Ageism, Religiosity, and Wellbeing Among Older Adults: Evidence From the European Social Survey (ESS4)

2020 ◽  
pp. 016402752095363
Author(s):  
Harris Hyun-soo Kim ◽  
Jong Hyun Jung

Research shows that ageism (systemic discrimination against people because of their age) significantly undermines physical and psychological wellbeing, particularly among older adults. Our aim is to contribute to the literature by investigating whether this negative association varies across national religious context. We estimate multilevel models by drawing on a subset of data (ages 55 and above) from the fourth round of the European Social Survey (2008/2009). We find that ageism is negatively related to measures of wellbeing (happiness, life satisfaction, self-rated health). More importantly, the relationship is less pronounced in countries with higher levels of religiosity. These findings suggest that the country’s religious environment serves as a buffer against deleterious health consequences of ageism for the older population. Our study thus provides additional evidence on ageism as a critical risk factor and sheds novel light on the moderating role of country-level religiosity as a protective factor.

2019 ◽  
Vol 60 (6) ◽  
pp. 435-457 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jennifer Shore ◽  
Carolin Rapp ◽  
Daniel Stockemer

Health affects nearly all facets of our lives, including the likelihood of getting involved in politics. Focusing on political efficacy, we zoom in on one potential mechanism as to why people in poor health might, for example, stay at home on Election Day. We first look at the ways in which health is related to both people’s perceptions of their abilities to take part in politics (internal political efficacy) as well as the extent to which they believe policymakers are responsive to citizen needs (external political efficacy). Second, we examine how the social policy context intervenes in the relationship between health and political efficacy. Multilevel models using 2014 and 2016 European Social Survey data on roughly 57,000 respondents nested in 21 European countries reveal complex results: while good health, rather unsurprisingly, fosters internal and external political efficacy, more generous welfare states, though associated with higher levels of political efficacy, are not a panacea for remedying political inequalities stemming from individual health differences.


2018 ◽  
Vol 19 (2) ◽  
pp. 197-214 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eva Krulichová

Cross-national comparisons of fear of crime have been gaining in popularity within the academic community, as they allow for the examination of both individual and country-level correlates of this phenomenon. Nevertheless, the role of perceived victimization risk in fostering fear of crime with respect to various country specifics is often neglected. Drawing on data from the European Social Survey Round 5 (ESS R5), the aim of this study is to explore the relationship between fear of crime and risk perception in the context of 23 European countries. Risk perception is positively correlated with fear of crime in all of the analysed countries, although the strength of the relationship differs. Contrary to expectations, countries with a higher victimization rate exhibit a weaker relationship between fear of crime and risk perception, while in countries with a lower victimization rate, risk perception plays a relatively important role in shaping fear of crime. No effect of unemployment rate, size of migrant population or income inequality was found in the data.


2020 ◽  
pp. 194855062092096 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jasper Van Assche ◽  
Joaquín Bahamondes ◽  
Chris Sibley

The present set of studies investigated the role of being religious in the prediction of various forms of prejudice. Following the threat-constraint model, we predicted that contexts characterized by high threat attenuate—or constrain—the relationship between individual differences in being religious on the one hand and antigay prejudice and sexism on the other. A worldwide investigation of these regional constraints was conducted in the Americas Barometer (125,984 individuals nested in 20 countries; Study 1), the World Values Survey (69,798 individuals nested in 45 countries; Study 2), and the European Social Survey (44,386 individuals nested in 274 Nomenclature des Unités Territoriales Statistiques regions; Study 3). Results identify a key moderating role of Hofstede’s cultural dimensions, revealing strong associations between religion and prejudice in regions low in power distance, uncertainty avoidance, masculinity, and collectivism, whereas the religion–prejudice association is constrained (i.e., weaker and often absent) in regions high on those cultural dimensions.


