Engagement In Later Life Research Articles

Injustice Squared? An Intersectional Lens to Research on Productive Engagement in Later Life

Social inequalities over the life course shape later life opportunities and outcomes in important ways. However, research on paid and unpaid work in later life has not always captured (and has sometimes mischaracterized) the variety and complexity of lived experiences in later life—in particular for low-income workers, workers of color, women, and others marginalized due to their social position. Further, statistics often obscure the most important information: how the most marginalized older workers are faring. Intersectionality, a term coined by legal scholar, Dr. Kimberlé Crenshaw, describes the overlapping and intersecting social identities that often influence how we move around in society. Some identities garner privilege and power and others oppression and marginalization; we must look at their intersection to better understand complexity and inform solutions. This symposium will apply an intersectional lens to research on paid and unpaid work in later life. The first paper is a scoping review that assesses the extent to which race and ethnicity are investigated in studies of the longitudinal association between workplace demands and cognitive health. The second paper explores how older Black and Hispanic adults’ work engagement is impacted by COVID-19. The third paper considers gender differences in volunteer engagement among Asian-American older adults. The final paper examines the Senior Community Service Employment Program’s role in participant financial, physical, and mental well-being. A discussant will reflect on these studies and the need for continued research that considers intersectionality in opportunities and experiences for paid and unpaid work in later life.

The Effect of Behavioral Activation on Older Adults' Engagement and Wellbeing: A Randomized Control Trial Protocol

Meaningful activity engagement in later life is widely recognized as crucial for ageing well, but age-related changes and transitions can impede such participation. A behavioral activation framework can provide a person-centred, value-consistent therapeutic approach to increasing activity engagement that is both easy to administer, cost effective and accessible to a broad audience. Although there is evidence supporting the utility of behavioral activation as a treatment for depression in older adults, this study will be the first to examine whether a behavioral activation is more effective in increasing activity engagement and psychological wellbeing among a non-clinical sample of older adults, compared to a multi component positive psychology intervention. This randomized controlled trial will examine the impact of two therapeutic approaches on activity engagement and wellbeing among older adults. One hundred and fifty adults aged 65+ who have relatively lower scores on a measure of engagement with life will be randomized to either a behavioral activation-based intervention, or a multi-component positive psychology intervention. The interventions will involve six individual weekly sessions conducted via telephone or video conference. Participants will be assessed pre-, post-intervention, and at three months follow-up. Outcome measures will include activity engagement, positive affect, and psychological wellbeing. Intra-individual variability will also be assessed via micro-longitudinal data in the behavioral activation condition. This study will be the first to provide evidence to the effectiveness of behavioral activation as an intervention to increase activity engagement and wellbeing among older adults, compared to other therapeutic approaches to increase psychological wellbeing.

The relationship Between Occupation Types, Education, and Volunteer Behaviors Among Older Americans

Research shows that productive engagement in later life, such as paid work and volunteering, is associated with health and wellbeing. From a life-course approach, personal history and experiences developed from occupations earlier in life may affect individual’s willingness and ability to volunteer in later life; reciprocally, volunteering tends to extend networks and roles from their previous work after retirement. Further, education, which influences career development, indirectly affects late-life volunteering. Using data from 329,938 individuals aged 50 to 85 in more than 700 occupations from the Volunteer Supplement of Current Population Survey since 2010, this study found that older adults had higher volunteer rates (40%) when their current or latest jobs require more human interactions, compared to those jobs were mainly characterized as office work (31%) and jobs not requiring much human interaction (21%). More specifically, occupations with higher volunteering rates were more likely to be related to social, educational, or spiritual sectors. Some careers seem to provide skills and networks needed in volunteer roles, such as accounting clerks (ranked 12th in volunteering) and museum technicians (ranked 13th). Diverse educational levels make the relationship between occupation and volunteering more complex. For instance, those older adults without a high school diploma and who have office work as their current or latest job (16%) have higher volunteering rates than those occupations requiring (14%) or not requiring much human interaction (10%). Policymakers can take the human interactions and skills needed in careers and educational levels into account when thinking of strategies to promote volunteering.

