PERTTI POHJOLAINEN
SOCIAL PARTICIPATION AND LIFE-STYLE: A LONGITUDINAL AND COHORT STUDY 1
ABSTRACT. This study focuses on changes occurring in one area of life-style, social participation during retirement. The population consisted of four cohorts, born in 1905--06, 1909-10, 1917-18, and 1921-22. In the longitudinal study the members of the oldest cohort were interviewed five times at the ages of 66, 70, 74, 78 and 82 years. In the cohort study the subjects were interviewed at the age of 66. Interests decreased after the age of 78 among men and women. Also, formal social participation declined with age among men and women. There were no cohort differences among men, but among women formal social participation was higher in the younger cohorts than in the older ones. In the longitudinal study education correlated positively with the interests index at almost all ages among both men and women. In the cohort study correlations between interests index and education were lower in the younger cohorts than in the older ones.
Key Words: elderly, health, life-style, longitudinal study, social participation
INTRODUCTION One of the most controversial issues in social gerontology is the question as to whether social participation declines with increasing age. This is also a central concern o f many so-called social gerontological theories (e.g., activity theory, disengagement theory; continuity theory). This study is based on the view that social participation is part of the totality of life-style. There are at least two different approaches to defining the concept of lifestyle. One approach defines life-style as typologies of different activities and models of behaviour. These definitions can be divided into three groups: first, those that are based on the structure of functioning; second, those that are based on the content o f the concept; and third, those in which the meaning of life-style has a central position (Taylor and Ford 1981). The alternative approach understands life-style as an entity consisting of an individual's models of behaviour and his or her choices as a member of society. Berbalk and Hahn (1980:27) define life-style as "thematically structured pattems of experience and behaviour in different areas of life for the satisfying of needs, for the fulfillment of aims and for the approaching of aims". Life-style in one area of life is always to be found in a particular context of life-style in another area of life. This means that it is important to discuss both the determinants and the indicators of lifestyle. These can be divided into three groups: those related to the individual, those related to the immediate surroundings, and those related to general social and cultural structures (Tokarski 1985). In this study life-style is defined as a theoretical category consisting of the models of behaviour and the choices of an individual as a member of society. The different areas of life-style include, for example, living habits, social Journal of Cross-Cultural Gerontology 6:109-117, 1991. © 1991 Kluwer Academic Publishers. Printed in the Netherlands.
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participation, speciaJ interests and life satisfaction (Figure 1). Life-style consists of two main components, the objective and the subjective. In the elderly there are a number of different factors that determine life-style: socio-economic status, health, aging processes, earlier life history, genetic factors, etc.
DETERMINANTS OF LIFE-STYLE LI F E SOSIO-ECONOMIC J BIOLOGICAL ] MATRIX I-~ HISTORY < ; STATUS -genetic factorsI HEALTH
j
LIFE-STYLE objective subjective cornponen~ camponent -living hobifs -life satisfaction - social participation -interests, hobbies Fig. 1. Model of life-style and its determinants in the elderly. The purpose of this study is to describe changes occurring in one area of lifestyle, social participation, during retirement. More specifically, we wish to examine the relationships of social participation to socio-economic status and health. METHODOLOGY
The subjects of the study were residents of the city of Jyv~kyUi, a middle-sized town in central Finland. The population consisted of four cohorts, born in 1905-O6, 1909-10, 1917-18 and 1921-22 (Figure 2). In the longitudinal study the oldest cohort (18 men and 52 women) were interviewed in their own homes five times at the age of 66, 70, 74, 78 and 82 years. The second cohort (22 men and 32 women) participated in the interviews three times and the third cohort
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SOCIALPARTICIPATIONAND LIFE-STYLE
(53 men and 63 women) twice. In the cohort study the subjects were interviewed at the age of 66 years. The comparable samples in this study were 135 men and 254 women in the first cohort (born in 1905-06), 77 men and 81 women in the second cohort, 80 men and 87 women in the third cohort, and 69 men and 65 women in the fourth cohort. The main statistical methods used were chi-square analysis and Spearman's correlations. Year of birth 1921 - 22
f f
7
66-
year-aids
1917 - 18 -
-
- Longitudinat
1909- 10
f 1905-06
/
year-aids N=389 N : 70 i 1972
I "-
..L
66-
f
yeor-olds
N =70 1
1976
~
70=
year-o{ds N=116
J
- Cohort study
year -aids N=158 N= 5~,
7
N =167 N=116
study
yea~lds N = 13~
7
7
7
7
J
7/
]
7~year-aids
~
N=%
year- olds
N=70 I = , year~ ~?1980 ..~T~Wet,~S
78year-aids N=5~
78year-o(ds
~
82year-ol~s
N=70
[[
N= 70
I
198~
1988
