Supplementary Material for: Associations between Neighborhood Characteristics, Well-Being and Health Vary over the Life Course

Background: Neighborhood characteristics are important determinants of individual health and well-being. For example, characteristics such as noise and pollution affect health directly, while other characteristics affect health and well-being by either providing resources (e.g. social capital in the neighborhood), which individuals can use to cope with health problems, or limiting the use thereof (e.g. crime). This also suggests that there might be age differentials in the impact of these characteristics, since individuals at different stages of life might need different resources. However, there is a lack of empirical evidence on age differentials in associations between well-being, health, and neighborhood characteristics. Objective: This paper studies associations between a wide range of neighborhood characteristics with the health and well-being of residents of the greater Berlin area. In particular, we focus on differences in the effects between younger (aged 20-35) and older (aged 60+) residents. Methods: We used data from the Berlin Aging Study II (312 younger and 993 older residents of the Berlin metropolitan area in Germany). We used survey data on health and well-being, combined these with subjective perceptions of the neighborhood, and geo-referenced indicators on the neighborhood, e.g. amenities (public transport, physicians, and hospitals). Results: The results show that access to public transportation is associated with better outcomes on all measures of health and well-being, and social support is associated with higher life satisfaction and better mental health. There are considerable differences between both age groups: while the associations between access to public transport and health and well-being are similar for both age groups, neighborhood social capital shows stronger associations for older residents. However, the difference is not always statistically significant. Conclusion: Having access to services is associated with better health and well-being regardless of age. Local policy makers should focus on lowering barriers to mobility in order to improve the health and well-being of the population. Since the social capital of a neighborhood is associated with better health and well-being among older residents, investments that increase social capital (e.g. community centers) might be warranted in neighborhoods with higher shares of older residents.

研究背景：社区特征是影响个体健康与福祉的关键决定因素。例如，噪音与污染等社区特征会直接作用于个体健康；另有部分社区特征则通过两种路径影响健康与福祉：一是提供可用于应对健康问题的资源（如社区社会资本（social capital）），二是限制此类资源的获取（如社区犯罪问题）。这提示，各类社区特征的影响可能存在年龄差异——因为人生不同阶段的个体所需资源各不相同。但目前针对福祉、健康与社区特征之间关联的年龄差异，尚缺乏充足的实证研究证据。

研究目标：本文旨在探讨大柏林地区居民的健康与福祉和各类社区特征之间的关联，尤其聚焦青年（20~35岁）与老年（60岁及以上）群体在该关联中的效应差异。

研究方法：本研究使用德国柏林大都会区的柏林衰老研究二期（Berlin Aging Study II）数据，样本包含312名青年居民与993名老年居民。研究整合了健康与福祉的问卷调研数据、居民对社区的主观感知数据，以及社区的地理编码（geo-referenced）指标（如公共交通、诊所与医院等便民设施）。

研究结果：结果显示，公共交通可达性与各维度的健康及福祉表现均呈显著正相关，而社会支持则与更高的生活满意度及更优的心理健康水平相关。两个年龄群体间存在较为明显的效应差异：尽管公共交通可达性与健康、福祉的关联在两组群体中并无显著区别，但社区社会资本与健康、福祉的关联在老年群体中表现更强。不过这类差异并非均具有统计学显著性。

研究结论：无论年龄层如何，社区服务可达性均与更优的健康及福祉水平相关。因此地方政策制定者应着力降低出行壁垒，以提升全体居民的健康与福祉水平。鉴于社区社会资本与老年群体的健康及福祉呈正相关，在老年居民占比较高的社区，可考虑投入资源提升社区社会资本（如建设社区中心）。