Social engagement and cognitive decline in older African‐Americans: The Minority Aging Research Study

AbstractBackgroundSocial engagement in later life is associated with lower rates of cognitive decline and dementia, but most research has been conducted in primarily White cohorts. Little is known about this relationship in older African Americans, and some promoters of cognitive reserve in Whites may not have the same benefits in African Americans.MethodsWe used data from the Minority Aging Research Study (MARS), a study of community‐dwelling African American older adults in Chicago. Social activity was measured using an 8‐item scale assessing frequency of participation in activities involving social interaction (mean=2.5, SD=0.5). Social network size was assessed as the number of children, family, and friends seen at least once a month (mean=6.4, SD=6.0). Loneliness was measured with a 5‐item Likert scale assessing perceived emotional isolation (mean=2.1, SD=0.6). Life space is a measure of spatial movement through 6 zones of the environment from bedroom (smallest) to out of town (largest) (mean=5.5, SD=0.9). Global cognitive function was the average of z‐scores for 19 standard cognitive tests. Linear mixed models were used to test for associations with level and rate of change in cognitive function, with terms for each social engagement variable at baseline, age at baseline, sex, education, time since baseline, and interactions with time.ResultsParticipants (n=768; mean age=73.5, SD=6.3) were followed for an average of 6.3 years (SD=4.6). Higher social activity was related to slower cognitive decline (est=0.021, SE=0.008, p=0.011), but not to level of cognitive function (est=0.052, SE=0.036, p=0.15). Alternately, loneliness and a larger life space were not related to cognitive decline (est=0.003, SE=0.007, p=0.64; and est=0.001, SE=0.005, p=0.82, respectively), but were related to level of cognitive function (est=‐0.104, SE=0.029, p<0.001; and est=0.062, SE=0.020, p=0.002, respectively). Social network size was not related to level or rate of change in cognition.ConclusionsIn older African Americans, social activity was related to less cognitive decline, while other measures of social engagement were related to level but not rate of change in cognitive function.

Engagement in civic organisations in old age: Motivations for participation and retention

Although the importance of older citizens' civic engagement has been highlighted in research and policy, the topic remains underexplored. In this study, we discuss older Portuguese citizens' motivations for civic engagement. The research is based on interviews with eighteen participants aged over 60, who are retired but active in civic organisations, in which they hold or have held leadership positions. We employed thematic analysis to examine the qualitative data. The findings suggest a range of motivations for participation, with personal and ideological/political motives emerging as relevant for involvement, retention and leaving, and interpersonal relationships motivating involvement and retention. However, the specific motivations differ as a function of not only the stages of involvement/retention/leaving, but also the type of organisation and the participants' life experiences. There are notable differences between the motivations for involvement in cultural and recreational organisations, neighbourhood organisations and volunteer programmes, where the emphasis is on fostering interpersonal relationships, and the more ideological/political motivations that appear as determinant within political and activist organisations. As such, this study brings a more complex understanding of the range of motivations for civic engagement in later life, with significant implications for fostering older citizens' mobilisation and sustained engagement.

Productive engagement and ageing in productivist welfare regimes: questing for an age-friendly city in Hong Kong

AbstractThe population aged 65 years and above in Hong Kong is projected to rise from 15 per cent in 2014 to 38.4 per cent in 2069. Therefore, the quest for creating age-friendly conditions and the promotion of active ageing has become a priority for the Hong Kong Government and stakeholders in the city. Using a cross-national comparative framework for productive engagement in later life, this article examines the predictors of productive engagement (perceived voluntary engagement) in two districts (the Islands and Tsuen Wan) of Hong Kong – a typical productivist welfare regime in Asia. Data were collected through a social survey to ascertain the perception of an age-friendly city and active ageing in 2016 and 2018 from 1,638 persons aged 60 years and older. The results indicate some differences in the perception of the key determinants in both districts, but the factors associated with productive engagement were consistent, namely social atmosphere, social provisions and the built environment. The findings are discussed within the broader discourse on social gerontology, age-friendly cities and productivist welfare regimes.

