Elder friendliness and social participation of older adults living within age-segregated retirement communities

This study applied the concept of elder friendliness to leisure-oriented age-restricted communities and examined the social participation, satisfaction and support of residents in order to understand how such communities may facilitate or constrain social engagement.;Results showed a significant positive correlation between actual group/community level participation and emotional support but lower satisfaction with frequency of group/community participation as compared to satisfaction with frequency of participation with individual friends. Married respondents were significantly more satisfied than non-married respondents with individual friendship participation.;In addition, there was a significant positive correlation between perceived neighbor trustworthiness and satisfaction with group/community activity participation. The ability of communities to respond to the needs of older adults is integral to their health and well-being. Social workers can support the quality of life of seniors at micro and meso levels by strengthening social networks and connecting seniors to their communities and at the macro level by providing advocacy and promoting livable and elder-friendly initiatives in community planning and development.