Factors Influencing Social Participation of Older People in Russia: Study of Practices of Delayed Ageing

  • Irina A. Grigoryeva Sociological Institute, Federal Center of Theoretical and Applied Sociology, Russian Academy of Sciences, St. Petersburg, Russia http://orcid.org/0000-0001-8348-2954
  • Oksana A. Parfenova Sociological Institute, Federal Center of Theoretical and Applied Sociology, Russian Academy of Sciences, St. Petersburg, Russia http://orcid.org/0000-0001-6187-7947
  • Lyudmila A. Vidiasova Sociological Institute, Federal Center of Theoretical and Applied Sociology, Russian Academy of Sciences, St. Petersburg, Russia; Monitoring and Research Department eGovernance Center, ITMO University, St. Petersburg, Russia http://orcid.org/0000-0002-8006-7066
DOI: https://doi.org/10.15826/csp.2024.8.1.261

Abstract

The article presents the results of a study of the social participation of Russian citizens aged 60 and over. The analysis is based on the concept of extended adulthood or delayed ageing, which is a continuation or development of “active ageing.” Extended adulthood is understood from a sociological perspective as the preservation of the social status and role of an independent person participating in the life of society. Our main research question is “What factors and how do they influence the social activity of older people in modern Russian society?” Our research is based on a quantitative survey, consisting of a corpus of 210 questionnaires collected in a medical institution from older people aged 60 and over, supplemented by data from their medical records. For data triangulation and thick description, we use the material from 50 in-depth semi-structured interviews. All material was collected in 2022–2023. The data are strictly anonymous. Among the various forms of social participation and involvement of older people in activities, the most important is employment, which increases income. Internet use helps to prolong social participation and not to feel old. After the age of 75, the range of activities decreases and focuses on family and relatives. The very concepts of “ageing” and “elderly” themselves have predominantly negative connotations for both respondents and informants and are associated with inactivity, illness, loss of interests and abilities, etc. This allows us to consider the concept of extended adulthood/delayed ageing as the most effective and appropriate for studying ageing and changes in ageing policies.

Author Biographies

Irina A. Grigoryeva, Sociological Institute, Federal Center of Theoretical and Applied Sociology, Russian Academy of Sciences, St. Petersburg, Russia

Irina A. Grigoryeva is a Chief Researcher at the Sociological Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Branch of the Federal Center of Theoretical and Applied Sociology of the Russian Academy of Sciences. Her research interests lie in the areas of social policy, theory of social work, and active and delayed ageing. Among her latest publication is: Grigoryeva, I. Changing Approaches to Aging and Surge of Ageism in Covid-19 Pandemic and After (2023).

Oksana A. Parfenova, Sociological Institute, Federal Center of Theoretical and Applied Sociology, Russian Academy of Sciences, St. Petersburg, Russia

Oksana A. Parfenova is a Senior Researcher at the Sociological Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Branch of the Federal Center of Theoretical and Applied Sociology of the Russian Academy of Sciences. Her current research interests cover social studies of aging, social exclusion, intergenerational relationships, and healthcare practices. In 2020, Parfenova co-founded the Center for Social Research on Aging at the Sociological Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences. One of her latest publications inlcudes Parfenova, O. Paths of Extended Employment Among Intellectual and Creative Workers Aged 60 and Above (2023).

Lyudmila A. Vidiasova, Sociological Institute, Federal Center of Theoretical and Applied Sociology, Russian Academy of Sciences, St. Petersburg, Russia; Monitoring and Research Department eGovernance Center, ITMO University, St. Petersburg, Russia

Lyudmila A. Vidiasova is the Head of Monitoring and Research Department at the eGovernance center, Institute of Design and Urban Studies, ITMO University, and a Senior Researcher at the Sociological Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Branch of the Federal Center of Theoretical and Applied Sociology of the Russian Academy of Sciences. Her research interests lie in the areas of digital services adoption, smart city development, active ageing measurement, eHealth services for different age groups. Her latest publication is: Vidiasova, L. Active and Delayed Ageing in the Assessments of the Elderly (According to a Pilot Study in St. Petersburg) (2023).