Mapping Civic Engagement in Later Life: A Scoping Review of Gerontological Definitions and Typology Proposal

Research on older people’s civic engagement has increased significantly in the last two decades, as have policy and practice initiatives aimed at promoting civic engagement among older adults. However, the growing interest of researchers and policy-makers in older people’s civic engagement has not been mirrored by a parallel effort to define what civic engagement means in later life. To contribute to ongoing debates regarding the definition of civic engagement, this paper aims to examine the extent to which the concept has been defined in the ageing literature (RQ1), the ways in which it has been defined (RQ2), and the activities that have typically been associated with the concept (RQ3). We conducted a scoping review and content analysis of gerontological definitions of the concept of civic engagement and related concepts, such as volunteering and political participation. Our study reveals the diversity of ways in which older people are engaged, with some forms of activity, such as volunteering, more commonly featuring than others, such as informally helping others. A typology of civic activities among older people arose from the analysis of definitions, which permits their hierarchical differentiation and ordering, and thus contributes to a more nuanced and complex understanding of what we mean by being civically engaged in later life.

Mathematics and Relatedness: Predicting Optimal Social Engagement in Late Life

Multiple causes converge for older adults to shed social relationships. Lost opportunities for social engagement are tied to weakened cognitive reserve and under-optimal aging in health and disease. For example, a woman, 75, regularly strolls with younger friends. At 80, her reduced motor fitness makes it hard to keep pace and she withdraws her participation. With same-age peers, she might continue this healthy physical and social activity a few more years by unobtrusively shortening the outing or by slowing her pace. A man, 85, loves to debate politics with family, but his turn at talks diminish: his hearing loss (sensory) prevents quick grasp of the discussion; his slower verbal fluency (cognitive) hamper quick-witted replies. Both examples illustrate that social aging is not only a ¬¬¬property of the aging individual. Social context plays an important role. Our recently formed interdisciplinary group (geropsychiatric nurse, mathematical physicist and complexity scientist) is studying the systemic complexities of social aging with experiments and mathematical models. Our aim is to present our model and aging-focused hypotheses, as well as empirical validation in younger adults. Four key variables are group size and heterogeneity, and the strength and adaptability of social coordination. Our current results show that people coordinate better with others like them in pace, but they lose the ability to coordinate with people whose pace is different. We anticipate that our program of research will deliver evidence-based recommendations on social-engineering of activities that maximize opportunities for sustained interactions among older adults.

Social Participation, Social Support, and Social Policy Among Older Adults

The social world is closely linked to other dimensions of health, including physical health and illness, physical functioning, cognition and emotional well-being, and these links may change across generations and may depend on social and policy context. The papers in this symposium focus on these links. Carr examines the associations between productive engagement in later life and perceptions of social support and interactions with friends and family. She finds that volunteer engagement is associated with greater perceived social support and interaction with friends and family but not with support from spouse. Waite, Duvoisin and Kotwal measure changes in social participation between the Silent Generation cohort, born between1938 and1947, and the Baby Boom cohort, born from1948-1958. They find find that the gender differences shown in the Silent Generation cohort are reduced among those born during the Baby Boom. Azar examines the moderating role of social policy, particularly defamilization, on the link between loneliness and health, using data from30 European countries and the U.S. Choi compares marital and partnership status, social support and strain in Silent Generation vs. Baby Boom cohorts. Her results suggest that those born during the Baby Boom are embedded in looser social relationships compared to their older counterparts. Together, these papers point to the importance of considering various dimensions of social life, gender, and context, including historical time and the life cycle, in understanding how the social world acts to affect well-being.

An Integrative Conceptual Framework of Engagement in Socially-Productive Activity in Later Life: Implications for Clinical and Mezzo Social Work Practice

As the global population ages, expectations around socially-productive engagement in work, volunteer, and caregiving activities in later life are rapidly changing. Several streams of research to date inform our understanding of meaningful engagement in later life, but these bodies of research tend to be siloed in their approaches with few integrative frameworks. Further, advancing the national conversation around the AASWSW’s grand challenge to “Advance Long and Productive Lives” will require that social workers and other professionals have an understanding of what productive aging is at every level of social work practice, from micro to macro, and how these levels interact so that they have the tools they need to carry out the vision of this grand challenge. The goals of this paper are: (a) to further define the conceptual space of engagement, (b) to introduce subjective quality of engagement (SQE) as an important concept in the aging literature and present a conceptual model for it; (c) to integrate SQE into a broader conceptual model of engagement; and (d) to describe implications for clinical and mezzo social work practice. This more integrative approach focuses attention on the ways in which social work practitioners at the clinical and mezzo levels can best support older adult’s continued engagement in socially-productive activities that support health and well-being. We also propose that it will contribute to the discovery of more effective and targeted individual and public health interventions that facilitate the successful/healthy aging of individuals and our society.

