Ageism, Religiosity, and Wellbeing Among Older Adults: Evidence From the European Social Survey (ESS4). (June 2021)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Kim, Harris Hyun-soo; Jung, Jong Hyun
• Is Part Of: Research on aging. Volume 43:Number 5/6(2021)
• Page Start: 214
• Page End: 226
• Publication Date: 2021-06
• Subjects: ageism -- wellbeing -- health -- religious context -- European social survey -- multilevel analysis; Old age -- Periodicals; Gerontology -- United States -- Periodicals; 305.2605
• DOI: 10.1177/0164027520953632
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0164-0275

Abstract

Research shows that ageism (systemic discrimination against people because of their age) significantly undermines physical and psychological wellbeing, particularly among older adults. Our aim is to contribute to the literature by investigating whether this negative association varies across national religious context. We estimate multilevel models by drawing on a subset of data (ages 55 and above) from the fourth round of the European Social Survey (2008/2009). We find that ageism is negatively related to measures of wellbeing (happiness, life satisfaction, self-rated health). More importantly, the relationship is less pronounced in countries with higher levels of religiosity. These findings suggest that the country's religious environment serves as a buffer against deleterious health consequences of ageism for the older population. Our study thus provides additional evidence on ageism as a critical risk factor and sheds novel light on the moderating role of country-level religiosity as a protective factor.