The present study examines how contextual age discrimination moderates the individual-level association between perceived age discrimination and happiness among older Europeans. In this endeavor, we test two opposing views: 1) the “social norm” hypothesis that predicts the association between perceived age discrimination and happiness to become weaker in areas with a higher average level of age discrimination; and 2) conversely the “contagion effect” hypothesis that predicts the association to grow stronger in such areas. Using data from the European Social Survey (2008), we estimate two- and three-level mixed effects models to test these opposing hypotheses. Our findings from multilevel analysis lend support to the social norm hypothesis. Specifically, the negative link between perceived age discrimination and happiness is weaker in subnational regions where the proportion of victims of age discrimination is higher.
AvidorS.AyalonL.PalgiY.BodnerE. (2017). Longitudinal associations between perceived age discrimination and subjective well-being: Variations by age and subjective life expectancy. Aging & Mental Health, 21(7), 761–765. https://doi.org/10.1080/13607863.2016.1156050
2.
AyalonL. (2018). Perceived age discrimination: A precipitator or a consequence of depressive symptoms?The Journals of Gerontology. Series B, Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences, 73(5), 860–869. https://doi.org/10.1093/geronb/gbw101
3.
AyalonL.DolbergP.MakulionienecS.Perek-BialasdJ.RapolieneG.StypinskaJ.WillinskaM.de la Fuente-NunezV. (2019). A systematic review of existing ageism scales. Ageing Research Review, 54, 100919. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.arr.2019.100919
4.
BrincksA. M.EndersC. K.LlabreM. M.Bulotsky-ShearerR. J.PradoG.FeasterD. J. (2017). Centering predictor variables in three-level contextual models. Multivariate Behavioral Research, 52(2), 149–163. https://doi.org/10.1080/00273171.2016.1256753
5.
BryanM. L.JenkinsS. P. (2016). Multilevel modeling of country effects: A cautionary tale. European Sociological Review, 32(1), 3–22. https://doi.org/10.1093/esr/jcv059
6.
ClarkA. E. (2003). Unemployment as a social norm: Psychological evidence from panel data. Journal of Labor Economics, 21(2), 323–351. https://doi.org/10.1086/345560
7.
DesmondM.TravisA. (2018). Political consequences of survival strategies among the urban poor. American Sociological Review, 83(5), 869–896. https://doi.org/10.1177/0003122418792836
8.
DienerE. (2000). Subjective well-being: The science of happiness and a proposal for a national index. American Psychologist, 55(1), 34–43. https://doi.org/10.1037/0003-066x.55.1.34
9.
FestingerL. (1954). A Theory of Social Comparison and Processes. Human Relations, 7(2), 117–140.
10.
FowlerJ. H.ChristakisN. A. (2008). Dynamic spread of happiness in a large social network: Longitudinal analysis over 20 years in the Framingham Heart Study. BMJ: British Medical Journal, 337(dec04 2), a2338. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.a2338
11.
GageE. A. (2013). Social networks of experientially similar others: Formation, activation, and consequences of network ties on the health care experience. Social Science and Medicine, 95, 43–51. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2012.09.001
12.
GlavinP.YoungM. (2017). Insecure people in insecure places: The influence of regional unemployment on workers’ reactions to the threat of job loss. Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 58(2), 232–251. https://doi.org/10.1177/0022146517696148
13.
GraceM. K. (2021). They understand what you’re going through”: Experientially similar others, anticipatory stress, and depressive symptoms. Society and Mental Health, 11(1), 20–37. https://doi.org/10.1177/2156869320910773
14.
HeisigJ. P.SchafferM. (2019). Why you should always include a random slope for the lower-level variable involved in a cross-level interaction. European Sociological Review, 35(2), 258–279. https://doi.org/10.1093/esr/jcy053
15.
HillA. L.RandD. G.NowakM. A.ChristakisN. A. (2010). Emotions as infectious diseases in a large social network: The SISa model. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 277(1701), 3827–3835. https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2010.1217
KalmijnM. (2010). Country differences in the effects of divorce on wellbeing: The role of norms, support, and selectivity. European Sociological Review, 26(4), 475–490. https://doi.org/10.1093/esr/jcp035
18.
