Social participation

LASA filenames:
LASA070
LASA125

Contact: Bianca Suanet

Background
Social participation are those activities undertaken in and outside the house, that allow individuals to meet others, contribute to society and staying involved in society (Broese van Groenou and Deeg, 2006). Two types of social activities are distinguished: productive and recreational activities. Productive social activities are activities with which the individual contributes his or her resources to individuals or groups in the community through involvement in voluntary and/or political organizations and associations (Klumb & Baltes, 1999). Recreational activities are mainly directed at improving one’s own well-being and self-development such as leisure and educational activities. Various dimensions of social participation are studied in:
1) Participation in productive social activities,
2) Participation in recreational (leisure and educational) activities,
3) Norms about participation,
4) Media-use (TV, radio, newspaper),
5) Self-perceived degree of involvement in society,
6) Computer and internet use,
7) Possession and use of a senior discount card for cultural activities and public transport.

Measurement instruments in LASA

1) Participation in productive social activities
To assess the degree of participation in productive social activities, the respondent was shown a list of organizations or associations such as a political organization, association for the elderly or religious society, and asked to indicate of which (s)he was a member, and whether (s)he visits meetings or activities of the organization or association (no/yes). The total frequency of visiting meetings of any of the associations was recorded on an 8-point scale. In addition, participation in administrative work (e.g. being chairman, treasurer), and in volunteer work (e.g. making coffee, organizing playing card matches) was noted and recorded in minutes per week. Respondents who indicated  to conduct productive activities were asked for the reason of participation, for example to stay mentally and physically fit or to develop or use one’s own capabilities. Respondents who did not participate were asked for reasons of nonparticipation (e.g. not interested, poor health, no transportation).

2a) Participation in recreational activities: Leisure activities
Seven types of leisure activities were presented to the respondent, who had to record if, and if yes, how often (s)he performed each of the seven leisure activities on a 7-point scale. Examples are visiting a cultural institution (cinema, museum, exhibition, art gallery, theatre) and going out on an excursion (to the forest, heath, dunes, nature or entertainment park, recreation area, zoological garden or monuments). In addition, it was asked how many hours a day (recorded in minutes per day) one is busy with hobbies, small jobs and other creative activities in and around the house, such as pottering, puzzling, collecting, reading books, doing needlework, and gardening. Watching TV, using computer and/or listening to the radio is asked separately (see below).

2b) Participation in recreational activities: Education
Several questions were asked about doing trainings and courses. First it was asked whether the respondent followed a training or course in the past year, such as language course, TV course, hobby course, a course at the Open University or community centre (no/yes). If answered affirmative, the respondent was asked to specify the type of education (e.g. Certified diploma/qualification education, creativity course, language course). If respondents indicated to follow a training or course, they were asked to indicate for a list of potential reasons  whether it applied to them on a four-point scale, for example to stay mentally and physically fit or need for company.

3) Norms about social participation
Six norms about social participation were presented to the respondent and they were asked to indicate if they agreed, had no opinion, or disagreed with it. Examples are: “Suppose that someone is and stays capable of doing paid work, until what age is that still meaningful according to you?” and  “Some people think that people over a certain age should not do voluntary work anymore”.

4) Media-use
For both radio and TV, the number of hours the respondent listened to the radio and watched television was noted in hours. Next, the type of programme was asked such as news, commentaries and/or lectures, and films and soaps. Reading the newspaper was registered on a 5 point scale.

5) Self-perceived degree of involvement in society
The degree of involvement in the social world was recorded for various levels; the world, Europe, Dutch society, own province, own municipality and own neighbourhood.

6) Computer and internet use
First, the use of a personal computer was recorded (no/yes). If yes, the hours and minutes per week spent on the computer were noted. Second, five possible computer applications were presented and the respondent indicated which of these were used. Additionally, it was asked whether or not a respondent made use of the internet, and if yes, for what purpose. Two questions were subsequently asked about the exchange of personal support, that is discussing own or others personal feelings by email, chat or another internet contact.

Due to rapid developments in ICT-possibilities and hybridization of cell phones and computers, the questionnaire on computer use was updated in 2011 (LASA-H). The first questions were whether the respondent uses a personal computer (i.e. all devices that has computer functionalities such as PC, laptop, iPAD, iPhone or androids), and/or a cell phone for calling and receiving or sending text messages. If a computer was used, the hours per week worked with the computer was recorded. For calling and/or text messaging with a cell phone, the frequency of use was asked on a 5-point scale. If respondents did not use a computer and/or a cell phone, the respondent was asked to indicate their reason(s) for not using them. The next question was whether respondents made use of the internet, and if yes, for which purpose (e.g. surfing, online banking). For those who used internet, it was asked how often they had social contacts with family, friends and neighbors. Finally, it was asked whether the respondent needed help with the computer or cell phone (no/yes) and if yes, whom they could rely on.