References


  • Aktivnaia zhizn’ na pensii [Active life after retirement]. (2021, May 28). VCIOM (Russian Public Opinion Research Center). https://wciom.ru/analytical-reviews/analiticheskii-obzor/aktivnaja-zhizn-na-pensii

  • Bengtson, V. L., Gans, D., Putney, N. M., & Silverstein, M. (2009). Theories about age and aging. In V. L. Bengtson, D. Gans, N. M. Putney, & M. Silverstein (Eds.), Handbook of theories of aging (2nd ed., pp. 3–23). Springer.

  • Biggs, S., Hendricks, J., & Lowenstein, A. (2020). The need for theory: Critical approaches to social gerontology. Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315230849

  • Bogdanova, E., & Grigoryeva, I. (2021). The crisis of neoliberal project of aging during the COVID-19 pandemic: From compulsory activity to mandatory isolation. The Journal of Adult Protection, 23(2), 76–85. https://doi.org/10.1108/JAP-08-2020-0038

  • de São José, J. M., Timonen, V., Amado, C. A. F., & Santos, S. P. (2017). A critique of the Active Ageing Index. Journal of Aging Studies, 40, 49–56. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaging.2017.01.001

  • Degot’kova, I. (2023, August 19). Perepis’ pokazala rost chisla odinochek v Rossii [The census revealed an increase in the number of singles in Russia]. RBC.ru. https://www.rbc.ru/economics/19/08/2023/64dcddcd9a794758fcac52e4

  • Denzin, N. K. (2017). The research act: A theoretical introduction to sociological methods. Routledge.

  • Elutina, M. E., & Trofimova, O. A. (2017). Odinokoe prozhivanie i perezhivanie odinochestva v pozdnem vozraste [Lonely living arrangements and coping with loneliness in old age]. The Journal of Social Policy Studies, 15(1), 37–50. https://doi.org/10.17323/1727-0634-2017-15-1-37-50

  • Formosa, M. (2019). Active ageing in the fourth age: The experiences and perspectives of older persons in long-term care. Geopolitical, Social Security and Freedom Journal, 2(1), 78–92. https://doi.org/10.2478/gssfj-2019-0008

  • Galkin, K. A. (2022). Strategii ispol’zovaniia onlain-soobshchestv zdorov’ia pozhilymi liud’mi v sel’skoi mestnosti [Strategies for using online health communities by elderly people in rural areas]. Digital Sociology, 5(3), 88–96. https://doi.org/10.26425/2658-347X-2022-5-3-88-96

  • Goldman, D. P., & Olshansky, S. J. (2013). Delayed aging versus delayed disease: A new paradigm for public health. Public Policy and Aging Report, 23(4), 16–18. https://doi.org/10.1093/ppar/23.4.16

  • Grigoryeva, I. A. (2022). Vkliuchenie pozhilykh v mir tsifrovykh tekhnologii v usloviiakh “novoi sotsial’nosti” [Inclusion of the elderly in the digital world in the context of the “new sociality”]. In Proceedings of the 25th International Joint Scientific Conference “Internet and Modern Society” (IMS–2022), St. Petersburg, June 23–24, 2022 (pp. 40–42). ITMO University.

  • Grigoryeva, I., & Ravchik, M. (2023). Ecosystem of urban services (EUS) priority needs for social (digital) services of the older generation. The Journal of Social Policy Studies, 21(3), 551–564. https://doi.org/10.17323/727-0634-2023-21-3-551-564

  • Havighurst, R. J. (1961). Successful aging. The Gerontologist, 1(1), 8–13. https://doi.org/10.1093/geront/1.1.8

  • Khalyavkin, A. V. (2013). Phenoptosis as genetically determined aging influenced by signals from the environment. Biochemistry (Moscow), 78(9), 1001–1005. https://doi.org/10.1134/S0006297913090058

  • Kienko, T. S. (2021). Vtorichnye sledstviia ogranichenii i izoliatsii v usloviiakh riskov COVID-19 dlia liudei starshego vozrasta: Sindemicheskii podkhod [Postprimary consequences of restrictions and isolation in the context of COVID-19 risks for older people: A synthetic approach]. In Proceedings of International Interdisciplinary Scientific and Practical Conference “Sokhranenie zdorov’ia naseleniia kak global’naia problema sovremennosti” [The preservation of public health as a contemporary global problem] (pp. 116–119). Rus’.

