Community attachment as a factor in the subjective well-being of older adults in urban and rural areas: A case study in Tokyo, Osaka, and Shikoku region in Japan

This study explored the relationship between community participation/community attachment and subjective well-being (SWB) among Japanese older adults. The study was conducted in Japanese urban (Tokyo and Osaka) and rural (Shikoku region) areas. Structural equation modelling was performed to assess the potential relationship between community participation, community attachment and SWB. Results showed that community participation and community attachment were positively associated in both areas. However, community attachment had a significant impact on SWB only in rural areas with little impact on increasing SWB in urban areas. We conclude that the role of community attachment varies according to regions with different socioeconomic properties. These findings contribute to the design of detailed region-specific initiatives to improve SWB of older adults.本研究探讨了日本老年人群体中社区参与、社区依恋与主观幸福感（Subjective Well-being，SWB）之间的关联。研究在日本城市区域（东京与大阪）及乡村区域（四国地区）开展。本研究采用结构方程模型，评估社区参与、社区依恋与主观幸福感之间的潜在关联。结果显示，两类地区中社区参与与社区依恋均呈显著正相关。然而，仅在乡村地区，社区依恋对主观幸福感存在显著影响；而在城市地区，其对提升老年群体主观幸福感的作用微乎其微。本研究结论表明，社区依恋的作用会因社会经济属性不同的地区而异。上述研究结果可为制定精细化的区域化举措以改善老年群体主观幸福感提供参考依据。