Multifaceted well-being experienced by community dwelling older adults engaged in volunteering activities of frailty prevention in Japan.

Aim: This study aims to elucidate what volunteering activities mean for older adults in Japan by analyzing their emotions and evaluations from hedonic (e.g., happiness), eudaimonic (e.

Research Participant Selection Bias in the Workshop Using Socially Assistive Robots for Older Adults and Its Effect on Population Representativeness.

Every research participant has their own personality characteristics. For example, older adults assisted by socially assistive robots (SAR) may have their own unique characteristics and may not be representative of the general population of older adults. In this research, we compared the average personality characteristics of participants in a workshop on robotics recruited directly through posting with those of older Japanese adults to examine participant selection bias and group representativeness for future study of SARs.

Eliciting a User's Preferences by the Self-Disclosure of Socially Assistive Robots in Local Households of Older Adults to Facilitate Verbal Human-Robot Interaction.

To realize a society in which older adults can live independently in their homes and familiar environments for as long as possible, their lives can be supported by providing appropriate technology. In this case, a new intervention for older people using socially assistive robots (SARs) is proposed; however, previous research has demonstrated that individual differences exist in the use and response to SAR interventions, and it has also been reported that SARs are not used by users in some cases. Therefore, in this study, we developed a self-disclosure function to promote continuous interaction with robots, using a Japanese corpus and self-disclosure items.

Decreased Frequency of Small Talk Due to the COVID-19 Pandemic Has Deteriorated Mental Health: Findings From Longitudinal Surveys of Middle-Aged and Older People in Japan.

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has reduced opportunities for small talk. As small talk involves socializing, such deprivation can be stressful. This study examined the association between the change in the frequency of small talk from before to during the pandemic and the mental health of middle-aged and older people.

Retirement and Social Activities in Japan: Does Age Moderate the Association?

Although retirement age is increasing in aging societies, its impact on individuals and communities is unclear. This study examined how age moderates the linkage between transition into retirement and participation in productive and non-productive social activities after retirement, using a nationwide longitudinal survey with a probability sample of Japanese aged 60 and over ( = 3,493). Multinomial logistic regression analyses were performed to predict changes in volunteering and hobbies/learning during 3-5 years of follow-up and their participation level at the follow-up.

Societal Need for Interdisciplinary Ageing Research: An International Alliance of Research Universities "Ageing, Longevity and Health" Stream (IARU-ALH) Position Statement.

Ageing is a global concern with major social, health, and economic implications. While individual countries seek to develop responses to immediate, pressing needs, international attention and collaboration is required to most effectively address the multifaceted challenges and opportunities an ageing global population presents in the longer term. The Ageing, Longevity and Health stream of the International Alliance of Research Universities (IARU-ALH) was built on a solid foundation of first-class interdisciplinary research and on innovative outreach and communication centres.

Associations between social networks and life satisfaction among older Japanese: Does birth cohort make a difference?

Japanese older people experienced drastic changes in family structure and values after World War II at different life stages by birth cohorts. We examined how linkages between different types of social ties and life satisfaction (LS) vary across cohorts, in conjunction with age and survey year differences. Data from face-to-face interviews conducted in 1987, 1999, and 2012 with a nationally representative sample of older Japanese (N = 4,917) were analyzed.

Contextual effect of different components of social capital on health in a suburban city of the greater Tokyo area: a multilevel analysis.

Social capital (SC) can be broken down into a number of aspects and dimensions, but few studies have differentiated between the effects of different components of SC on health. This study examined the relationship between contextual SC and health (self-rated health, and co-occurrence of lifestyle risk factors such as smoking, drinking, overweight/underweight and physical inactivity) among the general population in a Japanese suburban area. The specific research question was to explore which components of contextual SC had what effects on health.

Interactions of household composition and required care level with functional and cognitive status among disabled Japanese elderly living in a suburban apartment complex.

Aim: In the forthcoming super-aging society, the appropriate assessment of functional and cognitive conditions of disabled elderly people will become increasingly significant in providing care services. Care level and household composition would be key factors to assess function. There might also be an interaction between the two factors with the function.

[Re-exploring attitude toward community scale and its relationship to health status among the general population].

Objectives: In order for community-based health promotion and prevention activities to be effective and efficient, it is important to assess the community consciousness among local residents. The purpose of this study was to review the reliability and validity of the Attitude toward Community Scale (ACS) and examine its association with health status among the general population.

Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted in February 2009 using a mail-in self-administered questionnaire.

Contextual effect of neighborhood environment on homebound elderly in a Japanese community.

Homebound status is associated with poorer health and disability; however, the impact of community factors on the decision to remain homebound is unclear. We applied multilevel analyses to examine the association between neighborhood environment and homebound status among Japanese community-dwelling elderly. A cross-sectional survey was conducted in February 2009 using a mailed questionnaire.