The Role of Civic Engagement for Men’s Health and Well Being in Norway—A Contribution to Public Health

Abstract

Objectives: Using the example of older men volunteering on teams that restore historic ships, this article examines the effects of volunteering on the well-being of older adults. We consider particularly how volunteering impacts levels of social engagement and explore how the men’s reminiscences as they bond with their fellows in highly skilled work helps integrate their life experiences. Methods: Data are based on 14 in-depth interviews with volunteers working on historic vessels in Norway. Self-rated health, functional dependency, and well-being measures were collected using semi-structured questionnaire. Results: Volunteering in a context of skilled, group-bonded, culturally prestigious activity adds considerably to social capital among elderly men in Norway. Respondents explain their involvement in terms of prior relationships and current social benefits. They spoke of the value of maintaining past personal connections to a particular ship, shipping company, or local community. These were reinforced by current social benefits, such as the experience of companionship, unity, and the feeling of making an important contribution to the society. The group dynamics and strong collective aspect of these voluntary associations maintains internal cohesion, and members only leave when forced by increasing age, poor health, or insufficient financial resources. Conclusions: This article illuminates a case study of gender-specific engagement of older adults in volunteer roles returning high benefits both to participants and society, and adds knowledge to public-health programs and policies in the volunteer- and cultural-heritage sector.

The role and attitude of senior leaders in promoting group-based community physical activity: a qualitative study

“…Many societies are continuing to age throughout the world. This makes civic participation and engagement an area of increasing importance, with many countries reexamining their approaches to dealing with aging [19,20]. While civic engagement is widely accepted and discussed as part of a conceptual framework for increasing social capital, little research has attempted to identify the phenomena related to the roles of social capital, social cohesion, and social engagement [21].…”

What Matters Most for Community Social Capital among Older Adults Living in Urban China: The Role of Health and Family Social Capital

“…Many studies have focused on the consequences of social capital [1]. For example, social capital was found to have important effects on self-rated health (SRH), life satisfaction, depression, physical disease, and even mortality among older adults [1,2,3,4,5]. However, studies on the determinants of social capital among older populations are limited.…”

“…In this study, we focused on the individual level of social capital, which inheres in the density or closure of community social networks. This level of social capital is recognized as a key predictor of older populations’ health [1,2,3,4,5], which can be used by older adults to preserve social supportive resources and pursue their individual or collective interests [12,13,14].…”

Mediating Effect of Cognitive Social Capital on the Relationship Between Physical Disability and Depression in Elderly People of Rural Pakistan

“…Furthermore, interpersonal trust and reciprocity are the strongest predictors of mental health factors like subjective wellbeing and life satisfaction in elderly people [25]. Building on this association, it has been found that social capital has significant effects on satisfaction of life, self-rated health condition, depression, physical disability, and death rate in the elderly population [26,27,28]. Regardless of methodological problems in social capital investigations, sociologists, policy makers, and international organizations like World Health Organization (WHO) and World Bank are highly interested in accepting and following the perspective that social capital is a major social determinant of cognitive health and contributes to mental wellbeing [29].…”