The Role of the Social Environment on Physical and Mental Health of Older Adults

Abstract Understanding the complex relationship between the environmental context and the well-being of older adults is paramount as aging in place is increasingly acknowledged as a policy goal. This study investigated how the social environment (measured by social capital) was related to both physical and mental health. A sample of 3,219 older adults (60 years and older) from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and 4 surrounding counties were obtained from the Philadelphia Health Management Corporation survey collected in 2006. Binary and ordinal logistic regressions of self-rated health and depression symptoms were regressed on sociodemographic and six social capital items. Participation in groups, sense of belonging, and neighbors willing to help were associated with self-rated health, whereas trust in neighbors and sense of belonging and neighbors willing to help were associated with depressive symptoms even when sociodemographic indicators were controlled. This study furthers our understanding of how social capital may relate to the physical and mental health of the elderly and illustrates the usefulness of this important concept in environmental gerontology. KEYWORDS: social capitalself-rated healthdepression