Aging & Social Change: Ninth Interdisciplinary Conference

Abstract

The aim of this study is to empirically demonstrate the role of age-friendly environments on the association between income, informal social networks, and health among South Korean older adults. We used “2017 Age Integration Survey” data collected national wide, and analyzed 615 older adults over 50 years of age. Structural Equation Modeling and multi-group analysis were used to test the hypothesis. Specifically, two groups of perceived level of age-friendly environments (top 25%, bottom 25%) were compared to examine the moderating effects. Findings showed that poor income and scarce informal social networks had significantly adverse impacts on health, respectively. However, the effect of income on health was no longer significant for older adults living in better age-friendly environments. Fewer informal social networks adversely impacted on health in both groups, though the size of their effects decreased when the level of age-friendly environments perceived by older adults was improved. Finally, several implications of the study findings are discussed.