School of Social Sciences and Languages, Vellore Institute of Technology, Vellore, India.
Department of Family and Generations, International Institute for Population Sciences, Mumbai, India.
Exp Aging Res. 2024 May-Jun;50(3):331-347. doi: 10.1080/0361073X.2023.2195291. Epub 2023 Mar 28.
From an individual's perspective, social frailty may act as a key determinant of social capital, which is essential for meeting social needs and improvement of overall wellbeing. The present study aimed to understand the social frailty and its determining factors among Indian older adults.
Data from the Longitudinal Ageing Study in India (LASI)-wave 1 was used. For the assessment of social frailty the study proposed a multidimensional Social Frailty Index (SFI) score ranging between 0 and 100 using 17 indicators. Bivariate analysis and quantile regression models were applied.
The study results indicated that on average female older adults (mean SFI = 63.7) are relatively more socially frail than male older adults (mean SFI = 59.0). Further, the quantile regression analysis revealed that at the 10, 25, 50, and 75 percentiles, female older adults were significantly more likely to be socially frail than male older adults (β = 3.80, < .01; β = 2.82, < .01; β = 1.72, < .01; and β = 2.62, < .01, respectively). Educational attainment and better economic condition showed a protective effect against social frailty.
Investment to improve geriatric health status and socioeconomic conditions shall be a key focus to reduce social frailty prevalence among the older adults. A specific consideration is needed for addressing social frailty among female older adults.
从个体角度来看，社会脆弱性可能是社会资本的关键决定因素，社会资本对满足社会需求和提高整体幸福感至关重要。本研究旨在了解印度老年人的社会脆弱性及其决定因素。
使用印度纵向老龄化研究（LASI）-第 1 波的数据。为了评估社会脆弱性，研究提出了一个多维社会脆弱性指数（SFI）评分，使用 17 个指标，范围在 0 到 100 之间。进行了双变量分析和分位数回归模型分析。
研究结果表明，平均而言，女性老年人（平均 SFI=63.7）比男性老年人（平均 SFI=59.0）在社会上相对更为脆弱。此外，分位数回归分析表明，在第 10、25、50 和 75 百分位数，女性老年人比男性老年人更有可能处于社会脆弱状态（β=3.80，<.01；β=2.82，<.01；β=1.72，<.01；β=2.62，<.01）。教育程度和较好的经济状况对社会脆弱性具有保护作用。
投资改善老年健康状况和社会经济条件应是减少老年人社会脆弱性的重点。需要特别考虑解决女性老年人的社会脆弱性问题。