KangH.KimH. (2022). Ageism and psychological well-being among older adults: A systematic review. Gerontology & Geriatric Medicine, 8, 233372142210870. https://doi.org/10.1177/23337214221087023
LeeY.BiermanA. (2019). Loneliness as a mediator of perceived discrimination and depression: Examining education contingencies. The International Journal of Aging and Human Development, 89(2), 206–227. https://doi.org/10.1177/0091415018763402
21.
LiefbroerA. C.RijkenA. (2019). The association between Christianity and marriage attitude in Europe. European Sociological Review, 35(3), 363–379. https://doi.org/10.1093/esr/jcz014
22.
LimH.ShawD.LiaoP.DuanH. (2020). The effects of income on happiness in East and South Asia: Societal values matter?Journal of Happiness Studies, 21(2), 391–415. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10902-019-00088-9
23.
LinN.WoelfelM. W.LightS. C. (1985). The buffering effect of social support subsequent to an important life event. Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 26(3), 247–263. https://doi.org/10.2307/2136756
McPhersonM.Smith-LovinL.CookJ. M. (2001). Birds of a feather: Homophily in social networks. Annual Review of Sociology, 27(1), 415–444. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.soc.27.1.415
26.
OryB.HuijtsT. (2015). Widowhood and well-being in Europe: The role of national and regional context. Journal of Marriage and Family, 77(3), 730–746. https://doi.org/10.1111/jomf.12187
27.
PillemerK.SuitorJ. J. (1996). ‘It takes one to help one’: Effects of similar others on the wellbeing of caregivers. The Journals of Gerontology, 51B(5), S250–S257. https://doi.org/10.1093/geronb/51b.5.s250
28.
RaudenbushS.BrykA.CongdonR. (2019). HLM 8 for Windows [Computer software]. Scientific Software International, Inc.
29.
RobertS. A.LeeK. Y. (2002). Explaining race differences in health among older adults: The contribution of community socioeconomic context. Research on Aging, 24(6), 654–683. https://doi.org/10.1177/016402702237186
30.
RuiuG.RuiuM. L. (2019). The complex relationship between education and happiness: The case of highly educated individuals in Italy. Journal of Happiness Studies, 20(8), 2631–2653. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10902-018-0062-4
31.
ShippeeT. P.WilkinsonL. R.ShaferM. H.ShippeeN. D. (2019). Long-term effects of age discrimination on mental health: The role of perceived financial strain. Journal of Gerontology, Social Sciences, 74(4), 664–674. https://doi.org/10.1093/geronb/gbx017
32.
ShriraA.PalgiY.DiehlM. (2022). Advancing the field of subjective views of aging: An overview of recent achievements. In PalgiY.ShriraA.DiehlM. (Eds.), Subjective views of aging (pp. 11–37). Springer.
33.
StokesJ. E.MoormanS. M. (2020). Sticks and stones: Perceived age discrimination, well-being, and health over a 20-year period. Research on Aging, 42(3–4), 115–125. https://doi.org/10.1177/0164027519894875
34.
SuitorJ. J.PillemerK.KeetonS. (1995). When experience counts: The effects of experiential and structural similarity on patterns of support and interpersonal stress. Social Forces, 73(4), 1573–1588. https://doi.org/10.2307/2580459
WightR. G.KoM. J.AneshenselC. S. (2011). Urban neighborhoods and depressive symptoms in late middle age. Research on Aging, 33(1), 28–50. https://doi.org/10.1177/0164027510383048
37.
YoungM.WheatonB. (2013). The impact of neighborhood composition on work-family conflict and distress. Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 54(4), 481–497. https://doi.org/10.1177/0022146513504761
Supplementary Material
Please find the following supplemental material available below.
For Open Access articles published under a Creative Commons License, all supplemental material carries the same license as the article it is associated with.
For non-Open Access articles published, all supplemental material carries a non-exclusive license, and permission requests for re-use of supplemental material or any part of supplemental material shall be sent directly to the copyright owner as specified in the copyright notice associated with the article.