  • Kienko, T. S., Pevnaya, M. V., & Ptitsyna, N. A. (2022). Praktiki samoorganizatsii i sotsial’noi aktivnosti rossiian starshego vozrasta kak rasshiriaiushchie vozmozhnosti (“empowerment”) tekhnologii [Practices of self-organization and social activity of older Russians as empowerment technologies]. Vestnik of Lobachevsky State University of Nizhny Novgorod. Social Sciences, 1, 89–98. https://doi.org/10.52452/18115942_2022_1_89

  • Kienko, T. S., Ptitsyna, N. A., Markova, E. K., Pevnaya, M. V., Telepaeva, D. F., Kaigorodova, L. A., Gnedysheva, I. N., Tikhomirova, V. R., Braverman, D. V., Lapturova, M. V., Akaeva, A. D., Davydova, M. V., & Kopteva, A. V. (2022). Rasshirenie vozmozhnostei (“empowerment”) liudei starshego vozrasta v praktikakh samoorganizatsii i aktivnosti [Empowerment of older people in the practices of selforganization and activity]. Fond nauki i obrazovaniya.

  • Kirkwood, T. B. L. (2017). Why and how are we living longer? Experimental Physiology, 102(9), 1067–1074. https://doi.org/10.1113/EP086205

  • Kornilova, M. V. (2018). Internet kak adaptatsionnyi resurs pozhilykh pol’zovatelei [The Internet as an adaptive resource for older users]. Izvestiya of Saratov University. Sociology. Politology, 18(3), 250–259.

  • Kotlikoff, L., & Burns, S. (2004). The coming generational storm: What you need to know about America’s economic future. MIT Press.

  • Lakomý, M. (2021). The effect of roles prescribed by active ageing on quality of life across European regions. Ageing & Society, 43(3), 664–688. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0144686X21000726

  • Lemon, B. W., Bengtson, V. L., & Peterson, J. A. (1972). An exploration of the activity theory of aging: Activity types and life satisfaction among in-movers to a retirement community. Journal of Gerontology, 27(4), 511–523. https://doi.org/10.1093/geronj/27.4.511

  • Liang, J., & Luo, B. (2012). Toward a discourse shift in social gerontology: From successful aging to harmonious aging. Journal of Aging Studies, 26(3), 327–334. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaging.2012.03.001

  • North, M. S. (2019). A gate to understanding “older” workers: Generation, age, tenure, experience. Academy of Management Annals, 13(2), 414–443. https://doi.org/10.5465/annals.2017.0125

  • Parfenova, O. (2023). Paths of extended employment among intellectual and creative workers aged 60 and above. The Journal of Social Policy Studies, 21(3), 539–550. https://doi.org/10.17323/727-0634-2023-21-3-539-550

  • Parfenova, O. A., & Galkin, K. A. (2023). Sotsial’naia aktivnost’ pozhilykh rossiian v kontekste aktivnogo dolgoletiia [Social activity and participation of older Russians in the context of active ageing]. The Journal of Sociology and Social Anthropology, 26(1), 200–223. https://doi.org/10.31119/jssa.2023.26.1.8

  • Parsons, T. (1951). The social system. Free Press.

  • Pevnaya, M. V. (2016). Upravlenie rossiiskim volonterstvom: Sushchnost’ i protivorechiia [Managing Russian volunteers’ efforts: Essence and contradictions]. Sotsiologicheskie Issledovaniya, 12, 69–77.

  • Principi, A., Di Rosa, M., Domínguez-Rodríguez, A., Varlamova, M., Barbabella, F., Lamura, G., & Socci, M. (2023). The Active Ageing Index and policy making in Italy. Ageing & Society, 43(11), 2554–2579. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0144686X21001835

  • Rowe, J. W., & Kahn, R. L. (1987.) Human aging: Usual and successful. Science, 237(4811), 143–149. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.3299702

  • Rowe, J. W., & Kahn, R. L. (1997). Successful aging. The Gerontologist, 37(4), 433–440. https://doi.org/10.1093/geront/37.4.433

  • Sidorenko, A., & Zaidi, A. (2013). Active ageing in CIS countries: Semantics, challenges, and responses. Current Gerontology and Geriatrics Research, 2013, Article 261819. https://doi.org/10.1155/2013/261819

  • Sinyavskaya, O. V. (2020). Rozhdennye pandemiei: Stanut li koronavirus i ekonomicheskii krizis roditeliami novoi modeli sotsial’nogo gosudarstva? [Born pandemic: Will coronavirus and the economic crisis become the parents of a new model of the welfare state?]. Rossiia v global’noi politike, 18(5), 10–24.