Investigating social networks of older Singaporean learners: a mixed methods approach

ABSTRACTLifelong learning is regarded as an important channel in promoting active engagement in later life for aging societies. While most studies depict older learners as a group resilient to engaging in lifelong learning, few have addressed the impacts of their social networks on their participation. Drawing on the nationwide lifelong learning program in Singapore, the study explores the extent older Singaporean adults’ social networks influence their involvement in learning courses and illustrates how those networks matter to their motivations. A mixed methods approach consisting of two network instruments (Name Generator and Position Generator) and in-depth interviews based on 30 older Singaporeans (between 50 and 79 years old) were employed. The findings demonstrated that primary family members (spouse and children) were key discussants for older learners, but the narratives showed only children were key supporters. For female learners, husbands’ support could be limited. Such a gender difference was revealed in overlap networks among couples, with male learners receiving greater positive support from their wives. Furthermore, the results showed that single or widowed learners had more non-kin members and diverse network resources, which reflect in their discourses of being highly motivated and active in spreading news of courses. To conclude, the study delivered deeper understandings of how diverse social contexts influence older learners’ motivations. Future research shall continue to focus on variations of network characteristics and network resources to improve the understanding of how significant others and accessible network resources provide social support or opportunities for older learners.

Social engagement in late life may attenuate the burden of depressive symptoms due to financial strain in childhood

BackgroundIt remains poorly understood if childhood financial strain is associated with old-age depression and if active social life may mitigate this relationship. AimsTo investigate the association between childhood financial strain and depressive symptoms during aging; to examine whether late-life social engagement modifies this association. Method2884 dementia-free individuals (aged 60+) from the Swedish National study of Aging and Care-Kungsholmen were clinically examined over a 15-year follow-up. Presence of childhood financial strain was ascertained at baseline. Depressive symptoms were repeatedly assessed with the Montgomery–Åsberg Depression Rating Scale. Social engagement comprised information on baseline social network and leisure activities. Linear, logistic and mixed-effect models estimated baseline and longitudinal associations accounting for sociodemographic, clinical, and lifestyle factors. ResultsChildhood financial strain was independently associated with a higher baseline level of depressive symptoms (β = 0.37, 95%CI 0.10–0.65), but not with symptom change over time. Relative to those without financial strain and with active social engagement, depressive burden was increased in those without financial strain but with inactive social engagement (β = 0.43, 95%CI: 0.15–0.71), and in those with both financial strain and inactive engagement (β = 0.99, 95%CI: 0.59–1.40). Individuals with financial strain and active social engagement exhibited similar depressive burden as those without financial strain and with active social engagement. LimitationsRecall bias and reverse causality may affect study results, although sensitivity analyses suggest their limited effect. ConclusionsEarly-life financial strain may be of lasting importance for old-age depressive symptoms. Active social engagement in late-life may mitigate this association.

LONGITUDINAL RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN RESOURCES, MOTIVATION, AND ENGAGEMENT IN COGNITIVELY DEMANDING ACTIVITIES

Selective Engagement Theory (SET; Hess, 2014) suggests that decreases in personal resources and increases in the costs associated with activity engagement in old age negatively influence the motivation to engage in cognitively demanding activities. Here we explore these ideas longitudinally including a wide range of personal resources (cognitive ability, physical health, emotional health, and sensory functioning), with the expectation that emotional health might be a particularly important resource for older adults given its relative preservation with age. Young (n=125; age 19-42 at Time 1) and older adults (n=183; age 60-85 at Time 1) were tested from two to five times between years 2010 and 2016. Resources, motivation, and self-reported activity engagement (VLS Activity Questionnaire) were assessed at each time point. Using multilevel structural equation modeling, we found that changes in emotional health and sensory functioning predicted changes in motivation to engage in cognitively demanding activities. Additionally, increases in motivation predicted increases in engagement in cognitively demanding activities (e.g., technical, developmental), but decreases in less demanding activities (e.g., TV watching). Lastly, motivation partially mediated the relationships between emotional health and these activities, as well as between sensory functioning and engagement in technical activities. Results provide support for SET, demonstrating associations between changes in resources, motivation, and engagement in activities that are particularly demanding of cognitive resources, with the strength of these relationships being stronger in older than in young adults. Our results suggest that emotional resources may be particularly influential in determining the motivation for activity engagement in later life.

