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Age integration in older Europeans’ non-kin core networks: Does formal social participation play a role?

Author

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  • Haosen Sun

    (University of Toronto)

  • Markus H. Schafer

    (University of Toronto)

Abstract

Age segregation—the widespread separation of people by age—is deemed by many gerontologists a major problem in contemporary societies. Contributing to this dialog, the current exploratory article examines the presence of non-kin members in European seniors’ close personal networks. Specifically, we document network connections to people outside of their 10-year birth cohort, both younger (“downward” age integration) and older (“upward” age integration). We consider whether different aspects of social participation—breadth and intensity of activity, and specific types of participation—are associated with age integration and we pay particular attention to variation across four regions of the continent. Analyses use Wave 6 of the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (N = 34,282) which contains an updated social networks module. Results of descriptive analyses and logistic regression models demonstrate three key findings. First, both forms of age integration are rare—fewer than 10% of older Europeans have non-kin networks that extend beyond their own cohorts. Nevertheless, both forms of age integration tend to be higher in northern and central Europe than in the south and east. Second, two dimensions of formal social activity involvement were associated with age integration, namely activity breadth and intensity. Third, though there was some evidence that particular formal activities were linked to age integration, this pattern was not consistent across the whole of Europe. Overall, findings point to the significance of cultural and organizational variation across Europe as well as to important and increasingly relevant social cleavages in the later segments of adulthood.

Suggested Citation

  • Haosen Sun & Markus H. Schafer, 2019. "Age integration in older Europeans’ non-kin core networks: Does formal social participation play a role?," European Journal of Ageing, Springer, vol. 16(4), pages 455-472, December.
  • Handle: RePEc:spr:eujoag:v:16:y:2019:i:4:d:10.1007_s10433-019-00507-z
    DOI: 10.1007/s10433-019-00507-z
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Philip Haynes & Laura Banks & Michael Hill, 2014. "The relationship between employment and social networks in the older population," International Journal of Social Economics, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 41(4), pages 321-335, April.
    2. Bianca Suanet & Theo G. van Tilburg & Marjolein I. Broese van Groenou, 2013. "Nonkin in Older Adults’ Personal Networks: More Important Among Later Cohorts?," The Journals of Gerontology: Series B, The Gerontological Society of America, vol. 68(4), pages 633-643.
    3. Markus H. Schafer, 2011. "Health and Network Centrality in a Continuing Care Retirement Community," The Journals of Gerontology: Series B, The Gerontological Society of America, vol. 66(6), pages 795-803.
    4. Katherine L. Fiori & Toni C. Antonucci & Kai S. Cortina, 2006. "Social Network Typologies and Mental Health Among Older Adults," The Journals of Gerontology: Series B, The Gerontological Society of America, vol. 61(1), pages 25-32.
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    6. 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.
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    Cited by:

    1. Carly Roman & Christopher R. Beam & Elizabeth Zelinski, 2022. "Psychosocial Outcomes of Age Integration Status: Do Age-Integrated Social Networks Benefit Older Adults?," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(19), pages 1-15, September.
    2. Ella Cohn-Schwartz & Markus H. Schafer & Liat Ayalon, 2022. "Age integration in later life social networks and self-perceptions of aging: examining their reciprocal associations," European Journal of Ageing, Springer, vol. 19(4), pages 1145-1153, December.
    3. Jianliang Nie & Bohan Chen & Yini Liao & Yufeng Wu & Dan Li, 2023. "The Characteristics and the Influencing Factors of Rural Elders’ Social Networks: Evidence from China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(5), pages 1-13, February.

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