In 2018, for the LASA-J wave, the questionnaire on computer and internet use was updated once again to reflect the expansion of options that people have to use the internet since the last update in 2011. We included amongst others playing games, arranging services such as professional home care, help and transportation, making appointments with GP and other medical specialists, watching movies and/or listening to music, and using government services (MijnOverheid). Also, the questions on computer and internet use now explicitely refer to the desktop, laptop, tablet and smartphone, as these are all devices by which people use the internet today.

7) Possession and use of a senior discount card
Respondents indicated whether they possessed a senior card, the so called ‘65+ pas’ (for women 60+) which was provided by the municipality, and how often they had used this card in the past year to get a reduction for a visit to cultural institutes such as theatre, museum and  cinema, or to get a discount in public transport. The senior card was developed to stimulate people 65 and over to remain active and stay involved in society. The senior card became redundant since January 2005 when the act on identification came into effect. This act prescribes that Dutch citizens must possess an identity card (Ministry of Security and Justice). The identity card replaced the senior card, but profits and discounts remained the same for people aged 65 and over.

Questionnaires
LASAB070 / LASAC070 / LASAD070 / LASAE070 / LAS2B070 / LASAF070 / LASAG070 / LASAH070 / LAS3B070 / LASMB070 / LASAI070 / LASAJ070 / LASAK070 (main interview, in Dutch);
LASAB125 / LASAC125 / LASAD125 / LASAE125 / LAS2B125 / LASAF125 / LASAG125 (self-administered questionnaire, in Dutch)

Variable information
LASAB070 / LASAC070 / LASAD070 / LASAE070 / LAS2B070 / LASAF070 / LASAG070 / LASAH070 / LAS3B070 / LASMB070 / LASAI070 / LASAJ070 / LASAK070
(pdf);
LASAB125 / LASAC125 / LASAD125 / LASAE125 / LAS2B125 / LASAF125 / LASAG125
(pdf)

Availability of information per wave ¹

BCDE
2B*		FGH

3B*		MB*IJK
Participation in productive
activities (1)		MaMaMaMaMaMaMaMaMaMaMaMaMa
Participation in leisure
activities (2a)		MaMaMaMaMaMaMaMaMa-MaMaMa
Participation in educational
activities (2b)		MaMaMaMaMaMaMaMaMa-MaMaMa
Norms about social
participation (3)		MaMaMa-MaMaMaMaMa-MaMaMa
Media use (4)

SaSaSaSaSaSaSa------
Self-perceived degree of
involvement in society (5)		Sa------------
Computer and internet use (6)

---MaMaMaMaMaMaMaMaMaMa
Senior card (7)

Sa---Sa--------

¹ More information about the LASA data collection waves is available here.

* 2B=baseline second cohort;
3B=baseline third cohort;
MB=migrants: baseline first cohort

Ma=data collected in main interview (LASA070);
Sa=data collected in self-administered questionnaire (LASA125)

Previous use in LASA
The degree of social participation has been described cross-sectionally (Van Rijsselt, 1994) and over time (Knipscheer et al, 1998). It has been associated with cognitive decline (Smits, 1995; Aartsen et al., 2002; Aartsen, 2003), with personality characteristics (Timmer and Aartsen, 2003), and in relation to general well being and successful aging (Fagerström and Aartsen, 2013). But ADHD does not affect social participation and work participation (Michielsen et al., 2015). Aspects of social participation have also been studied in relation to poverty (Lamme et al., 1998), retirement (Cozijnsen et al., 2013) . The use of computer and internet, as well as its implications for personal social networks of older adults and loneliness have been studied (Stegeman, 2006; Broersen, 2010), and changes in social participation related to societal dynamics, including societal developements such as individualization and social policy changes (Suanet, 2013; Scharn et al., 2019).


References

  1. Broese van Groenou, M.I. and Deeg, D.J.H. (2006). Veranderingen in sociale participatie. In: A. de Boer (red.), Rapportage Ouderen 2006, pp. 215-238. Den Haag: SCP.
  2. Klumb, P. L., & Baltes, M. M. (1999). Time use of old and very old Berliners: Productive and consumptive activities as functions of resources. The Journals of Gerontology Series B: Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences, 54, S271-S278.


Date of last update: April, 2020