A Reciprocal Relationship between Formal and Informal Social Engagement and Handgrip Strength of Older Adults in South Korea

Joonmo Son*, Pildoo Sung

*Corresponding author for this work

    Research output: Contribution to journalJournal articlepeer-review

    Abstract

    Introduction: The relationship between social engagement and handgrip strength has been underexplored. Further, no prior research examined a plausible reciprocal association between them. 

    Methods: The study employed the seven waves of data (2006-2018) from the Korean Longitudinal Study of Aging (KLoSA) survey (7,927 respondents, mean age: 59 years old at wave 1 [71 years old at wave 7], women: 58%). It used ML-SEM, a cross-lagged panel model with fixed effects fitted by structural equation modeling with maximum likelihood estimation. In particular, the ML-SEM examined whether a reciprocal relationship existed between formal social engagement (number of association memberships and frequency of organizational activities)/informal social engagement (frequency of contact with familiar persons) and handgrip strength (the average of the four dynamometer measurements).

    Results: The empirical analyses identified a systematic reciprocal association between formal social engagement and handgrip strength. Specifically, formal social engagement was positively associated with handgrip strength over time (the number of association memberships standardized coefficient: 0.012∗, the frequency of organizational activities standardized coefficient: 0.022∗∗∗). Conversely, handgrip strength was positively related to the number of memberships (the handgrip strength standardized coefficient: 0.025∗) and the frequency of organizational activities (the handgrip strength standardized coefficient: 0.042∗∗).

    Conclusion: The study thus supports the social causation proposition that formal social engagement in and through diverse associations may be positively associated with handgrip strength. It also validates the health selection argument that handgrip strength may increase the likelihood of formal social engagement.

    Original languageEnglish
    Pages (from-to)1088-1102
    Number of pages15
    JournalGerontology
    Volume70
    Issue number10
    Early online date18 Jul 2024
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - Oct 2024

    Scopus Subject Areas

    • Ageing
    • Geriatrics and Gerontology

    User-Defined Keywords

    • Handgrip strength
    • ML-SEM
    • Reciprocal relationship
    • Social engagement

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