Aging and Social Networks in Spain: The Importance of Pubs and Churches

Buz, José; Sánchez, Marta Montañés; Levenson, Michael R.; Aldwin, Carolyn M.

doi:10.2190/ag.78.1.c

Cited by 15 publications

(24 citation statements)

References 46 publications

(56 reference statements)

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“…Other participants did need an active (social) life with a variety of network members and activities. The community centre seems an important place for our participants to be connected to others, which is in line with the study by Buz et al (2014), who found that pubs and churches fulfilled an important role as meeting places for older adults in Spain.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 92%

When your world gets smaller: how older people try to meet their social needs, including the role of social technology

Bruggencate

Sturm

2018

Ageing and Society

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Social needs are important basic human needs. When social needs are not fulfilled, it can lead to mental and physical health problems. In an ageing society, meeting the social needs of older adults is important to sustain their wellbeing and quality of life. Social technology is used by younger people attempting to fulfil social needs. The aim of this study is to understand the social needs of older people and the role of social technology in fulfilling these needs. Using this information we will uncover opportunities for (technological) interventions. We conducted a qualitative explorative field study by interviewing 19 community-dwelling older adults. The participants were selected by professional care-givers with the help of a list of criteria for people at risk of social isolation or loneliness. Semi-structured interviews were held, using a topic list covering the following topics: social networks, social support, connectedness, neighbourhood, activities and hobbies, as well as use of and experiences with social technology. After thematic analysis, inductive codes were attached to quotations relevant to the research question. The results were described in four sections: (a) social needs and relationships; (b) the influence of life history and personality; (c) possibilities and barriers to meet social needs; and (d) use of and attitude towards social technology. The results indicate that the group of participants is heterogeneous and that their social needs and the way they try to meet these are diverse. The Social Production Functions Theory of Successful Aging (SPF-SA) was found to be a useful basis for interpreting and presenting the data. Social needs such as connectedness, autonomy, affection, behavioural confirmation and status are important for the wellbeing of older people. Although the need for affection is most easy to fulfil for older people, it looks like satisfaction of the need for behavioural confirmation and status are in some cases preferred, especially by the male participants. Resources such as relationships, activities, personal circumstances and social technology can help meet social needs. Where there is a lack of (physical) resources such as health problems, reduced mobility, death of network members, fear of rejection and gossip, and poor financial circumstances, meeting social needs can be more difficult for some older people. Social technology now plays a modest role in the lives of older people and in fulfilling their social needs. Because of its potential and its role in the lives of younger people, social technology can be seen as a promising resource in the satisfaction of social needs. However, since it is yet unknown how and to what extent the use of social network technologies, such as Facebook, can be beneficial for older people, more research in this area is needed. Based on our findings, we conclude that the world of older individuals is getting smaller. The loss of resources,e.g.the loss of one's health and mobility, may make it more difficult for an older person to connect with the world outside, which may result in a smaller social network. We therefore suggest that interventions to support older adults to meet their social needs may focus on two aspects: supporting and improving the world close by and bringing the world outside a little bit closer.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 92%

When your world gets smaller: how older people try to meet their social needs, including the role of social technology

Bruggencate

Sturm

2018

Ageing and Society

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“…Just visiting a pub contributes to a feeling of connectedness and wellbeing. Going to a pub also contributes to giving and receiving social support, as Buz et al (2014) found in their study. Informal conversations about sports, politics and gossip are important for older adults (Gallagher 2012).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 62%

“…Networks of people in general tend to shrink as people age due to loss of work, loss of social roles or loss of health, and sometimes, through the purposeful choice of older adults (Buz et al 2014; Steverink and Lindenberg 2006). In social networks of older adults, the loss of peripheral members is larger than the loss of intimate members (Buz et al 2014; Conway et al 2013; Steverink and Lindenberg 2006). Conway et al (2013) suggest that older people may compensate for the loss of intimate network members by promoting members from a peripheral position to a closer network position.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Informal conversations about sports, politics and gossip are important for older adults (Gallagher 2012). An overlap can be found between connectedness and being socially active in more peripheral relations involving leisure activities, going to pubs and going to church (Buz et al 2014; Gallagher 2012; Toepoel 2013). Therefore, both intimate and peripheral relations provide older adults with connectedness and social support, both of which contribute to wellbeing (Ashida and Heaney 2008; Buz et al 2014; Gallagher 2012; Neville et al 2016; Register and Scharer 2010).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Social needs of older people: a systematic literature review

2017

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Social needs are important basic human needs. When social needs are not satisfied, this can lead to mental and physical health problems. With a growing population of older adults and the need for them to stay healthy and community-dwelling, satisfying social needs is important. The aim of this review is to give more insight into the social needs of older people and subsequently into the characteristics of effective interventions for satisfying older people's social needs. A systematic review of the existing literature on quantitative, qualitative and mixed empirical studies on the social needs of older people was conducted. The themes that emerged were diversity, proximity, meaning of the relationship and reciprocity. These themes offered several intervention implications. Participation in hobbies and in volunteer work and being connected were among the main findings. The social needs of older people are diverse. They focus on both the intimate and the peripheral members of their networks. When satisfying social needs, reciprocity is important. The feeling of connectedness to others and to a community or neighbourhood contributes to wellbeing as well as a feeling of independence. Staying active by doing volunteer work or participating in (leisure) social activities satisfies social needs. Therefore, interventions should focus especially on the connectedness, participation and independence of the older adult.

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“…Such beverage consumption rituals offer another possible mechanism by which we can explain our observed relationship between alcohol use and loneliness. For instance, pubs are places where persons of all ages can share food and drink and discuss current events with peripheral social network members; pubs are locations where community-dwelling older adults can maintain social support (Buz, Sanchez, Levenson, & Aldwin, 2014). Research with older adults in retirement community settings has found that socially isolated adults in retirement communities are less likely to regularly consume alcohol and drink heavily than residents who were more social; in these settings, drinking is “an integral part of the leisure subculture” (Alexander & Duff, 1988, p. 632).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Association of Alcohol Use and Loneliness Frequency Among Middle-Aged and Older Adult Drinkers

et al. 2015

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Objectives We examined the association between alcohol use, at-risk drinking, and binge drinking, and loneliness in a sample of middle-aged and older adults. Methods We studied participants aged 50+ years from the 2008 wave of the Health and Retirement Study who reported alcohol use. We ran separate multinomial logistic regressions to assess the association of three alcohol use outcomes (i.e., weekly alcohol consumption, at-risk drinking, and binge drinking) and loneliness. Results After adjusting for covariates, being lonely was associated with reduced odds of weekly alcohol consumption 4–7 days per week, but not 1–3 days per week, compared to average alcohol consumption 0 days per week in the last 3 months. No association was found between at-risk drinking or binge drinking and loneliness. Discussion Results suggest that among a sample of community-based adults aged 50+, loneliness was associated with reduced alcohol use frequency, but not with at-risk or binge drinking.

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Aging and Social Networks in Spain: The Importance of Pubs and Churches

Cited by 15 publications

References 46 publications

When your world gets smaller: how older people try to meet their social needs, including the role of social technology

When your world gets smaller: how older people try to meet their social needs, including the role of social technology

Social needs of older people: a systematic literature review

Association of Alcohol Use and Loneliness Frequency Among Middle-Aged and Older Adult Drinkers

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