Civic participation as a promoter of well-being: comparative analysis among european countries

Vega Tinoco, Andrea (Universidad de Zaragoza) ; Gil Lacruz, Ana Isabel (Universidad de Zaragoza) ; Gil Lacruz, Marta (Universidad de Zaragoza)

Resumen: Previous research on the direction of the relationship between civic participation and well-being has evidenced that civic participation is a promoter of well-being among older adults in Europe. Accordingly, the objective of the present study is to identify and analyze the differences between European welfare systems regarding both civic participation and well-being. For this purpose, a logistic multilevel regression analysis was performed as an empirical strategy, using the cross-sectional data from the 9 waves of the European Social Survey (2002-2018). Significant differences in well-being were observed, with Anglo-Saxon elders being the healthiest, and the Nordic the happiest and most satisfied with their lives. In contrast, Eastern European seniors reported the lowest levels of well-being. Also, Nordic countries are the most civically engaged, followed by the Continental and Anglo-Saxon, while Mediterranean and Eastern countries engage the least. However, the impact of civic participation on well-being is strongest for the Mediterranean countries, while its impact on satisfaction and happiness is weakest for the Nordic countries. The 3 models of the multilevel analysis indicate that civic participation has a positive impact on health, happiness and life satisfaction, and that this effect is quite robust. Also, by adding country-level macro variables to the model, it is possible to reduce the random effects and hence to better explain these international differences. Concisely, the impact of civic participation on the well-being of the elderly differs across nations and should therefore be considered by policy makers.

Idioma: Inglés

DOI: 10.1007/s11205-022-02947-0

Año: 2022

Publicado en: Social Indicators Research 164 (2022), 217–237
ISSN: 0303-8300

Factor impacto JCR: 3.1 (2022)

Categ. JCR: SOCIOLOGY rank: 32 / 149 = 0.215 (2022) - Q1 - T1
Categ. JCR: SOCIAL SCIENCES, INTERDISCIPLINARY rank: 28 / 110 = 0.255 (2022) - Q2 - T1

Factor impacto CITESCORE: 5.9 - Social Sciences (Q1) - Arts and Humanities (Q1) - Psychology (Q1)

Factor impacto SCIMAGO: 0.984 - Arts and Humanities (miscellaneous) (Q1) - Sociology and Political Science (Q1) - Social Sciences (miscellaneous) (Q1) - Developmental and Educational Psychology (Q2)

Financiación: info:eu-repo/grantAgreement/ES/MCIU/FPU18-05284
Financiación: info:eu-repo/grantAgreement/ES/MINECO/CSO2017-82110-R

Tipo y forma: Article (Published version)

Área (Departamento): Área Organización de Empresas (Dpto. Direcc.Organiza.Empresas)
Área (Departamento): Área Psicología Social (Dpto. Psicología y Sociología)