  • Sinyavskaya, O. V., Cherviakova, A. A., & Kareva, D. E. (2019). Pomogaiushchie i schastlivye? Vliianie sotsial’noi aktivnosti na schast’e liudei starshe 50 let v evropeiskikh stranakh [Happy helpers? The impact of social activity on the levels of happiness among people aged 50 and over in the European countries]. Monitoring of Public Opinion: Economic and Social Changes, 6, 237–258. https://doi.org/10.14515/monitoring.2019.6.12

  • Smol’kin, A. A. (2022). Sotsiologiia vozrasta [Sociology of age]. SotsioDigger, 3(5–6), 27–29.

  • Strizhitskaya, O. Yu., & Petrash, M. D. (2022). Construction of productive ageing: Biological, psychological and environmental factors. Counseling Psychology and Psychotherapy, 30(1), 8–28. https://doi.org/10.17759/cpp.2022300102

  • UNECE Statistics Wikis. (n.d.). Active Ageing Index home. https://statswiki.unece.org/display/AAI/Active+Ageing+Index+Home

  • United Nations. (1982). Report on the World Assembly of Ageing. https://www.un.org/esa/socdev/ageing/documents/Resources/VIPEE-English.pdf

  • United Nations. (2002). Political Declaration and Madrid International Plan of Action on Aging. https://www.un.org/esa/socdev/documents/ageing/MIPAA/political-declaration-en.pdf

  • United Nations Economic Commission for Europe. (n.d.). Active Ageing Index. https://unece.org/population/active-ageing-index

  • United Nations Economic Commission for Europe & European Commission. (2018). Guidelines for Active Ageing Index (AAI) in non-EU countries. https://unece.org/DAM/pau/age/Active_Ageing_Index/AAI_Guidelines_final.pdf

  • Versey, S. H. (2015). Activity theory. In S. K. Whitbourne (Ed.), The encyclopedia of adulthood and aging (Vol. 1, pp. 10–13). John Wiley & Sons. https://doi.org/10.1002/9781118521373.wbeaa096

  • Vidiasova, L. A. (2023). Aktivnoe i otlozhennoe starenie v otsenkakh pozhilykh (po dannym pilotnogo issledovaniia v Sankt-Peterburge) [Active and delayed aging in the assessments of the elderly (According to a pilot study in St. Petersburg)]. The Journal of Social Policy Studies, 21(3), 485–502. https://doi.org/10.17323/727-0634-2023-21-3-485-502

  • Vidiasova, L. A., Kuznetsova, E. M., & Grigoryeva, I. A. (2022). Integratsiia pozhilykh liudei v informatsionnoe prostranstvo: Issledovatel’skii keis Sankt-Peterburga [Integration of the elderly into the information space: Research case of St. Petersburg]. Advances in Gerontology, 35(5), 668–678. https://doi.org/10.34922/AE.2022.35.5.002

  • Walker, A. (2002). A strategy for active ageing. International Social Security Review, 55(1), 121–139. https://doi.org/10.1111/1468-246x.00118

  • Wild, K., Wiles J., & Allen, R. (2013). Resilience: Thoughts on the value of the concept for critical gerontology. Ageing & Society, 33(1), 137–158. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0144686X11001073

  • Zacher, H., Kooij, D. T. A. M., & Beier, M. E. (2018). Active aging at work: Contributing factors and implications for organizations. Organizational Dynamics, 47(1), 37–45. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.orgdyn.2017.08.001

Published
2024-04-05
How to Cite
Grigoryeva, I., Parfenova, O., & Vidiasova, L. (2024). Factors Influencing Social Participation of Older People in Russia: Study of Practices of Delayed Ageing. Changing Societies & Personalities, 8(1), 14–36. doi:10.15826/csp.2024.8.1.261
Citation Formats
Issue
Vol. 8, No. 1 (2024): Special Issue “Social Participation as a Factor That Changes Societies and Personalities”
Section
Articles in the Special Section