title: Older adult social participation and its relationship with health: Rural-urban differences.
abstract: In an aging world, there is increased need to identify places and characteristics of places that promote health among older adults. This study examines whether there are rural-urban differences in older adult social participation and its relationship with health. Using the 2003 and 2011 waves of the Wisconsin Longitudinal Study (n=3006), I find that older adults living in rural counties are less socially active than their counterparts in more-urban counties. I also find that relationships between social participation and health vary by the type of activity and rural-urban context.
authors.affiliation: Department of Sociology, California State University-San Bernardino, 5500 University Parkway, San Bernardino, CA 92407-2397, United States. Electronic address: eric.vogelsang@csusb.edu.
authors.forename: Eric M
authors.initials: EM
authors.lastname: Vogelsang
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000375:Aging; D005260:Female; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D012044:Regression Analysis; D012424:Rural Population / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D012931:Social Environment; D058992:Social Participation; D012944:Social Support; D014505:Urban Population / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D014922:Wisconsin
keywords: Counties; Older adults; Rural-urban differences; Self-rated health; Social participation