Neighborhood atmosphere modifies the eudaimonic impact of cohesion and friendship among older adults: A multilevel mixed-methods study

Gan, Daniel Rong Yao; Fung, John Chye; Cho, Im Sik

doi:10.1016/j.socscimed.2021.113682

Cited by 28 publications

(24 citation statements)

References 38 publications

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“…In other words, older adults who had been homebound could potentially demonstrate greater resilience in the face of mobility restrictions. The mental health effects of COVID-19 are not straightforward and may vary greatly from individual to individual, just as the salubrious effects of neighborhood social contact vary from context to context [ 25 ]. Given the uniqueness of individual responses to local and personal contexts, it may be more helpful to tailor (tele)health interventions to individuals and their contexts based on their mental health outcomes than sociodemographic variables alone.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Prior Social Contact and Mental Health Trajectories during COVID-19: Neighborhood Friendship Protects Vulnerable Older Adults

Gan

Best

2021

IJERPH

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Social networking protects mental health during a crisis. Prior contact with social organizations, friends, and non-friend neighbors may be associated with better trajectories of loneliness, depression and subjective memory during COVID-19. Regression analysis was conducted using longitudinal data from a representative sample of n = 3105 US adults aged ≥55 in April–October 2020. Latent profile analysis was also conducted. Prior contact with friends (B = −0.075, p < 0.001), neighbors (B = −0.048, p = 0.007), and social organizations (B = −0.073, p < 0.001) predicted for better mental health during COVID-19. Three profiles were identified: Profile 1 had the best outcomes, with prior contact with social organizations (B = −0.052, p = 0.044) predicting decreasing loneliness. For Profile 2, prior ‘meeting’ contact with friends predicted decreasing loneliness (B = −0.075, p < 0.001) and better subjective memory (B = −0.130, p = 0.011). Conversely, prior contact with neighbors (B = −0.165, p = 0.010) predicted worsening loneliness among Profile 3. The COVID-19 pandemic has had a differential impact on the mental health trajectories of aging adults with social ties of different strengths. Stronger neighborhood networks are important to mitigate poor mental health outcomes among vulnerable older adults during a crisis. Older adults who are living alone and had relied on non-friend neighbors for social connectedness require additional community supports. Policy interventions are required to mitigate the mental health impact of future pandemics.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Prior Social Contact and Mental Health Trajectories during COVID-19: Neighborhood Friendship Protects Vulnerable Older Adults

Gan

Best

2021

IJERPH

Self Cite

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“…Apart from the differential distributions of life stressors in different social classes, the psychological and social resources to cope with stressors are also unequally accessible to different sexes. For example, for women residing in high-SES housing, possibly due to the availability of and/or socially acceptable use of residential public spaces by women in these contexts [ 58 , 59 ], the effects of sex-specific stressors could be ameliorated. Conversely, for women in low-SES housing, given the unique challenges they are faced with, including marital conflicts, juggling a full-time job and the roles as a wife [ 60 , 61 ], women may have less coping resources available which could be called upon in response to stressors [ 62 ].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Association between housing type and accelerated biological aging in different sexes: moderating effects of health behaviors

Matchar

Pyrkov

et al. 2021

Aging

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Introduction: Despite associated with multiple geriatric disorders, whether housing type, an indicator of socioeconomic status (SES) and environmental factors, is associated with accelerated biological aging is unknown. Furthermore, although individuals with low-SES have higher body mass index (BMI) and are more likely to smoke, whether BMI and smoking status moderate the association between SES and biological aging is unclear. We examined these questions in urbanized low-SES older community-dwelling adults. Methods: First, we analyzed complete blood count data using the cox proportional hazards model and derived measures for biological age (BA) and biological age acceleration (BAA, the higher the more accelerated aging) ( N = 376). Subsequently, BAA was regressed on housing type, controlling for covariates, including four other SES indicators. Interaction terms between housing type and BMI/smoking status were separately added to examine their moderating effects. Total sample and sex-stratified analyses were performed. Results: There were significant differences between men and women in housing type and BAA. Compared to residents in ≥3 room public or private housing, older adults resided in 1–2 room public housing had a higher BAA. Furthermore, BMI attenuated the association between housing type and BAA. In sex-stratified analyses, the main and interaction effects were only significant in women. In men, smoking status instead aggravated the association between housing type and BAA. Conclusion: Controlling for other SES indicators, housing type is an independent socio-environmental determinant of BA and BAA in a low-SES urbanized population. There were also sex differences in the moderating effects of health behaviors on biological aging.

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“…Social cohesion has been reported to be a source of physical and mental health in the elderly [22,38,41,[45][46][47]51,[65][66][67]. The reason for this is that having social connections has practical implications for the elderly [58,59] and provides them with opportunities to gain social and material resources [55][56][57].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In other words, if the social cohesion in the neighborhood where the older adults live is sufficient, community members may try to support the mobility of the older adults by teaching them new information that supports their ability to drive. Because social cohesion functions to support the lives of older adults, experiencing low cohesion has also been reported to be associated with their poorer physical and mental health [41,[43][44][45][46][47]. However, if they are more socially cohesive, older adults participate in society [48][49][50] and are able to prevent their physical disability [51].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Effect of Social Cohesion on Interest, Usefulness, and Ease of Use of a Driving Assistance System in Older Adults

Kamide

2021

IJERPH

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This study examined the relationship between social cohesion and the perceived interest in, the usefulness of, and the ease of use of an instructor-based driver assistance system in a sample of older adults. With the aging of the population, the use of technologies to support the driving skills of the elderly is expected, and it is necessary to clarify the conditions under which the elderly will be interested in these advanced technologies. Traditionally, social cohesion has been focused on as a function of instrumental and practical support in the lives of the elderly. Since social cohesion reflects the intention to help each other, it could be an opportunity to provide information on advanced driving skill techniques to older people who are becoming more difficult to drive. As an initial exploration, this study examined whether social cohesion was associated with the interest in, the usefulness of, and the ease of use of an instructor-based driver assistance system in 150 elderly people. The results showed that a greater social cohesion was significantly associated with these evaluations, and that a comprehension of the system also contributed. The possession of a license was significantly associated with interest in the program. These findings are an essential step toward the understanding of the roles of social cohesion and positive perception of advanced technology in older adults.

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Neighborhood atmosphere modifies the eudaimonic impact of cohesion and friendship among older adults: A multilevel mixed-methods study

Cited by 28 publications

References 38 publications

Prior Social Contact and Mental Health Trajectories during COVID-19: Neighborhood Friendship Protects Vulnerable Older Adults

Prior Social Contact and Mental Health Trajectories during COVID-19: Neighborhood Friendship Protects Vulnerable Older Adults

Association between housing type and accelerated biological aging in different sexes: moderating effects of health behaviors

The Effect of Social Cohesion on Interest, Usefulness, and Ease of Use of a Driving Assistance System in Older Adults

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