IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/socmed/v229y2019icp79-86.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Culturally-specific productive engagement and self-rated health among Taiwanese older adults

Author

Listed:
  • Wang, Wei-Pang
  • Wu, Li-Hsueh
  • Zhang, Wei
  • Tsay, Ruey-Ming

Abstract

Productive aging is one of the most prominent gerontological concepts in Western societies over the past three decades. However, it is relatively unknown what types of productive engagement affect self-rated health in Asian societies. The mechanisms linking them are also not thoroughly explored. Using the representative 2017 Taichung Good Elderly Life Survey (N = 616), this study examined whether and how work-related, family-related, and community-related types of productive engagement are associated with self-rated health among older adults in Taiwan. This study first revealed the culturally-prioritized types of family-related engagement (i.e., emotional support for adult children and leisure care for grandchildren) and several types of community-related engagement were significantly and positively related to self-rated health, whereas employment, financial and instrumental types of support/grandparenting, and volunteering were not. Second, this study indicated that the previously understudied psychosocial mechanisms (i.e., resilience, sense of control, making new friends, and schedule compliance) partially accounted for the association between productive engagement and self-rated health. Findings suggest the importance of examining culturally-specific indicators of productive aging and their differential health effects in non-Western contexts.

Suggested Citation

  • Wang, Wei-Pang & Wu, Li-Hsueh & Zhang, Wei & Tsay, Ruey-Ming, 2019. "Culturally-specific productive engagement and self-rated health among Taiwanese older adults," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 229(C), pages 79-86.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:socmed:v:229:y:2019:i:c:p:79-86
    DOI: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2018.07.037
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0277953618303940
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.socscimed.2018.07.037?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Emily A. Greenfield & Nadine F. Marks, 2004. "Formal Volunteering as a Protective Factor for Older Adults' Psychological Well-Being," The Journals of Gerontology: Series B, The Gerontological Society of America, vol. 59(5), pages 258-264.
    2. Yanni Hao, 2008. "Productive Activities and Psychological Well-Being Among Older Adults," The Journals of Gerontology: Series B, The Gerontological Society of America, vol. 63(2), pages 64-72.
    3. Cornwell, Benjamin & Laumann, Edward O., 2015. "The health benefits of network growth: New evidence from a national survey of older adults," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 125(C), pages 94-106.
    4. Berkman, Lisa F. & Glass, Thomas & Brissette, Ian & Seeman, Teresa E., 2000. "From social integration to health: Durkheim in the new millennium," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 51(6), pages 843-857, September.
    5. Nancy Morrow-Howell & Jim Hinterlong & Philip A. Rozario & Fengyan Tang, 2003. "Effects of Volunteering on the Well-Being of Older Adults," The Journals of Gerontology: Series B, The Gerontological Society of America, vol. 58(3), pages 137-145.
    6. Julie Robison & Richard Fortinsky & Alison Kleppinger & Noreen Shugrue & Martha Porter, 2009. "A Broader View of Family Caregiving: Effects of Caregiving and Caregiver Conditions on Depressive Symptoms, Health, Work, and Social Isolation," The Journals of Gerontology: Series B, The Gerontological Society of America, vol. 64(6), pages 788-798.
    7. Martin Pinquart & Silvia Sörensen, 2007. "Correlates of Physical Health of Informal Caregivers: A Meta-Analysis," The Journals of Gerontology: Series B, The Gerontological Society of America, vol. 62(2), pages 126-137.
    8. Marieke Van Willigen, 2000. "Differential Benefits of Volunteering Across the Life Course," The Journals of Gerontology: Series B, The Gerontological Society of America, vol. 55(5), pages 308-318.
    9. Musick, Marc A. & Wilson, John, 2003. "Volunteering and depression: the role of psychological and social resources in different age groups," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 56(2), pages 259-269, January.
    10. Katharina Mahne & Oliver Huxhold, 2015. "Grandparenthood and Subjective Well-Being: Moderating Effects of Educational Level," The Journals of Gerontology: Series B, The Gerontological Society of America, vol. 70(5), pages 782-792.
    11. Mary Elizabeth Hughes & Linda J. Waite & Tracey A. LaPierre & Ye Luo, 2007. "All in the Family: The Impact of Caring for Grandchildren on Grandparents' Health," The Journals of Gerontology: Series B, The Gerontological Society of America, vol. 62(2), pages 108-119.
    12. Di Gessa, Giorgio & Glaser, Karen & Tinker, Anthea, 2016. "The impact of caring for grandchildren on the health of grandparents in Europe: A lifecourse approach," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 152(C), pages 166-175.
    13. Li-Jung E. Ku & Sally C. Stearns & Courtney H. Van Houtven & Shoou-Yih D. Lee & Peggye Dilworth-Anderson & Thomas R. Konrad, 2013. "Impact of Caring for Grandchildren on the Health of Grandparents in Taiwan," The Journals of Gerontology: Series B, The Gerontological Society of America, vol. 68(6), pages 1009-1021.
