Typology of Social Participation and Network and Health in Older Adults: Results From the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging

This study aimed to document the typology of social participation and network among older Canadians and examine their associations with health. Using 2011–2015 cross-sectional data from the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging, a latent profile analysis was conducted to identify patterns of social participation and network, and multinomial logistic regressions examined associations with self-rated health. Four types of social participation and networks characterized older Canadians: diverse (74.0%), childless (12.1%), restricted (9.7%), and very socially active (4.3%). Compared to the diverse group and excellent/very good health, belonging to the restricted group was associated with higher probabilities of reporting fair or poor health, both general (1.95; p < .001) and mental (2.18; p < .001). Still comparing to the diverse group and excellent/very good health, the very socially active group presented lower likelihood of reporting good general health (0.82; p = .03). These results suggest that the social participation and network are associated with health inequalities in older Canadians. Future studies should look at the role of virtual interactions in the health of older adults.