Conference Agenda

This study examines the factors influencing old population's ability to age in place in South Tyrol, an Italian region where aging population is increasingly challenged by structural barriers, and geographical isolation. Given the demographic shift towards smaller households and rising life expectancy, there is a critical need for adaptable community-based support systems. Utilizing a mixed-methods approach, we conducted interviews and a face-to-face survey involving 536 residents aged 60+ to identify factors impacting older adults’ autonomy and quality of life. Latent Class Analysis (LCA) revealed three distinct classes, highlighting divergent outcomes in health, neighborhood satisfaction, and housing security. Notably, environmental and social factors such as accessible neighborhood infrastructure, volunteer activity, and strong social networks significantly enhance well-being, enabling sustained independence. The presence of architectural barriers, particularly in rural areas, emerged as a significant predictor of reduced autonomy, underscoring the importance of structural modifications to promote safety and mobility. Results suggest that fostering community engagement and addressing environmental barriers are key to supporting aging in place, particularly for older adults in rural communities. This study advocates for targeted interventions and policy measures to reduce isolation and enhance the resilience of aging populations, emphasizing the need for continued research in this domain.

Frailty, traditionally defined as a unidimensional construct focused on physical functioning, has evolved to include social and psychological dimensions, acknowledging their critical role in aging. Social frailty, specifically, relates to the risk of losing essential social resources, with implications for health outcomes and healthcare policy. However, a standardized social frailty indicator is absent in the Survey on Health, Ageing, and Retirement in Europe (SHARE), limiting our understanding of social frailty across European contexts. This study addresses this gap by developing a social frailty measure using SHARE wave 6 data, validated through a formative approach. A review of 248 articles identified five key components of social frailty: living alone, participation in social activities, social support, loneliness, and social networks. Factor analysis confirmed two primary dimensions, while split-half testing demonstrated reliability with stable results. Preliminary findings reveal a higher prevalence of social frailty among adults aged 65 and older, with significant variation across key dimensions. These results support the validity of this social frailty measure and underscore its potential to enhance our understanding of social frailty within Europe’s aging population, contributing to more effective public health strategies for older adults.

The aging population in Europe presents significant challenges for public health and social policy, with frailty emerging as a critical concern. This study examines frailty prevalence and progression among older adults in 16 European countries using data from the Survey of Health, Ageing, and Retirement in Europe (SHARE). Frailty was assessed using the SHARE-FI tool, an adaptation of Fried frailty phenotype. Participants were categorized as non-frail, pre-frail, or frail based on grip strength, exhaustion, weight loss, slowness, and physical activity. Data from Waves 6, 8, and 9 (2015–2022) revealed an increase in frailty prevalence, from 4.5% in Wave 6 to 11% in Wave 9.

Multinomial logistic regression identified associations between frailty and sociodemographic factors such as age, gender, education, and European geographical region. Social variables, particularly loneliness, limited social activities, and inadequate support, were significantly linked to frailty. Notably, living alone correlated with a lower frailty risk.

While this study highlights frailty social dimensions, limitations include the lack of multilevel modeling to account for data hierarchies. Future research should incorporate such approaches and additional waves to refine understanding of frailty trajectories. These findings underscore the importance of tailored interventions to reduce frailty and enhance the well-being of Europe’s aging population.

Intergenerational transmission of social and economic (dis-)advantages from parents to offspring is widely documented. However, whether there are upward spillovers from children to parents remains understudied. This study aims to investigate the links between adult children’s education and various aspects of cognitive functioning in their ageing parents. Using panel data from the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARE), the study analyses a sample of 210,120 parent-child dyads (460,807 observations) involving 41,546 fathers and 51,121 mothers aged 50+ from 29 European countries. Preliminary findings from random intercept models and random-effects growth curve models (GCMs) suggest that parents of highly educated children have higher cognitive scores. These associations are gendered and depend on the cognitive outcome under analysis. The study extends previous research on physical and mental health to cognitive functioning, suggesting that parents’ cognitive functioning can benefit from their children’s higher education. Future research will investigate potential mechanisms, such as intergenerational relationships (e.g., frequency of contact between parents and children and geographical proximity), and the role of the macro-level institutional context in which parents and children are embedded.

Italy has experienced rapid population ageing, with the proportion of older individuals increasing from 9.3% in 1960 to 23.1% in 2022. This demographic shift, along with efforts to extend working life, has led to an ageing workforce. Due to technological advancements and organizational changes, older workers may suffer from skill obsolescence, increasing job insecurity, limiting their labour market participation. Lifelong learning enhances human capital and challenges posed by technology-focused economy. Job satisfaction is particularly significant in the context of an ageing workforce. Dissatisfied older workers may choose early retirement, contradicting policies promoting extended working lives. Despite its significance, few studies have examined its determinants among older workers, focusing on the role of skill obsolescence and lifelong learning. Using data from the Italian Labour Force Survey (2021 and 2022) along with the “skills rate index”, we analyse the role of skill obsolescence and lifelong learning on job satisfaction among workers aged 50 and above in Italy. This index uses online job advertisements to calculate skill rates and assess skill relevance for each element in the Job Atlas (2021 and 2022). We expect that older workers facing skill obsolescence without training courses are more likely to be dissatisfied, with differences by sex.