FACTORS ASSOCIATED WITH SOCIAL ACTIVITIES AMONG THE ELDERLY IN A METROPOLITAN AREA: PHYSICAL, PSYCHOLOGICAL, AND SOCIO-ENVIRONMENTAL PARAMETERS

Objective The current study examined physical, psychological, and socio-environmental factors related to social activities among the elderly in a metropolitan area. Methods Fifteen hundred individuals aged 65 to 84 years were randomly selected in Osaka City. Data for 771 persons (51.4%) were obtained from a mail survey and these for 654 eligible cases were analyzed for level of social activities from four aspects: personal activities, socially-related activities, learning activities, and job activity. In order to examine factors related to social activities, we used logistic regression analyses with each of the four aspects of social activities as dependent variables. Independent variables were socio-demographic, physical, psychological, and socio-environmental variables. Results Multivariate analyses revealed the following results: no feeling of difficulty in going outdoors, number of friends, sense of collecting information about social activities, and informational social support were positively associated with personal activities. The attitude toward community score, the motivation to live comfortably score, the number of friends, opportunities to be invited to participate, any skill or knowledge, and experience in community activities were positively related to participation in socially-related activities. The attitude toward community score, opportunities to be invited to take part, and sense of collecting information about social activities were also positively associated with learning activities. Furthermore, motivation to active life score, any skill or knowledge, and experience in community activities were positively related to job activity. Conclusion Physical, psychological, and socio-environmental factors as well as socio-demographic factors were found to be associated with social activities among the elderly in a metropolitan area.