Fig. 2. Design of the study.* *Note: The figures on the first line indicate the size of the total cohort; below them is indicated the number of subjects who where followed throughout the follow-up period. Social participation was defined as consisting of three areas: interests, formal participation and informal participation. Interests were described by an index consisting of 12 variables e.g., reading, studying, active arts interests (e.g., playing a musical instrument, painting), passive arts interests (e.g., movies, theatre), religious interests, travelling, going to restaurants and dancing, outdoor activities, and bingo. The values of the indices ranged from 0-12. RESULTS The longitudinal study showed that interests declined after the age of 78 amongg men in the oldest cohort (Table I). In all other cohorts, also, there was a tendency for interests to decline with increasing age. The cohort study revealed clear differences in interests activity among both men and women: the younger cohorts (born 1917-18 and 1921-22) were more active than the older cohorts (born 1905--06 and 1909-10) at the same ages. The means of interests index
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were among men at the age of 66 years in the younger cohorts 7.1 and 6.5 and in the older cohorts 5.4 and 6.0. The corresponding figures among women were in the younger cohorts 8.0 and 7.3, and in the older cohorts 5.5 and 5.8. Differences between younger cohorts and older cohorts were statistically significant (p < 0.05). The increase of interest activity among younger cohorts is probably caused by the higher educational and financial status of these cohorts. Thus, the younger cohorts have better opportunities to participate in various hobbies and activities. The output of different activities has increased in Finland during the last decades. TABLE I Means of interests index at different ages among men and women in the oldest cohort (born in 1905-06) At the age of
Men (n = 18) Women (n = 52)
66
70
74
78
82
6.5 6.1
6.4 5.9
6.8 6.0
6.3 6.4
5.2 6.4
TABLE II Number of subjects (%) participating in activity of organizations at different ages among men and women in the oldest cohort (born in 1905-06) At the age of
Men (n = 18) Women (n = 52)
66
70
74
78
82
50 33
44 37
35 29
39 31
28 17
Formal social participation was described by membership in various organizations and participation in their work. Membership remained more or less unchanged during the follow-up period for both genders. Participation in the work of organizations declined with age in the oldest cohort (Table 11); the trend in other cohorts was very similar. There were no cohort differences among men, but among women organizational activity was higher in the younger cohorts (born 1917-18 and 1921-22) at the same age (Figure 3). It was typical that active participation in organizational work decreased with age but memberships remained the same. This is largely due to deterioration of health and functional capacity with age which restrict active participation of the elderly. Increased organizational activity among younger cohorts of women means that more and more elderly women will be active in social issues in the future.
SOCIALPARTICIPATIONAND LIFE-STYLE
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°A ORGANIZAT IONAL ACTIVITY
50 40 30 20 10 MEN
m
>
WOMEN
IU
66 years in 1972 (born in 1905-06)
I--I
66 years in 1976 (born in1909-10)
I
66 years in 198t, (born in 1917-18) 66 years in 1988 ( born ip 1921- 22)
Fig. 3. Subjects participating in the work of organizations by cohort (%). Informal social contacts (meeting friends at least a few times a week) decreased during the first years of retirement among men and women in all cohorts. Another variable describing informal social participation was "visiting friends and relatives"; here the decline occurred at a later stage, i.e., after the age of 78. The cohort study pointed to clear differences between the cohorts in informal participation (Figure 4). However, the differences were not consistent. Most of the informal social contacts were found in the cohort of 1917-18. There were no clear changes due to age or cohort differences concerning informal
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%
80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 MEN
i E] II
WOMEN
66 yeors in 1972 (born in 1905-06) 66 yeors in 1976 (born in 1909-I0) 66 yeors in 198t~(born in 1917-18) 66 yeors in 1988 (born in1921-22)
Fig. 4. Subjects meeting friends at least a few times a week cohort (%).
social contacts. The variable "visiting friends and relatives" showed a decrease with age which is primarily due to deteriorated functional capacity. Socio-economic status was defined on the basis of education and income. In the longitudinal study education correlated positively with the interests index at almost all ages among both men and women (Table III). In other words, these connections remained virtually unchanged during the follow-up period. Education and income correlated positively with organizational activity among
SOCIAL PARTICIPATIONAND LIFE-STYLE
115
both men and women. A m o n g men the correlation between income and organizational activity was more stable than among women. A m o n g women the correlation between education and organizational activity was more stable. The variables o f informal social participation did not correlate with the variables o f socio-economic status.
