IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/socmed/v337y2023ics027795362300624x.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

“Please don't let me become a statistic in this grocery store”: Civic engagement among older Americans since the COVID-19 pandemic onset

Author

Listed:
  • Finlay, Jessica
  • Eastman, Marisa
  • Kobayashi, Lindsay

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted civic life and upended daily routines. Coffee shops, restaurants, recreation centers, parks, and other ‘third places’ that facilitate communal gathering, interpersonal connection, and meaningful activity closed or operated under tight restrictions. Little is known about longer-term impacts on older adults' civic life since the pandemic's onset. The COVID-19 Coping Study conducted semi-structured interviews in April–July 2021 with 57 adults aged ≥55 across the United States (mean age 71). Reflexive thematic analysis identified heightened sociopolitical tensions and complex community experiences since the pandemic's onset. Participants shared nuanced perceptions of greater physical and emotional distancing, siloed communities, politicized public health adherence, fears of gun violence, and experiences of racial discrimination in shared spaces. Hopeful efforts to re-engage in civic life involved cautious social activities post-vaccination, altered daily routines, and finding a “new normal.” The novel results explore how a large sample of racially and socioeconomically diverse older adults perceive and experience American sociopolitical tensions anchored in shared everyday spaces. Results may inform practical opportunities for policymakers and community service providers to strengthen social infrastructure, support wellbeing, and bolster civic life.

Suggested Citation

  • Finlay, Jessica & Eastman, Marisa & Kobayashi, Lindsay, 2023. "“Please don't let me become a statistic in this grocery store”: Civic engagement among older Americans since the COVID-19 pandemic onset," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 337(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:socmed:v:337:y:2023:i:c:s027795362300624x
    DOI: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2023.116267
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S027795362300624X
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.socscimed.2023.116267?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Alexander Seifert & Shelia R Cotten & Bo Xie & Deborah Carr, 2021. "A Double Burden of Exclusion? Digital and Social Exclusion of Older Adults in Times of COVID-19 [Attitudes towards and limitations to ICT use in assisted and independent living communities: Finding," The Journals of Gerontology: Series B, The Gerontological Society of America, vol. 76(3), pages 99-103.
    2. Stacy Torres & Jan Warren-Findlow, 2019. "Aging Alone, Gossiping Together: Older Adults’ Talk as Social Glue," The Journals of Gerontology: Series B, The Gerontological Society of America, vol. 74(8), pages 1474-1482.
    3. Hanne K. Collins & Serena F. Hagerty & Jordi Quoidbach & Michael I. Norton & Alison Wood Brooks, 2022. "Relational diversity in social portfolios predicts well-being," Decision Analysis, INFORMS, vol. 119(43), pages 2120668119-, October.
    4. Lane, Anna P. & Hou, Yuting & Hooi Wong, Chek & Yuen, Belinda, 2020. "Cross-sectional associations of neighborhood third places with social health among community-dwelling older adults," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 258(C).
    5. Hanne K. Collins & Serena F. Hagerty & Jordi Quoidbach & Michael I. Norton & Alison Wood Brooks, 2022. "Relational diversity in social portfolios predicts well-being," Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, vol. 119(43), pages 2120668119-, October.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Kozar Łukasz, 2021. "Non-Monetary Indicators of Social Exclusion – A Multidimensional Comparative Analysis of the Eu-10 Countries," Econometrics. Advances in Applied Data Analysis, Sciendo, vol. 25(4), pages 40-53, December.
    2. Gustafsson, Per E. & Fonseca-Rodríguez, Osvaldo & Nilsson, Ingeborg & San Sebastián, Miguel, 2022. "Intersectional inequalities in loneliness among older adults before and during the early phase of the COVID-19 pandemic: A total population survey in the Swedish eldercare setting," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 314(C).
    3. Alicia Murciano-Hueso & Antonio-Víctor Martín-García & Ana Paula Cardoso, 2022. "Technology and Quality of Life of Older People in Times of COVID: A Qualitative Study on Their Changed Digital Profile," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(16), pages 1-15, August.
    4. Tracy L. Mitzner & Elena T. Remillard & Kara T. Mumma, 2022. "Research-Driven Guidelines for Delivering Group Exercise Programs via Videoconferencing to Older Adults," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(13), pages 1-15, June.
    5. Ana C. Romea & Diana Valero & Carmen Elboj & Patricia Melgar, 2022. "Mental Health and Access to Information in Times of COVID-19: The Role of Social Work," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(8), pages 1-12, April.
    6. Eija Kärnä & Lotta Aavikko & Rebekka Rohner & Vera Gallistl & Kaisa Pihlainen & Claudia Müller & Anja Ehlers & Roberta Bevilacqua & Stefano Strano & Elvira Maranesi & Katerina Cerna & Lisa Hengl & Fra, 2022. "A Multilevel Model of Older Adults’ Appropriation of ICT and Acquisition of Digital Literacy," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(23), pages 1-14, November.
    7. Sara Santini & Vera Stara & Flavia Galassi & Alessandra Merizzi & Cornelia Schneider & Sabine Schwammer & Elske Stolte & Johannes Kropf, 2021. "User Requirements Analysis of an Embodied Conversational Agent for Coaching Older Adults to Choose Active and Healthy Ageing Behaviors during the Transition to Retirement: A Cross-National User Center," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(18), pages 1-24, September.
    8. Tara N. Officer & Fiona Imlach & Eileen McKinlay & Jonathan Kennedy & Megan Pledger & Lynne Russell & Marianna Churchward & Jacqueline Cumming & Karen McBride-Henry, 2022. "COVID-19 Pandemic Lockdown and Wellbeing: Experiences from Aotearoa New Zealand in 2020," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(4), pages 1-23, February.
    9. Teck Hong Tan & Ji Hei Lee, 2022. "Residential environment, third places and well-being in Malaysian older adults," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 162(2), pages 721-738, July.
    10. Moogoor, Adithi & Močnik, Špela & Yuen, Belinda, 2022. "Neighbourhood environmental influences on older adults’ physical activities and social participation in Singapore: A photovoice study," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 310(C).
    11. Vainieri, Milena & Vandelli, Andrea & Benvenuti, Stefano Casini & Bertarelli, Gaia, 2023. "Tracking the digital health gap in elderly: A study in Italian remote areas," Health Policy, Elsevier, vol. 133(C).
    12. Yumi Kimura & Hiroshi Akasaka & Toshihito Takahashi & Saori Yasumoto & Kei Kamide & Kazunori Ikebe & Mai Kabayama & Ayaka Kasuga & Hiromi Rakugi & Yasuyuki Gondo, 2022. "Factors Related to Preventive Behaviors against a Decline in Physical Fitness among Community-Dwelling Older Adults during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Qualitative Study," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(10), pages 1-12, May.
    13. Wang, Weihua & Zhang, Yuting & Zhao, Junjie, 2023. "Technological or social? Influencing factors and mechanisms of the psychological digital divide in rural Chinese elderly," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 74(C).

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:socmed:v:337:y:2023:i:c:s027795362300624x. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/wps/find/journaldescription.cws_home/315/description#description .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.