INTEREST GROUP SESSION—AGING WORKFORCE: WORK AND PRODUCTIVE AGING: OPPORTUNITIES AND CHALLENGES

With much of the world experiencing population aging and a strong need—and desire—among many approaching later life to work longer than past norms, individuals and institutions are experimenting with new ways of working. Yet given the complexities of navigating the work environment in later life, including aspects of cumulative (dis)advantage that help or hinder one’s work prospects, the pull to socially impactful work in the nonprofit sector, and the day-to-day experience of such work in later life, outcomes from this work can vary. Consequently, this symposium will focus on the challenges and opportunities of working longer and their relevance to a productive aging model. The first paper will provide a framework for engaging in the conversation on productive engagement in later life. It will give particular consideration to older workers with lower levels of socioeconomic status in OECD countries. The second paper will discuss results from more than 1,400 surveys of fellows and organizational hosts that have participated in the Encore Fellowships Network, which matches mid- and late-career workers (typically corporate retirees) to non-profit organizations seeking their skills and experience. The third and final paper will reveal findings from an experience sampling methods study of two groups of older adults over the age of 60: founders or leaders of social purpose organizations, and older volunteers. We will conclude by facilitating a discussion on ideas for future scholarship on longer working lives, with particular emphasis on individuals with less advantage as well as those pursuing social purpose work.

INVESTIGATING SOCIAL NETWORKS OF OLDER SINGAPOREAN LEARNERS: THE MIXED-METHODS SOCIAL NETWORK APPROACH

Lifelong learning has been regarded as an important factor of promoting active engagement in later life for researchers and policy makers. Most of the studies tend to illustrate old learners as a homogeneous and self-resilient group of people to engage in lifelong learning. Few studies address older learners’ social capital in affecting their decision of engagement and in sustaining their motivation. The study documented the existing social networks of older Singaporeans in lifelong learning programs and illustrated how social networks contributed their participation in learning. The mixed methods consist of in-depth interviews and two network instruments (Name Generator and Position Generator) based on 30 older Singaporeans (between 50 and 79 years old) who attended lifelong learning courses between 2016 and 2018. Interviews are transcribed and analyzed. The network instruments of are quantified and visualized. The findings show that older learners’ networks included a mixture of social ties from family and friends. Learners’ closeness with network members and their living arrangement with them influenced learners’ involvement in learning and future planning. Single respondents who had more non-kin members in the networks reported to be more active due to their weak ties. Overlapping networks among couple learners increase the spousal support for learning. Learners who had wider ranges of social resources are associated with their interest in learning activities. The study suggests that advocating lifelong learning needs to take older adults’ networks into considerations as networks represent the social forces that influence their decisions and motivations.

OLD-AGE DEPRESSIVE SYMPTOMS: THE ROLE OF EARLY-LIFE FINANCIAL STRAIN AND LATE-LIFE SOCIAL ENGAGEMENT

It remains unclear if childhood socioeconomic disadvantage is associated with depression in old age. This study aims to investigate the effect of childhood financial strain on depressive symptoms in old age, and to examine whether late-life social engagement modifies this association. Data from the Swedish National study of Aging and Care in Kungsholmen, a community-based longitudinal study of aging, spanning clinical assessments over 15 years of follow-up were used. Information on financial strain in childhood was collected at baseline. Repeated measures of the Montgomery–Åsberg Depression Rating Scale were used to define depressive trajectories. A social engagement index comprised information on baseline social network and leisure activities. Linear mixed models were used to estimate depressive trajectories. Childhood financial strain was associated with a higher level of depressive symptoms (β = 0.36; p<0.05), but not the rate of symptom accumulation over time. Relative to those with a combination of no financial strain and active social engagement, the level of depressive symptoms was progressively increased in those without financial strain but with inactive social engagement (β = 0.29; p<0.05), as well as in those with both financial strain and inactive engagement (β= 0.83; p<0.05). Individuals with financial strain who had active social engagement exhibited a similar burden of symptoms as those without financial strain and with rich social engagement. Early-life financial strain may have a lasting effect on old age depressive symptoms, although its detrimental consequences may be modified by active social engagement in late life.

