Participation In Formal Groups Research Articles

Life course linkages between enriching early-life activities and later life cognition: Evidence from the Wisconsin Longitudinal Study

Prior research suggests that participation in enriching early-life activities (EELAs) has long-term benefits for cognitive health and aging. This study aims to examine the life course processes underlying these associations by drawing on theoretical models from life course epidemiology. Specifically, we tested sensitive-period effects, social pathways, and selection effects as potential explanations for linkages between greater participation in EELAs and better later life cognition. We drew on data from the Wisconsin Longitudinal Study (WLS), which is among the longest-running cohort studies in the U.S. that has followed graduates (all identified as non-Hispanic White) from Wisconsin high schools since 1957. We used prospective measures of key variables, including information from high school yearbooks, with assessments of cognitive performance at ages 65 and 72. Results from multilevel modeling indicated that greater participation in cognitively oriented extracurricular activities (but not physically nor socially oriented activities) was associated with both better language/executive functioning and memory at age 65. Although the size of these associations was reduced when accounting for other cognitive resources in adolescence (childhood socioeconomic status and adolescent cognitive ability) and in midlife (adult socioeconomic status and formal group participation), there remained small, yet statistically robust, associations. We did not find robust associations between greater EELA engagement and slower rates of decline in cognition between ages 65 and 72, nor did we find evidence of gender differences. Results suggest that for this cohort of older adults, EELA participation is part of life course “protective chains,” whereby exposures to assets at one point in the life course increase the likelihood of subsequent exposures, each sequentially and in their own right, toward better later life cognition. We discuss how results support the importance of policies and practices to promote healthy cognitive development among youth for the long-term cognitive health of a rapidly aging U.S. population.

Explaining Gender Differences in Changes in Volunteering after Divorce

ABSTRACT Although there is evidence that divorce and volunteering are related, little is known about the process by which divorce affects volunteering. Using four-wave panel data spanning 16 years, this study examines the causal mechanisms underlying changes in volunteering following divorce. Results from estimating structural equation models indicated that divorce affects volunteering through different mechanisms for women and men. For women, increased financial strain explained a decline in volunteering after divorce. For men, decreased social integration measured by formal group participation accounted for a decline in volunteering after divorce. Domain-specific analyses further showed that decreased religious attendance following divorce explained a decline in religious volunteering and, at the same time, an increase in secular volunteering among men but not women. Men appear to switch their volunteering domains from religious to secular organizations after divorce.

Cross-sectional analysis of self-efficacy and social capital in a community-based healthy village project in Santa Cruz, Bolivia.

BackgroundAn assessment of self-efficacy and social capital may have the potential to detect an effect of dynamic, complex and comprehensive collective actions in community-based health promotion. In 2003, a healthy village project was launched in Santa Cruz, Bolivia with technical assistance from the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA). The originally developed FORSA (Fortalecimiento de Redes de Salud) model accounted for participatory processes in which people could improve their health and well-being through individual behavioral changes and family/community-driven activities. This study aimed to examine the extent of self-efficacy and social capital obtained via project activities by a cross-sectional analysis.MethodsWe randomly selected 340 subjects from the healthy village project site and 113 subjects from a control area. Both groups were interviewed using the same structured questionnaire. Self-efficacy was assessed with a General Self-Efficacy Scale (GSES), while social capital was measured as the frequency of formal group participation in community meetings during the past three months, perceived social solidarity, and general trust.ResultsThe study results showed that the participants in the project site had higher self-efficacy and social capital compared to those in the control site. The number of times a subject participated in the health committee activities was positively associated with the self-efficacy scale. Regarding social capital, females and lower-educated people were more likely to have had more frequent participation in formal groups; males and higher-educated participants showed less formal group participation, but more generosity to contribute money for the community. The main perceived benefit of participation in formal group activities varied among individuals.ConclusionThe findings suggest that people in the healthy village project site have higher self-efficacy, especially those with active participation in the health committee activities. To recruit more participants in future healthy village projects, we should consider the gender and level of education, and match the perceived benefits of participants accordingly.

