The influence of past experiences on present social participation in Nerima Ward and Okayama City

Abstract

  It has been reported that the social participation of the elderly differs in terms of gender and residence area. As little is known about the influence of past social participation experience on present participation, this study aims to determine whether individual experience during a certain period in the past and overall past social participation experience have a positive influence on present social participation. In 2008, the authors conducted a questionnaire survey in Nerima Ward and Okayama City on probability samples of people in their fifties and sixties. The response rate was 58.9%. About 25% of the men in Nerima had no social participation experience from their childhood to the present. Logistic regressions were conducted by residence area. Okayama City respondents’ social participation after graduating from school showed the strongest relation to their present social participation. A comparison of the two areas revealed that the influence of past experience and demographic factors such as education and financial status were more pronounced among Nerima Ward respondents. This shows that past experience significantly influences present social participation. This is most evident in men living in urban areas, which implies that a lack of past experience is a preventive factor for retired men.