional dimensions in preserving cognitive health among elderly Chinese individuals.
•A high level of social relationships reduces the risk of cognitive decline.•Active engagement in social activities reduces the risk of cognitive decline.•Connected social network reduces the risk of cognitive decline.•Perceived social support does not impact the risk of cognitive decline.
With the rise of online social networking, social relationships are increasingly developed and maintained in a digital domain. Drawing conclusions about the impact of the digital world on loneliness ...is difficult because there are contradictory findings, and cross-sectional studies dominate the literature, making causation difficult to establish. In this review, we present our theoretical model and propose that there is a bidirectional and dynamic relationship between loneliness and social Internet use. When the Internet is used as a way station on the route to enhancing existing relationships and forging new social connections, it is a useful tool for reducing loneliness. But when social technologies are used to escape the social world and withdraw from the “social pain” of interaction, feelings of loneliness are increased. We propose that loneliness is also a determinant of how people interact with the digital world. Lonely people express a preference for using the Internet for social interaction and are more likely to use the Internet in a way that displaces time spent in offline social activities. This suggests that lonely people may need support with their social Internet use so that they employ it in a way that enhances existing friendships and/or to forge new ones.
Building on the literature on optimal distinctiveness, this study explores the effects of conformity versus differentiation in corporate social responsibility (CSR) practices on evaluations by ...security analysts and responses of the financial market in general. We develop the argument that while conformity in CSR scope enhances analyst coverage, differentiation in CSR emphasis leads to more-favorable analyst recommendations and higher market value. This suggests that firms may be able to simultaneously conform in CSR scope and differentiate in CSR emphasis to achieve optimal distinctiveness. To further enhance our understanding of the variation in the relationship between conformity and differentiation and the response of analysts and the market, we investigate how some firm- and analyst-level factors moderate this relationship. Using the case of corporate social activities of Chinese listed firms during the period from 2008 to 2014, we show that scope conformity has a stronger effect on analyst coverage for state-owned firms and firms with higher visibility; on the other hand, the relationship between emphasis differentiation, and analyst recommendation and market value strengthens for firms covered by high-status brokerage houses but weakens for those experiencing high earnings pressure.
Objective: The present analysis aimed to examine the associations of isolation and loneliness, individually as well as simultaneously, with 2 measures of functional status (gait speed and ...difficulties in activities of daily living) in older adults over a 6-year period using data from the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing, and to assess if these associations differ by SES. Method: Loneliness was measured using the short form of the Revised UCLA scale, and an index of social isolation was computed incorporating marital status; frequency of contact with friends, family, and children; and participation in social activities. Measures of functional status were assessed identically at baseline and 6 years later for 3070 participants (mean age 69 years). Wealth was used as an indicator of SES. Results: In fully and mutually adjusted models, social isolation and loneliness were found to be associated with a decrease in gait speed at follow-up, with stronger effects among more disadvantaged individuals. Loneliness was associated with an increase in difficulties with activities of daily living. Conclusions: Isolation and loneliness were adversely associated with different aspects of functional status. Interventions to reduce isolation and loneliness may be particularly beneficial for individuals in disadvantaged groups.
A healthy residential environment, especially for older adults, has emerged as an important issue on political and planning agenda in China. This paper aims to investigate the direct and indirect ...impact of residential environment on the health of older adults in Shanghai, taking into account health-related behaviours, subjective well-being and socio-demographic factors in one comprehensive conceptual model. Our results show that the residential environment is associated with older adults’ health directly, and also indirectly through a series of significant behavioural (physical and social activities) and perceptual (subjective well-being) factors. After combining the direct and indirect association, the results show that good housing and neighbourhood quality and a safe social environment contribute to better subjective, physical and mental health conditions of older adults. In addition, access to cultural facilities is positively related to older adults’ mental and physical health and subjective well-being, while a higher proportion of older adults in a neighbourhood appears to promote physical and social activities but not health.
•Both physical environment and social environment affect old adults’ health.•Residential environment affects elderly's health directly as well as indirectly.•Physical activities and social activities are important intermediate factors.
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