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Centre for Policy on Ageing | |
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| Short- and long-term determinism of social detachment in later life | | Author(s) | Stephen Jivraj, James Nazroo, Matt Barnes |
| Journal title | Ageing and Society, vol 36, no 5, May 2016 |
| Publisher | Cambriddge University Press, May 2016 |
| Pages | pp 924-945 |
| Source | journals.cambridge.org/aso |
| Keywords | Social inclusion ; Engagement ; Short term ; Long term ; Activities of older people ; Social contacts ; Health [elderly] ; Economic status [elderly] ; Longitudinal surveys ; England. |
| Annotation | The benefits of engagement with social activities on health and well-being are widely reported by gerontologists. Less is known, however, about what drives withdrawal from and re-engagement with social activities in later life. This is an important area of research which has direct implications for public policies that aim to ensure equitable outcomes among older adults. Much of the existing literature supports continuity theory which assumes people will not alter their level of social engagement as they age or after life-changing events. This paper uses data from the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing (ELSA) over an eight-year period (2002-2010) to determine the effect of short-term changes in marital, employment and health status over an initial four-year period on the dynamics of social detachment over the following four years. Controlling for underlying socio-economic disadvantages built up during the life-course, the authors find that these effects - including poor education, wealth and health - are the most important determinants of persistent detachment from social activities, as well as movement into and out of social detachment. The effects are consistent in men and women. The effects of short-term changes in marital and employment status have little effect on social detachment. However, recent deterioration in health predicted movement into social detachment, implying that the relationship between health and social detachment is reciprocal. (RH). |
| Accession Number | CPA-160415202 A |
| Classmark | RNA: DN: 4P: 4Q: G: TOA: CC: F:W: 3J: 82 |
Data © Centre for Policy on Ageing |
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| ...from the Ageinfo database published by Centre for Policy on Ageing. |
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