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A Typology of Social Integration Among the Elderly in the United States

Tue, August 25, 2:30 to 4:10pm, TBA

Abstract

Although much research focuses on the influence of social integration or social relationships on health outcomes and well-being, we know relatively little about the nature of social integration itself. Drawing data from the tenth wave (2010) of the Health and Retirement Study (HRS), this study develops a typology of social integration among the elderly based on their extent of involvement in social roles and social activities. The latent class model identifies five ideal types among individuals: partner-focused, kin-focused, nonkin-focused, “childless”, and least-integrated. Multinomial logistic regression is applied to investigate whether and how some social characteristics (e.g., gender, race/ethnicity, education, age) predict social integration types and several key patterns are found. Relative to falling into the nonkin-focused group, men are more likely to fall into the partner-focused, “childless”, and least-integrated groups, while women are more likely to fall into the kin-focused group. Non-Hispanic blacks are more likely to fall into the kin-focused group than the nonkin-focused group, whereas non-Hispanic whites are more likely to fall into the partner-focused and least-integrated groups than the nonkin-focused group. Hispanics are not distinguished from non-Hispanic whites in all aspects. In addition, being older, healthier, or more educated increases the probability of falling into the nonkin-focused group.

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