title: Mechanisms Linking Neighborhood Age Composition to Health.
abstract: Age integration theory posits that the age composition of spaces affects the social interactions in which people can engage. This study aimed to examine whether social interactions perceived to involve generativity (i.e., commitment to younger generations), daily discrimination, and/or social cohesion mediate associations between neighborhood age composition, self-reported health, and psychological well-being.
  
  
  
  We applied multilevel structural equation models to data from 4,017 participants aged 30-84 who participated in the 2004-2006 wave of National Survey of Midlife Development in the United States, merged with data on their 3,714 neighborhoods from the 2010U.S. Census.
  
  
  
  Neighborhoods that represented the age distribution of the United States and neighborhoods that overrepresented older adults were contexts in which residents reported the most generativity and social cohesion. In turn, generativity and social cohesion were associated with better self-reported health and higher psychological well-being.
  
  
  
  The nature of social interaction links neighborhood age composition to health and well-being. These results clarify the results of prior studies, advance measurement, suggest elaborations to age integration theory, and point to new directions for aging-in-place initiatives.
authors.affiliation: Department of Sociology, Boston College, Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts.
authors.forename: Sara M
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Moorman
authors.affiliation: Department of Sociology, Boston College, Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts.
authors.forename: Jeffrey E
authors.initials: JE
authors.lastname: Stokes
authors.affiliation: Department of Sociology, Boston College, Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts.
authors.forename: Jeremiah C
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Morelock
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D017677:Age Distribution; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000066498:Emotional Adjustment; D005260:Female; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012111:Residence Characteristics / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D012931:Social Environment; D014481:United States
keywords: Self-rated health; Sociology of aging/social gerontology; Structural equation models; Well-being