    14. Li-Hsueh Wu & Ruey-Ming Tsay, 2018. "The Search for Happiness: Work Experiences and Quality of Life of Older Taiwanese Men," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 136(3), pages 1031-1051, April.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Zhongsheng Wu & Angela Bies, 2021. "Volunteering and Self-Rated Health in Urban China: New Evidence from Analyses of Treatment-Effects Models," Applied Research in Quality of Life, Springer;International Society for Quality-of-Life Studies, vol. 16(5), pages 2185-2201, October.
    2. Siew-Imm Ng & Xin-Jean Lim & Hui-Chuan Hsu, 2021. "The Importance of Age-Friendly City on Older People’s Continuity and Life Satisfaction," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(14), pages 1-16, July.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Danielsbacka, Mirkka & Tanskanen, Antti O. & Coall, David A. & Jokela, Markus, 2019. "Grandparental childcare, health and well-being in Europe: A within-individual investigation of longitudinal data," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 230(C), pages 194-203.
    2. Wang, Shuhong & Li, Shengxiao (Alex) & Hu, Wanyang, 2022. "Grandparenting and subjective well-being in China: The moderating effects of residential location, gender, age, and income," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 315(C).
    3. Heng Qu, 2022. "Differential Associations Between Volunteering and Subjective Well-Being by Labor Force Status: An Investigation of Experiential and Evaluative Well-Being Using Time Use Data," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 23(4), pages 1737-1770, April.
    4. Lindsey McDougle & Femida Handy & Sara Konrath & Marlene Walk, 2014. "Health Outcomes and Volunteering: The Moderating Role of Religiosity," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 117(2), pages 337-351, June.
    5. Xu, Hongwei, 2019. "Physical and mental health of Chinese grandparents caring for grandchildren and great-grandparents," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 229(C), pages 106-116.
    6. Michelle I. Jongenelis & Ben Jackson & Jennifer Warburton & Robert U. Newton & Simone Pettigrew, 2022. "Aspects of formal volunteering that contribute to favourable psychological outcomes in older adults," European Journal of Ageing, Springer, vol. 19(1), pages 107-116, March.
    7. Ates, Merih, 2017. "Does grandchild care influence grandparents’ self-rated health? Evidence from a fixed effects approach," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 190(C), pages 67-74.
    8. Arjen Wit & Heng Qu & René Bekkers, 2022. "The health advantage of volunteering is larger for older and less healthy volunteers in Europe: a mega-analysis," European Journal of Ageing, Springer, vol. 19(4), pages 1189-1200, December.
    9. Maria Vozikaki & Manolis Linardakis & Katerina Micheli & Anastas Philalithis, 2017. "Activity Participation and Well-Being Among European Adults Aged 65 years and Older," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 131(2), pages 769-795, March.
    10. Anke Plagnol & Felicia Huppert, 2010. "Happy to Help? Exploring the Factors Associated with Variations in Rates of Volunteering Across Europe," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 97(2), pages 157-176, June.
    11. Trine Filges & Anu Siren & Torben Fridberg & Bjørn C. V. Nielsen, 2020. "Voluntary work for the physical and mental health of older volunteers: A systematic review," Campbell Systematic Reviews, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 16(4), December.
    12. Aoki, Yu, 2014. "Donating Time to Charity: Not Working for Nothing," IZA Discussion Papers 7990, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    13. Liu, Yiwei & Duan, Yanan & Xu, Ling, 2020. "Volunteer service and positive attitudes toward aging among Chinese older adults: The mediating role of health," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 265(C).
    14. Huang, Li-Hsuan, 2019. "Well-being and volunteering: Evidence from aging societies in Asia," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 229(C), pages 172-180.
    15. Matthias Lühr & Maria K. Pavlova & Maike Luhmann, 2022. "Nonpolitical Versus Political Participation: Longitudinal Associations with Mental Health and Social Well-Being in Different Age Groups," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 159(3), pages 865-884, February.
    16. Xue Yang & Doudou Yin, 2022. "The Protective Effect of Caring for Grandchildren on the Mental Health of the Elderly: A Structural Equation Modeling Analysis," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(3), pages 1-15, January.
    17. Molli R. Grossman & Diana Wang & Tara L. Gruenewald, 2019. "Variations in Daily Cognitive Affective States as a Function of Variations in Daily Generative Activity," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 20(1), pages 19-34, January.
    18. Hilbrand, Sonja & Coall, David A. & Meyer, Andrea H. & Gerstorf, Denis & Hertwig, Ralph, 2017. "A prospective study of associations among helping, health, and longevity," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 187(C), pages 109-117.
    19. Hongwei Xu, 2022. "Grandparenting and Cognitive Functioning in China," Population Research and Policy Review, Springer;Southern Demographic Association (SDA), vol. 41(1), pages 285-316, February.
    20. James Nazroo, 2017. "Class and Health Inequality in Later Life: Patterns, Mechanisms and Implications for Policy," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 14(12), pages 1-19, December.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:socmed:v:229:y:2019:i:c:p:79-86. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/wps/find/journaldescription.cws_home/315/description#description .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.