Physical Environment vs. Social Environment: What Factors of Age-Friendliness Predict Subjective Well-Being in Men and Women?

Abstract

“Age-Friendly Cities and Communities” is an initiative launched by the WHO in 2007 that has spread to more than 1000 cities and communities around the world. This initiative is based on an integrated physical and social environment for older people, and a model of participatory, collaborative governance. An enabling social environment setting is just as important as material conditions in determining well-being in later life. The objective of this study is to analyze the interaction between age-friendliness (physical and social) and subjective well-being in women and men aged 55 and over in the Basque Country. The methodology was based on a survey of a representative sample (n = 2469 individuals). In order to know the predictive power of age-friendliness over subjective well-being, linear regression models separated by gender were constructed. The predictive models of age-friendliness are composed by different variables for men and women. In both cases, the physical environment variables do not remain in the final model. Among the predictors of well-being in men, the coexistence stands out as a safety and support network. In women, the neighborhood has proved to be a very important resource. The conclusions of this study contribute to literature and interventions promoting more effective strategies that enhance older people well-being, considering the gender perspective.

Assessment of Environmental Demands of Age-Friendly Communities from Perspectives of Different Residential Groups: A Case of Wuhan, China

“…Table 9 compares the demand of men and women, and it shows that generally, women have a higher mean value than men for most of the indicators, which shows that women pay more attention to the community environment than men. This is consistent with Del et al [ 68 ]’s study, which concluded that women have higher requirements for housing and social participation than men. More specifically, women have high demands for community sanitation, and domestic equipment maintenance and repair.…”

Relationships among mental health, social capital and life satisfaction in rural senior older adults: a structural equation model

“…Life satisfaction was influenced by social resources, such as social relations, social environment, financial independence, and access to adequate medical service [ 14 – 16 ]. As a social factor, social capital has also been considered as a contributor to positive life satisfaction among older adults in accordance to its structural and cognitive dimensions [ 17 ].…”

Age-Friendly Cities and Communities: State of the Art and Future Perspectives

“…The study by del Barrio et al [41] analysed the interaction between age-friendliness (physical and social) and subjective well-being through a survey among people aged 55-years and over in the Basque Country in Spain. The predictive power of age-friendliness over subjective well-being was analysed using linear regression models separated by sex.…”

“…For this Feature Paper Special Issue entitled "Age-Friendly Cities and Communities: State of the Art and Future Perspectives", a total of 29 papers were recently published on different topics related to this subject matter. Of the published papers, seven papers [22][23][24][25][26][27][28] related to age-friendly neighbourhoods, cities, communities and societies, three papers [29][30][31] explored innovative approaches to housing, two papers [32,33] concentrated on age-friendly transportation, four papers [34][35][36][37] focused on innovative practices in the domain of cure and/or care for older citizens, four papers [38][39][40][41] related to respect and social inclusion, and nine papers [42][43][44][45][46][47][48][49][50] dealt with the consideration of technology in an age-friendly city or community.…”