The Effect of Assets on Life Satisfaction in Old Age and Moderating Effects of Changes in Participation in Social Activities after COVID-19

Background and Purpose: When COVID-19 began, it led to a decrease in participation in social activities of older adults since governments strictly prevented in social engagements. As older adults are more likely to experience great crises amid restrictions on participation in social activities, this study aims to further explore the meaning of “participation in social activities” later in life by exploring how changes in participation in social activities influence the relationship between assets and life satisfaction.

Methods: The study employed multiple regression analysis to assess the influence of social activities before and after the COVID-19 outbreak. The data is used by the KLoSA (Korean Longitudinal Study of Aging) panel from the 7th-panel survey, conducted before COVID-19 in 2018, and the 8th-panel survey, conducted after COVID-19 in 2020. A total of 5,388 respondents were included as the study population, with cases featuring missing data in variables being excluded from analysis.

Results: The study reveals the following findings: When formal social engagement increases after COVID-19, there is a significant interaction effect with asset level (p<.001). However, when post-COVID-19 participation in formal social activities decreases, the interaction effect with assets is not statistically significant. These findings suggest that the level of social activities may vary depending on individuals' levels of asset-holding. Therefore, formal and informal social engagements may require tailored interventions to accommodate these variations in circumstances. As a main result of this study, the degree of participation in social activities positively affects life satisfaction later in life. To be specific, an increase in formal social engagement is significantly associated with increase in life satisfaction among older adults (b=1.266, p<.01). On the other hand, a decrease in informal social engagement after COVID-19 is associated with a decrease in life satisfaction, and this relationship is statistically significant (b=-.880, p<.05).

Conclusions and Implications: This result aligns with the previous literature studies emphasizing the relationship between participation in social activities and life satisfaction in old age and it can still be verified in the COVID-19 pandemic. Specifically, a decrease in informal social activity may exacerbate life satisfaction decline with lower asset levels. This strengthens the influence of assets on life satisfaction especially for those with lower asset levels since the decrease in informal social activities becomes a risk factor that may worsen life satisfaction for older adults. On the other hand, formal social activities could be a protective factor that mitigates the decline in life satisfaction even if the level of holding assets is low. Thus, there is a need for not only practical endeavors such as program development but also for further exploration of theoretical discussions within the context of the pandemic. In follow-up studies, it is imperative to conduct comprehensive analyses of diverse data sets or qualitative research to further explore the effectiveness of social engagement among older adults. Lastly, it is crucial to redefine the significance of existing social activities, integrating new forms of activities reflecting recent social technologies, such as virtual meetings, along with the classification of formal and informal social activities.