Abstract
Social networks promote social activity such as interaction, engagement, participation and volunteering based on their needs. Elderly who have limited social interactions have a higher prevalence of depression, reduction of cognitive function and morbidity. The main aim of the present chapter is to analyze the potential role of trust and social networks in explaining the health outcomes of the respondents. We carry out the analysis for the elderly. To do so, we exploit individual-level data from the European Social Survey. We use two self-assessed indicators as the dependent variable, namely perceived health and life satisfaction. We consider both individual as well as social trust (aggregate trust at the country-level) as the main independent variables of interest. Social interactions are captured by two variables indicating whether individuals meet with friends and relatives regularly, or whether they participate in social activities. We also include a set of further covariates to reduce endogeneity. Our full specifications suggest that a one-point higher trust increases the probability of an individual reporting good health (being happy) by about 1 (1.5) per cent. We have also considered the importance of community trust. According to our findings, social trust displays a much stronger correlation with the outcomes consider in this study. The analysis also reveals that sociable persons, defined as those who meet friends regularly, or those participating in social activities, have an increased probability to report good health or happiness. Interestingly, religiosity, income, and education appear also to be important determinants.
Details
Presentation Type
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session
Theme
Social and Cultural Perspectives on Aging
KEYWORDS
SOCIAL TRUST, SOCIAL NETWORKS, SOCIAL INTERACTIONS, AGING, ELDERLY, HEALTH
