2020 Volume 42 Issue 1 Pages 7-20
The purpose of this study was to clarify factors that promote participation in social activities, and the current level of associated study and to determine a future research theme by investigating multiple articles concerning factors associated with the social participation of middle-aged and older adults.
Through database retrieval from the CiNii Articles website and the DiaL website, we collected articles on the social participation or social activities of middle-aged and older adults published between 1990-2018. A total of 34 articles, chosen according to the adopted criteria among 4,414 articles, were examined.
The results were as follows: (1) Most of the existing literature is targeted toward the elderly, indicating that an accumulation of research for middle-aged individuals is required; (2) It is necessary to review the types of social activities and their contents and to develop a new social activity indicator suitable for the current situation in Japan; (3) Research that adopts an evaluation method of activities while also considering the degree and frequency of participation is required; and (4) It is our future research theme to further and more deeply study the actual utilization of information sources by middle-aged and older adults.
