Table 1.
Characteristics of the study sample
| Characteristic | Category | N (%) |
|---|---|---|
| Time 1 | ||
| Unweighted N | 38,300 | |
| Age (mean ± SD) | 66.2 (9.7) | |
| Gender | Female | 21,746 (56.8) |
| Marital status | Married, living with spouse | 24,866 (67.4) |
| Registered partnership | 557 (1.5) | |
| Married, separated from spouse | 463 (1.3) | |
| Never married | 2138 (5.8) | |
| Divorced | 3499 (9.5) | |
| Widowed | 5383 (14.6) | |
| Education | None | 1085 (2.9) |
| Primary level | 6664 (17.4) | |
| Lower secondary | 7333 (19.5) | |
| Upper secondary | 12,636 (33.6) | |
| Post-secondary nontertiary | 1822 (4.9) | |
| First stage of tertiary | 7693 (20.5) | |
| Second stage of tertiary | 332 (0.9) | |
| Individual household income | Lowest tertile | 9484 (24.8) |
| Middle tertile | 11,235 (29.3) | |
| Highest tertile | 10,944 (28.6) | |
| Missing | 6673 (17.3) | |
| Occupational status | Retired | 21,507 (56.6) |
| Employed or self-employed | 10,428 (27.4) | |
| Unemployed | 1133 (3.0) | |
| Permanent sick or disabled | 1299 (3.4) | |
| Homemaker | 3268 (8.6) | |
| Other | 377 (0.9) | |
| Activity limitations | Limited | 18,178 (47.5) |
| Chronic conditions (mean ± SD) | 1.5 (1.4) | |
| Formal social participation | No formal social participation | 19,172 (50.6) |
| Active less than monthly in at least one activity | 2664 (7.0) | |
| Active monthly in at least one activity | 3593 (9.5) | |
| Active weekly in at least one activity | 10,052 (26.5) | |
| Active daily in at least one activity | 2422 (6.4) | |
| Social network size (mean ± SD) | 2.5 (1.6) | |
| Depression symptomsa (mean ± SD) | 2.4 (2.2) | |
| Quality of lifeb (mean ± SD) | 37.6 (6.3) | |
| Time 2 | ||
| Depression symptomsa (mean ± SD) | 2.4 (2.2) | |
| Quality of lifeb (mean ± SD) | 37.8 (6.3) |
Data are unweighted n (%) unless otherwise specified
aBased on the 10-item EURO-D scale, range 0–12
bBased on the 12-item Control, Autonomy, Self-realization, Pleasure scale (CASP-12), range 12–48