1. D OES SOCIAL CAPITAL EXPLAIN ACTIVE AGING ? Hyeji Choi* Soondool Jung** Heesuk Yoon* Eunkyung Bae** Songyi Baek* * Seoul Women’s University ** Ewha Woman’s University

2. B ACKGROUND Social capital is a resource gained through relationships, facilitating the connection of individuals to a group or community. Connection to the community or participation in society is a key element of active aging. The relationship between individuals declines as they age, implying that one’s connection to the community weakens while his/her social capital decreases in later life. Investigating the impacts of social capital on active aging makes it possible to develop an intervention strategy for active aging based on social capital.

3. P URPOSE OF THIS STUDY To investigate the level of active aging among elderly Koreans To investigate the association between the level of active aging and the level of social capitalism among elderly Koreans

4. T HEORETICAL BACKGROUND Social capitalism Definition “Social capital refers to features of social organization such as networks, norms, and social trust that facilitate co-ordination and co-operation for mutual benefit” (Putnam, 1995:67) Elements Social trust and safety Social cooperation Social inclusion Social network

5. T HEORETICAL BACKGROUND Active ageing Definition The process of optimizing opportunities for health, participation and security in order to enhance the quality of life as people age Activity theory Basic notion A person who ages optimally is one who stays active and manages to resist the withdrawal of social world.

6. R ESEARCH HYPOTHESES A high level of social trust and safety is associated with a high level of active aging among elderly Koreans A high level of social cooperation is associated with a high level of active aging among elderly Koreans A higher level of social inclusion is associated with a high level of active aging among elderly Koreans A high level of social network is associated with a high level of active aging among elderly Koreans

7. R ESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS Research design Social survey research Subject 500 elderly Koreans aged over 65 MeanSD Age Number of co-residing family members 70.77 2.45 5.31 1.34

8. R ESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS VariableN% SexMale Female 247 253 49.40 50.60 Marital statusMarried Divorced Widowed Unmarried 341 3 155 1 68.20 0.60 31.00 0.20 Educational background No education Elementary school Junior high school High school College 286 0 89 98 27 57.20 0.00 17.80 19.60 5.40 Employment status Unemployed Paid worker Employer Self-employed Unpaid family worker 341 53 5 89 12 68.20 10.60 1.00 17.80 2.40

9. R ESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS Sampling Purposive sampling from eight provinces in Korea Data collection Face-to-face interview by professionally trained paid interviewers Survey instrument A structured questionnaire developed by the authors

10. R ESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS Measurement Level of active aging 11 questions developed by Shimane Prefecture of Japan Responses measured on a four-point Likert scale Social trust and safety Bullen and Onyx scale of social credibility and safety Five questions measured on a five-point Likert scale Social cooperation Five questions from the social capital indicator invented by Choi Five questions measured on a five-point Likert scale Social inclusion Five questions from the social capital indicator invented by Choi Five questions measured on a five-point Likert scale Social network Five questions from the social capital indicator invented by Choi Five questions measured on a five-point Likert scale

11. R ESULTS Level%n Low (11-28)29.8149 Moderate (29-33)42.6213 High (34-44)27.6138 L EVEL OF ACTIVE AGING MEAN = 30.75 ( SD =4.44 )

12. R ESULTS betabt Intercept Years of schooling Financial status Social trust and safety Social cooperation Inclusion Social network. 0.21796 0.05125 0.09957 0.10738 0.00192 -0.01839 25.16117 0.83609 0.15966 0.14831 0.13874 0.00467 -0.00749 18.41 4.78 1.14 2.25 0.04 -0.41 F= 8.06 R 2 =0.089

13. D ISCUSSION The results imply that social capital has two dimensions. One is emotional and subjective, including social trust/safety and social cooperation. The other is objective, with inclusion and social network included. The results also show that active aging is significantly associated with the subjective aspects of social capital but not with its objective aspects. Therefore, a strategy strengthening the sense of solidarity between the elderly and their community is recommendable to promote active aging.