Multilevel, cross‐sectional study on social capital with psychogeriatric health among olderJapanese people dwelling in rural areas

There has been increasing interest in the effect of social capital (SC) on health over the last decade both in Japan and internationally. This study elucidated whether components of SC are linked to the psychogeriatric health of older Japanese individuals. Data for 169 eligible older people living in three rural areas were collected. Multilevel analyses were performed to examine associations between general trust, informal social interaction and formal group participation with self-rated health, mini-mental state examination (MMSE), self-rated depression scale (SDS) and general self-efficacy scale (GSES). Our study revealed that MMSE, SDS and GSES were significantly associated with informal social interaction and formal group participation after adjusting for area-level SC. However, we observed no relationship between general trust and health outcomes. The findings suggest that the strategic enhancement of social cohesion and social networks for older people may promote their health and quality of later life.

Personnel Reforms and Formal Participation Structures: the Case of the Biloxi Merit Councils

This article attempts to demonstrate that personnel reform can be implemented much more smoothly if formal employee participation groups are established to ease system development and acceptance. Based on the experience of Biloxi, Mississippi, in its implementation of a merit pay plan, the utilization of employee merit councils appears to have had a very positive effect on employee attitudes toward management and merit system acceptance. Employees who participated on the merit councils were much more likely to perceive the system as fair and as one which actually in creased individual and team productivity — when compared to those employees who did not engage in formal group participation. These results, while not unexpected, provide further evidence support ive of participative management strategies.

Widowhood, Social Participation and Life Satisfaction

The study is an analysis of the relation between widowhood, social participation and life satisfaction as measured by the Havighurst Life Satisfaction Scale-Form A. The study compared the level of participation and LSIA scores of married and widowed males and females residing in sixty-one small towns of Missouri in 1966. Females were found to be more activity oriented than males, whether with children, relatives, friends or in formal organizations. There were no changes in activity patterns after widowhood among females. Males show a linear decline in most types of participation with length of widowhood. Association with friends appears to be more closely associated with LSIA score than is association with children and relatives. Participation in formal groups, primarily the church, correlated more closely with LSIA scores than does either participation with family or friends. Widowhood produces a more drastic change in life style and in satisfaction of small town elderly males than it does for females.

Anomie, Social Isolation, and the Class Structure

Several recent studies contain data which suggest that anomie, as measured by the Srole scale, is an important determinant of prejudice (7, 12, 13). It is less clear, however, as to what factor or factors may be important in producing anomie in an individual. Srole has found economic status to be negatively related to anomie, but other researchers interpret their data to the contrary.2 There remain, however, persuasive theoretical considerations which would lead one to contend with Merton that the strain toward anomie operates unevenly throughout the various segments of the social structure, with persons in low economic positions being characterized by personal demoralization or disorganization (6). Thus, one purpose of this paper is to bring a new set of data to bear on the hypothesis that economic status is an important determinant of anomie. A second purpose of the paper is to locate other factors which may be related to anomie. The most important of these considered here is social isolation, the hypothesis being that those persons who are relatively isolated are more likely to be anomic than persons who are less isolated. Participation in informal groups such as the neighborhood group, the kin group, the work group, and the friendship group as well as participation in formal groups can be expected to be inversely related to anomie in that the individual achieves through such participation not only close, intimate, and personally satisfying social relations, but also a sense of being a meaningful and effective part of the society. The third purpose of this paper is to relate both unit and personal measures of economic status to anomie. The economic characteristics of the neighborhood in which a person lives (a unit variable) is expected to affect his responses to the anomie scale even when his individual economic characteristics (a personal variable) are controlled.

Urban Neighborhoods and Informal Social Relations

Interviews with men in four neighborhoods of different social type in San Francisco reveal that informal relationships within the neighborhood are fairly frequent and likely to be personal, close, and intimate. The frequency and the nature of informal participation vary with the economic and family characterics of the neighborhoods. Compared to neighbors and co-workers, kin are generally more important in each neighborhood by all the measures of informal participation used. Formal group participation results in friendship for the majority.