Abstract
The world’s elderly population is growing, and in Chile they represent 16.2% of the total population. In Chile, old age is marked by retirement, with a dramatic decrease in income that brings precariousness. Older adults are economically, socially, and psychologically vulnerable populations. This condition increases their likelihood of disengaging from their usual social environment, facilitating their isolation, sadness, and discomfort. From the perspective of social identity, well-being (WB) can be explained by two principles: social groups’ importance for health and people’s psychological identification with those groups. This study analyzes the relationships between belonging to the neighborhood and extra-neighborhood groups and neighborhood social identification with WB. Urban or rural location and gender are measured, and the sample is 1,475 older Chilean adults of both sexes. The results show that the majority are not members of social groups (52%), and the remaining 48% are members of one or two groups or organizations (42.65%). Only 4.47% belong to three groups or organizations. Those who belong to groups obtain higher scores, emotional–mental WB, and positive emotions than older adults who do not belong to any organization. Urban and rural older adults have the same level of WB. Membership in close social organizations (neighborhood councils) or distant ones (clubs for the elderly and religious groups) causes different WB associations. Membership in neighborhood councils reduces gender differences in self-assessment of health. This result supports the idea that participation in heterogeneous groups with a shared sense of belonging to the neighborhood is associated with higher WB and lower perceived loneliness. Social identification with the neighborhood, rather than belonging to the group, had the most widespread impact on WB and health indicators. The variable social identification with the neighborhood was consistently associated with indicators of hedonic WB.
Highlights
In the United Nations (2015) reported that almost 901 million people were over 60, comprising 12% of the global population
This study identifies the relationships between belonging to the neighborhood and extra-neighborhood social groups, neighborhood social identification (NSI), and their impacts on hedonic WB and health in urban and rural older adults, sexes, and different educational levels
It is found that majority of older adults (52%) do not belong to social groups
Summary
In the United Nations (2015) reported that almost 901 million people were over 60, comprising 12% of the global population. An aging society is a significant issue in many countries. In developed countries, a large, growing elderly population has occurred over a long period. The world’s population of older adults is growing. In the Southern Cone countries, Argentina, Uruguay, and mostly Chile have experienced accelerated aging of their population and in a context of inequality (Fuentes-García et al, 2013). In Chile, older adults represent 16.2% of the population, and in 30 years, one in four people will be over 60 (Instituto Nacional de Estadísticas, 2017). The decrease in the birth rate and the sustained economic growth in Chile brought a significant increase in life expectancy at birth, which has tripled in the last century. In 1900, life expectancy was at 23.6 years for women and 23.5 years for men, and today, for the period 2015–2020, it is 82.1 for women and 77.3 for men
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