EFFECTS OF PRODUCTIVE ENGAGEMENT ON SUBJECTIVE HEALTH AMONG OLDER ADULTS WITH SENSORY IMPAIRMENTS

Background: Productive engagement becomes significant protective factors in healthy aging. Yet, subgroups of older adults with age-related vision and hearing impairments lack access to various activities , suggesting that unequal ability to participate in productive aging is a major public health and health-disparities concern. Methods: Older adults experiencing age-related vision and hearing impairments were drawn from the 2015-2017 National Survey on Drug Use and Health (n=2,164). Perceived health status (good vs. poor) was outcome measures used in multivariate logistic regression. Two aspects of productive engagement was considered: 1) employment status (unemployed vs employed) and 2) regular religious service attendance as tools to build social capital in their faith-based communities. Gender, race, marital status, educational attainment, poverty, urbanization, obesity, chronic disease, hospitalization, binge drinking, cigarette smoking, and difficulty with mobility were considered as covariates. Results: Working older adults with sensory loss were more likely to perceived good health status, compared to their unemployed counterparts (OR=2.46, p<.05). Religious service attendance also became protective factors for health (OR=1.60, p<.01). Of the covariates, higher educational attainment, White race, having one chronic disease, hospitalization, smoking, drinking, and mobility challenges appeared to affect the health status. Conclusions/Implications: Study findings implied the needs to identify late-life engagement through work and participation in faith-based community as a major public health issue. Given the barriers and disincentives to the productive engagement of older adults in this culture, healthcare providers should provide programs promoting employment and religious attendance.

Examining multi-layer constraints on activity engagement among older adults

Abstract Background Social and cognitive activities motivate the older adults to develop individual aspirations, newfound sources of pleasure, and engagement in later life. The current study aimed to examine a wide range of factors that might impede older adults’ participation in activities, and to provide strategies to manipulate the constraints in the promotion of active ageing. Methods We used data drawn from a sample of the Survey of Health, Ageing, and Retirement in Europe (SHARE) wave 7.0. The study sample comprised 48,742 European elderly, aged between 65 and 105 years (54% female). Multiple questionnaire items were used to assess various constraints including socio-demographic factors, personality, social supports, health and psychological indicators. Activities included social and cognitive activities and also moderate physical activities. A series of regression analysis was performed to examine the hypothesized relationships between study variables. Results Those older adults who reported negative perception of neighborhood environment (p &amp;lt; .001), poor health (p &amp;lt; .001), chronic diseases (p &amp;lt; .001), and frequent loneliness and depression (p &amp;lt; .001) were less likely to participate in social and cognitive activities. Moderate-level of physical activities were strongly related to the health variables (p &amp;lt; .001) and social supports (p &amp;lt; .001). Among the demographic variables, age was highlighted as the most predictable factor for the decreased participation in activities. Conclusions In order to promote diverse forms of activities in later life, we should be better-informed about different nature and variability of the constraints among the older adults. Improving accessibility to the activities such as ageing-friendly facilities and home-oriented social service and recreation programs can help older adults more engage in daily activities. Key messages Older adults experience varied constraints on social, cognitive and physical activities. Public health should improve accessibility to diverse forms of activities in later life.

Loneliness: A Modern Epidemic Psychiatry Is Poised to Address

Loneliness: A Modern Epidemic Psychiatry Is Poised to Address

Life satisfaction in older adults in Spain: beyond subjective health.

Many authors over the centuries have attempted to refute popular negative stereotypes about aging. In 2010, Depp, Vahia, and Jeste reviewed theories of success in aging (Depp et al., 2010), and some examples include Erikson's life stage theory in which he posited that successful resolution of earlier conflicts led to integrity in later life instead of despair; disengagement theory referred to the fact that in our culture, aging is associated with social isolation and reduced societal involvement - with this theory, successful adaptation to aging means coping with this normative disengagement in a healthy manner; activity theory referred to continued engagement in later life; continuity theory emphasized the role of adapting oneself to maintain consistency with earlier life roles. The common theme is that longevity is not enough, and a successful aging process means delaying the onset of disability, compressing morbidity, or shortening the proportion of the lifespan in which one is disabled.