Abstract
Social participation is important for health, and it is well known that high strain jobs impact negatively on mental and physical health. However, knowledge about the impact of psychosocial working conditions on social participation from a long-term perspective is lacking. The purpose of this study was to investigate the associations between different job types and social participation from a long-term perspective. A comprehensive public health questionnaire “The Scania Public Health Survey”, was used, and psychosocial working conditions were measured with a Swedish translation of the Job Content Questionnaire. Based on data from 1098 working respondents aged 55 at baseline and a 10-year follow-up when the respondents were not working, the analyses revealed that social participation varied by job type. Jobs with high decision latitude, as in active and relaxed jobs, seem to predict high social participation, even after cessation of employment. Besides that, the result suggests that high social participation during working life is a predictor of high social participation from a long-term perspective which promotes healthy aging. Incentives for working longer are strongly related to good working conditions. A supportive work environment with possibilities for employees to participate in decision making, i.e., high control, is vital for a sustainable working life. This may contribute to an extended working life and may also support social participation prior to retirement as well as after retirement and thus to healthy aging.
Highlights
The result showed that social participation varied by job type, which supports our hypothesis that high decision latitude, active job, and relaxed job should be associated with higher levels of social participation
The findings could be used to improve midlife interventions aimed at promoting social participation later in life
Previous research with long term perspectives has mainly focused on physical functioning and not on other aspects of daily life, such as social dimensions, that are important for healthy aging
Summary
The demographic change with an increased number of older people is an important factor for public health. Previous findings show for example that experiencing greater enjoyment in life may predict more years in good health [1]. The findings are still inconsistent, and it is crucial to find predictors for healthy aging. The concept of “healthy aging” concerns several determinants such as personal and behavioral factors and the social as well as the physical environment [2]. The importance of having a life-course perspective is emphasized since aging is a lifelong process [3]. Social participation patterns remain relatively stable through people’s life course, factors in working life might impact on opportunities for social participation in very old age [4]
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