Association of Neighbourhood Social Capital With Quality of Life Among Older People in Singapore

​Objective
To examine how neighbourhood-based cognitive and structural social capital are associated with individual quality of life among a sample of community-dwelling older adults in Singapore.

Method:

Using survey data from 981 older adults (aged 55 years and above) in nine residental neighbourhoods, multilevel models simultaneously estimated the effects of independent variables at the individual and neighbourhood levels on quality of life (CASP-12).

Results
Social cohesion (β = 1.39), p < .01) and associational membership (β = 19.16, p < .01) were associated with higher quality of life in models adjusted for neighbourhood facilities and individual sociodemographics, social networks, functional limitations, global cognitive status, and medical conditions.

Discussion
The results suggest that place-based or neighbourhood social capital may be important for older person's well-being. It identifies the contribution of structural (associational membership) and cognitive (social cohesion) social capital to the well-being of community-dwelling older adults in Singapore.

SOURCE:
J Aging Health

DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1177/0898264319857990

AUTHOR(S):
Lane AP, Wong CH, Močnik Š, Song S, Yuen B