TABLE III Correlations (statistically significant, p < 0.05) between interests index and education at different ages in the oldest cohort among men and women At the age of
Men (n -- 18)
Women (n = 52)
66 70 74 78 82
0.61 0.49
0.33 0.27 0.31 0.41
0.48 0.53
TABLE IV Correlations (statistically significant, p < 0.05) between interests index and education in different cohorts among men and women Correlations Men 66 years in 66 years in 66 years in 66 years in
1972 1976 1984 1988
(n = 135) (n = 76) (n -- 79) (n = 66)
0.43 0.41 0.29 0.28
1972 1976 1984 1988
(n = 254) (n = 80) (n -- 86) (n = 64)
0.30 0.37 0.22
•Women 66 years in 66 years in 66 years in 66 years in
In the cohort study, interests activity correlated positively with the variables o f socio-economic status, especially education (Table IV). However, these correlations were lower in the younger cohorts (born in 1917-18 and 1921-22) than in the older cohorts (1905-06 and 1909-10). This means that in t h e younger cohorts the significance o f education as a determinant o f interests activity is not anymore as important as in the older cohorts.
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The variables describing health status (number of chronic diseases, number of symptoms, coping with daily activities (or ADL-index)) correlated very rarely with the variables of social participation. In later years of retirement the social participation of women was restricted above all by their deteriorating functional ability. DISCUSSION The results of this longitudinal study suggest that there is a tendency for social participation to decline quite significantly after the age of 75. However, the connections of social participation to socio-economic status and particularly to education remained unchanged. The results of the cohort study show that the younger cohorts are more active than the older cohorts at the same age, and that the connections of social participation to socio-economic status are weaker in the younger cohorts. Among women reading, passive interests in art (cinema, theatre), visiting of restaurants and dances, outdoor activities and interest in sports through newspapers and TV were more common in the younger cohorts than in the older cohorts. Among men, similar kinds of cohort differences could be seen in visiting of restaurants and dances, outdoor activities and interest in sports through newspapers and TV. In old age life-style tends to be limited by many factors (McGuire 1984). The present study indicated that education is one of the most important determinants of life-style in the elderly. The significance of education is particularly emphasized as a determinant of various (interest activities, social participation) lifestyles. Also, the findings support the results of earlier studies in pointing to the need for a distinction between different forms of social participation (Morgan 1988). The kind of longitudinal design that was used in this study tends to be highly selective (through death, illnesses, non-response, etc.). Therefore, as in this case, the samples investigated can often be regarded as "elite" groups which provide valuable information on so-called successful aging. In this report we have analyzed some of the changes that occur with aging at the group level. At the individual level the analysis of these changes is a far more complicated process in that they may occur in different directions. Any conclusions based on the percentages given should be made with extreme caution because in the older cohorts in particular the number of subjects was comparatively small. It is obvious that survey-type interviews can give only a rather superficial picture of life-style or of its different areas. However, the method does give a reasonably clear general picture of the changes that occur with aging. In order to produce more detailed information it will be necessary to rely on other supplementary methods. NOTE Paper originally presented at the XIVth International Congress of Gerontology, Acapulco, Mexico, 18-23 June 1989.
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REFERENCES Berbalk, H. and K.D. Hahn 1980 Lebensstil, psychisch-somatische Anpassung und klinisch-psykologische Intervention. In Klinische Psykologie - Trends in Forschung und Praxis. U. Baumann et al. eds, Band 3, Stuttgart. McGuire, F.A. 1984 A Factor Analytic Study of Leisure Constraints in Advanced Adulthood. Leisure Sciences 6:313-326. Morgan, D.L. 1988 Age Differences in Social Network Participation. Journals of Gerontology: Social Sciences 43:S129-137. Taylor, R. and G. Ford 1981 Lifestyle and Ageing: Three Traditions in Lifestyle Research. Ageing and Society 1:329-345. Tokarski, W. 1985 Freizeitstile im Alter: tiber die Notwendigkeit und M~glichkeiten einer Analyse der Freizeit .Alterer. Zeitschrift fur Gerontologie t 8:72-75.
Kuntokallio, Centerfor Gerontological Training and Research SF-Ol l O0 0stersundom, Finland
