Suchergebnisse

We examine how labor together with social participation protects against cognitive impairment and depression, with a focus on gender differences. Data are drawn from four waves of the Korean Longitudinal Study of Aging (2006–2012). Both paid work and unpaid work are considered labor participation. Social participation includes the frequency of participation in formal social institutions, religious groups, grandparenting, and interactions with family and friends. Using growth curve models, we find that social and labor participation are independently associated with outcomes and effects vary by gender. Religious group activity was beneficial only for women, whereas inability to work was detrimental for men only. Informal social gatherings and labor participation, paid or unpaid, were beneficial for both genders. Findings on gender differences highlight how social identities can shape social roles and confine activity space, and productive engagement, affecting outcomes for mental health in later life.

Abstract
Literature suggests that on average, social participation declines after retirement. However, there likely remains substantial variability in individual experiences. We rely on seven waves of the Korean Longitudinal Study of Aging to identify contrasting social participation trajectories of individuals 45 years and older after leaving work, and their individual-level correlates. Informal and formal social participation were measured through self-reported frequencies of meeting a friend and attending a group respectively. Group-based trajectory modeling delineated heterogeneous changes over time and multinomial logit regressions estimated individual-level correlates of the trajectories. While a minority of respondents experienced trajectories of decreasing social participation (6%–12%), a majority exhibited stable trajectories (79%–81%), and some even experienced increasing participation (7%–8%). There was also a U-shaped trajectory of decline and recovery in formal social participation (7%). Our findings challenge the belief that disengagement is the norm and illustrate the heterogeneous experiences of social participation after retirement. Returning to work, vs. stopping work for an extended period, was associated with favorable trajectories, pointing to the strong connection between work and social participation, and the potential for interventions that promote bridge employment and lifelong learning. Interestingly, the high stable trajectory of informal participation was associated with certain factors that may be considered vulnerabilities, such as being older, female, single, living in non-metropolitan regions, and retiring from irregular work. This highlights the possibility that despite facing challenges, older adults can aspire towards high social participation.

Abstract
Internet-enabled resources could facilitate older adults' ability to live in the community longer, but studies have often overlooked how family caregivers utilize the internet to assist older care recipients. We examined whether different family-level arrangements of internet use may affect the risk of institutionalization among older adults. Using the National Health and Aging Trends Study (2015–2020) and National Study on Caregiving (2015), we estimated multinominal logistic regression and inverse-probability weighted Cox proportional hazard models to investigate the determinants of technological arrangements in 2015 (i.e., no internet use, only caregiver use, only care recipient use, both caregiver and care recipient internet use) and how they may affect the risk of moving to an assisted living or nursing facility between 2015 and 2020. The most prevalent technological arrangement in 2015 was the one where neither the care recipient nor their caregiver reported using the internet. Relatively disadvantaged older care recipients (e.g., people of color, fewer years of education, less income, worse cognitive functioning) and caregivers (e.g., older, fewer years of education) were more likely to be in a non-internet use arrangement. Compared to older adults in other categories, older adults who were internet users and had a family caregiver who also used the internet in their caregiving tasks had a much lower risk of relocation during the study period. Findings suggest that digital interventions aimed at serving the older adult population should assess the gap in access and utilization at a family level and consider the role of older adults' social partners.