Social participation, loneliness and well-being among older adults in Hong Kong: a longitudinal examination

ABSTRACT

The present study adopts a longitudinal design to examine the relationship between loneliness, social participation, life satisfaction and social networks among older adults in Hong Kong. The study also explores the mediating effects of social network and social participation on the relationship between loneliness and life satisfaction. A community sample of 200 older adults (153 female) ranging in age from 65 to 93 years (M_age = 76.03) were recruited from 20 elderly centres and NGOs across Hong Kong. The model of loneliness as a predictor of life satisfaction, sequentially mediated by network importance and social participation was significant and explained a total of 21% of the variance in life satisfaction. The present study highlights the importance of social networks and social participation in contributing to the life satisfaction of older adults in Hong Kong.

KEYWORDS:

• Social participation
• loneliness
• well-being
• older adults
• Hong Kong

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

The work described in this paper was fully supported by Hong Kong Strategic Research Grant (Refs: 7004751 & 7004977).