This study aims to increase our understanding of how the negative influence of age on participation comes about. The framework used emphasizes human life complexity and human agency in behavior and decision-making. Accordingly, main effects and multiple interaction effects of age and some education and work-related factors on participation were examined. The results show that when the interaction effects are taken into account, the age-participation relationship becomes more complex than previously found in studies focusing only on main effects. It is suggested that research on participation utilize the more advanced options available in multivariate statistics and thus aim at better compatibility between theoretical and methodological underpinnings. Further, in order to plan courses and programs that are interesting and meaningful to low-educated middle-aged and older adults, the view of potential participants should be adopted.
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