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Background <p>Perceived community environment is important for shaping older people's participation in their communities and for their well-being. Social cohesion and social belonging are two important yet distinct dimensions of perceived community environment that may influence support-behaviour and well-being in different ways. However, previous studies often treated both belonging and support behaviour as components of social cohesion. As a result, the associations between social cohesion and belonging with support provision behaviors and well-being among community-dwelling older people remains underexplored. This study aims at addressing this gap.</p> Methods <p>A longitudinal survey study design was employed. Data were collected among community-dwelling older people in the Netherlands across two waves with a six-month interval (<i>N</i> = 675). Multivariate linear auto-regressions and cross-lagged panel models (CLPMs) were used to explore the longitudinal associations among support provision, social cohesion, social belonging, and well-being. Sensitivity analyses using change-score regressions were conducted to assess robustness at the intra-individual level.</p> Results <p>We found that support provision, social cohesion, and social belonging were all positively associated with follow-up well-being. Cross-lagged analyses revealed distinct longitudinal relationships that, social cohesion at T0 was positively associated with increased support provision at T1, whereas social belonging at T0 was not. Sensitivity analyses confirmed that within-person increases in cohesion were associated with increases in support provision, while changes in belonging were not positively related to support changes.</p> Conclusions <p>Our study offers a new understanding of how the community environment may influence older people's support behaviors. Findings suggest that social cohesion and social belonging play distinct roles in relation to support provision among older people. Practices aimed at facilitating mutual support and well-being may need to take specific roles of different dimensions of community environment into account.</p>

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Relationships between support provision, social cohesion and belonging, and well-being among community-dwelling older people: a longitudinal survey study

  • 期刊论文

  • 出版模式：

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  • 发表日期：

    2026年7月2日

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  • Wenran Xia,
  • Robbert Huijsman,
  • Jeroen D. H. van Wijngaarden,
  • Martina Buljac- Samardžić

摘要

Background

Perceived community environment is important for shaping older people's participation in their communities and for their well-being. Social cohesion and social belonging are two important yet distinct dimensions of perceived community environment that may influence support-behaviour and well-being in different ways. However, previous studies often treated both belonging and support behaviour as components of social cohesion. As a result, the associations between social cohesion and belonging with support provision behaviors and well-being among community-dwelling older people remains underexplored. This study aims at addressing this gap.

Methods

A longitudinal survey study design was employed. Data were collected among community-dwelling older people in the Netherlands across two waves with a six-month interval (N = 675). Multivariate linear auto-regressions and cross-lagged panel models (CLPMs) were used to explore the longitudinal associations among support provision, social cohesion, social belonging, and well-being. Sensitivity analyses using change-score regressions were conducted to assess robustness at the intra-individual level.

Results

We found that support provision, social cohesion, and social belonging were all positively associated with follow-up well-being. Cross-lagged analyses revealed distinct longitudinal relationships that, social cohesion at T0 was positively associated with increased support provision at T1, whereas social belonging at T0 was not. Sensitivity analyses confirmed that within-person increases in cohesion were associated with increases in support provision, while changes in belonging were not positively related to support changes.

Conclusions

Our study offers a new understanding of how the community environment may influence older people's support behaviors. Findings suggest that social cohesion and social belonging play distinct roles in relation to support provision among older people. Practices aimed at facilitating mutual support and well-being may need to take specific roles of different dimensions of community environment into account.