Living Environment, Social Participation and Wellbeing in Older Age: The Relevance of Housing and Local Area Disadvantage

Abstract

This paper explores the links between the quality of the living environment, social participation and wellbeing in older age using data from the Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia (HILDA) survey. Using nine waves of the data, random-effects models are estimated to isolate the ‘net effect’ of the living environment on social participation and well being, while controlling for a number of background factors. The findings reveal a considerable penalty associated with living in disadvantaged housing and disadvantaged areas on some of the critical aspects of social participation, such as the frequency of contacts with other people, and access to social support, as well as on overall wellbeing of older persons. The contribution of this paper lies in demonstrating that the quality of one’s living environment plays a significant role in shaping social participation and wellbeing in older age based on robust methodology and reliable longitudinal data.