Measuring social participation of older adults is an important issue, since this concept includes not only daily activities (e.g.: feeding, personal care, mobility) but also social roles (e.g.: interpersonal relationships, leisure). The purpose of this study was to determine whether or not increased age is associated with a decrease in social participation. The study also explored relationships between social participation and some personal and environmental characteristics.
The Assessment of Life Habits (LIFE-H) was used to document social participation in 189 community-dwelling people aged 55 and over. The LIFE-H (short version 3.1) is composed of 77 daily activities and social roles associated with the 12 categories of the Disability Creation Process model.
Social participation significantly decreases with advancing age (p