Relationships with and attitudes toward mutual support with neighbors among the urban elderly

Abstract

  This study aimed to understand attitudes of the urban elderly toward mutual support with neighbors in two types of situations, emergencies (e.g. disasters) and daily lives, to explain how these attitudes are associated with their relationships with neighbors. The authors conducted a self-administered mail survey with 2,800 residents aged 65 or over in Yokohama City, who had been randomly selected from the Basic Resident Register. The authors used data of 1,477 respondents, who had no missing variable for the analysis, and found the following: (1) Men were more likely to have no neighbor to relate to, such as greeting, providing support and receiving support; (2) regarding men’s attitudes toward mutual support with neighbors, family resources had an effect in times of emergency while socioeconomic status had an effect in daily lives; and (3) even occasional greetings and participation in activities organized by neighborhood associations a few times a year were associated with better attitudes toward mutual support with neighbors. It is essential to pay attention to such small interactions when building local communities where the urban elderly can support each other.