Religions ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (4) ◽  
pp. 284
Author(s):  
Wojciech Rodzeń ◽  
Małgorzata Maria Kulik ◽  
Agnieszka Malinowska ◽  
Zdzisław Kroplewski ◽  
Małgorzata Szcześniak

Does the way we think or feel about ourselves have an impact on our anger-based reactions? Is the direction and strength of this relationship direct, or affected by other factors as well? Given that there is a lack of research on the loss of self-dignity and anger, the first aim of the present study consisted in examining whether or not there is a connection between both variables, with particular emphasis on early adulthood. The second purpose was to explore the moderating role of religiosity on the relationship between loss of self-dignity and anger. Methods: Data were gathered from 462 participants aged 18 to 35. The main methods applied were the Questionnaire of Sense of Self-Dignity, Buss–Perry Aggression Questionnaire, and Religious Meaning System Questionnaire. The results show a statistically significant positive correlation between loss of self-dignity and anger, a negative correlation between religiosity and anger, and no significant association between the loss of self-dignity and religiosity. However, all other dimensions of the sense of self-dignity correlated positively with religiosity. Our findings also confirm that the level of anger resulting from the loss of self-dignity is significantly lower as the level of religiosity increases. Such outcomes seem to support the conception that religiosity may act as a protective factor between the risk (loss of self-dignity) and the outcome factor (anger).


2009 ◽  
Vol 24 (9) ◽  
pp. 1010-1019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brian J. Ayotte ◽  
Guy G. Potter ◽  
Heather T. Williams ◽  
David C. Steffens ◽  
Hayden B. Bosworth

Author(s):  
Dimiter Toshkov

AbstractThe link between age and happiness has been the subject of numerous studies. It is still a matter of controversy whether the relationship is U-shaped, with happiness declining after youth before bouncing back in old age, or not. While the effect of age has been examined conditional on income and other socio-demographic variables, so far, the interactions between age and income have remained insufficiently explored. Using data from the European Social Survey, this article shows that the nature of the relationship between age and happiness varies strongly with different levels of relative income. People in the lowest decile of the income distribution experience a ‘hockey stick’: a deep decline in self-reported happiness until around age 50–55 and a small bounce back in old age. The classic U-curve is found mostly in the middle-income ranks. For people at the top of the income distribution, average happiness does not vary much with age. These results demonstrate the important role of income in moderating the relationship between age and happiness.


2016 ◽  
Vol 30 (1) ◽  
pp. 92-104 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniela Barni ◽  
Alessio Vieno ◽  
Michele Roccato

We performed a multilevel, multinational analysis using the 2012 European Social Survey dataset (N = 41 080, nested in 20 countries) to study how living in a non–communist versus in a post–communist country moderates the link between individual conservative values (drawn on Schwartz's theory of basic human values) and political orientation (assessed as self–placement on the left–right axis and attitude towards economic redistribution). The results supported the moderating role of living in a non–communist versus in a post–communist country in the case both of political self–placement and of attitude towards economic redistribution, even controlling for the countries’ degree of individualism, power distance and democracy. Specifically, conservative values were positively related to a rightist political self–placement among participants living in countries without a communist past, and to a favourable attitude towards economic redistribution in countries with a communist past. The limitations, implications and future directions of this study are discussed. Copyright © 2016 European Association of Personality Psychology


2019 ◽  
pp. 1-5 ◽  
Author(s):  
Naama Spitzer ◽  
Dikla Segel-Karpas ◽  
Yuval Palgi

Abstract Loneliness is considered a major issue, often negatively influencing the quality of life of individuals of all ages, and of older adults, in particular. The aims of this study are: (1) to assess the association between close social relationships and loneliness; and (2) to examine the moderating role of subjective age in this association. Married or cohabiting community-dwelling Israelis in the second half of life (N = 360) were interviewed and reported on their close social relationships, their level of loneliness, and their subjective age. The number of close social relationships was found to have a negative relationship with loneliness. Moreover, subjective age was found to moderate the relationship between close social relationships and loneliness, such that the association was weaker for those with older subjective age. Those with older subjective age are often not able to benefit from close social relationships to alleviate loneliness as much as their younger-subjective-age counterparts. Efforts to address older adults’ loneliness should consider focusing on older adults’ perceptions of aging.


2017 ◽  
Vol 47 (7) ◽  
pp. 967-987
Author(s):  
Paul Hendriks Vettehen ◽  
Joeri Troost ◽  
Lex Boerboom ◽  
Mickey Steijaert ◽  
Peer Scheepers

This study examined the idea that the rise of broadband Internet has contributed to an aggravation of the divide between those who are politically active and those who are not. It was hypothesized that both access to broadband Internet (as an individual-level characteristic) and broadband penetration (as a country-level characteristic) would strengthen the positive relation between relative preferences for political media content and political participation. Analyses were based on data that were collected in the 2010 wave of the European Social Survey ( N = 40,582; 25 countries). Political participation was measured both using a voter turnout variable and using a more general political participation scale. Findings from multilevel analyses provide support to the moderating role of both broadband access and broadband penetration, but only when using the general political participation scale.


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