Table 2.
Definitions of social participation identified through an extensive search of the literature from February 2009 to March 2020 (N = 54)
| #Concepts (Author) [ref:page] | Definitions |
|---|---|
| Social participation (Hanson & Östergren) [52:850] | How actively the individual takes part in activities of formal and informal groups in society |
| Social engagement (Mor et al.) [53:2, 6] | Ability to take advantage of opportunities for social interaction; nursing home residents’ involvement in the social and recreational life of the facility |
| Social participation (Baum et al.) [54:415] | Individuals’ levels of participation in both social and civic affairs |
| Civic engagement (Adler & Goggin) [55:236] | Ways in which citizens participate in the life of a community in order to improve conditions for to others or to help shape the community’s future |
| Social participation (Lindström & The Malmö Shoulder-Neck Study Group) [56:283] | Person takes part in the activities of formal and informal groups as well as other activities in society |
| Social engagement (Hartwell & Benson) [57:331] | The extent to which individuals participate in a broad array of social roles, relationships and activities |
| Social participation (Plug et al.) [58:1811] | Ability to participate in work and education |
| Social participation (Brodie et al.) [59:5] | Collective activities that individuals may be involved in as part of their everyday lives. This might include: being a member of a community group, a tenant’s association or a trade union; supporting the local hospice by volunteering; and running a study group on behalf of a faith organisation |
| Social engagement (Dupuis-Blanchard) [60:1189] | A psychological thought process and a conscious behaviour that shapes all forms of social relationships and by which social ties and social networks are derived. This includes both relationships that are a source of social support and those that are less supportive |
| Social engagement (Park) [61:462] | Making social and emotional connections with people and the community; relationships with family, friends, and persons within the facility, social interactions through activities, reciprocity of relationships |
| Social engagement (Rubio et al.) [62:2] | Community involvement, for example, in terms of membership of neighbourhood associations, religious groups or nongovernmental organisations; formal social relations |
| Social participation (Broese van Groenou & Deeg) [63:448] | Social activities outside the home that provide opportunities to meet other people in productive or recreational activities |
| Social participation (Dalemans et al.) [64:537] | Performance of people in social life domains through interaction with others in the context in which they live |
| Social engagement (Kamiya et al.) [65:2] | A combination of objective and subjective measures of the salient aspects of people’s ‘social’ existence. The objective measures are defined by [. . .] participation in social groups (affiliation to or membership in religious, voluntary, political, and social associations or activities). The subjective measures comprise of perceptions of available emotional support from spouse, children, relatives and friends |
| Social participation (Levasseur et al.) [7:2146] | Person’s involvement in activities that provide interaction with others in society or the community |
| Social participation (Andonian & MacRae) [66:2] | Older adults [. . .] involved and meaningfully engaged within the contexts of their lives, such as community, friends and areas of interest |
| Social participation (Guillen et al.) [67:333] | Contacts a person has with other individuals •-Informal: interactions that an individual has with relatives, friends and work colleagues in an informal setting •-Formal: interactions resulting from involvement in established organisations in society |
| Social engagement (Timonen et al.) [68:52] | Participation in leisure activities and volunteering, and connectedness to family and friendship networks |
| Civic engagement (Ekman & Amnå) [69:291, 296] | Individual or collective actions: •-Individual: activities based on personal interest in and attention to politics and societal issues •-Collective: voluntary work to improve conditions in the local community, for charity, or to help others (outside the own family and circle of friends) Activities within the civil domain |
| Social participation (Legh-Jones & Moore) [70:1363] | Person’s level of engagement in formal and informal groups |
| Social engagement (Min et al.) [71:2] | Formal social engagements and social interactions with other friends and relatives |
| Social engagement (Thomas) [72:549] | Participation in activities that involve interactions between or among people, capturing a broader array of social interactions and intensity of interaction that may contribute to greater social integration |
| Community participation (Chang et al.) [73:772] | Active involvement in activities that are intrinsically social and either occur outside the home or are part of a nondomestic role |
| Social participation (Ontario Seniors’ Secretariat et al.) [74:7] | Interaction that older adults have with other members of their community and the extent that the community itself makes this interaction possible |
| Social participation (Takeuchi et al.) [75:2] | Person’s involvement in social activities |
| Social engagement (Walker et al.) [76:939] | Contacts or connections between individuals that include some element of socio-emotional exchange, that is, flows of interactive, utilitarian and affective elements |
| Social participation (Buffel et al.) [77:657] | Formal [. . .] voluntary commitment to community organisations on a regular basis |
| Social participation (Dong & Simon) [78:82] | Engagement in daily social activities |
| Social engagement (Jang et al.) [79:642] | Participation in social activities and socialisation with others |
| Social participation (Kanamori et al.) [80:1] | Participation in civic groups that an individual can join, regardless of occupation or family situation |
| Social participation (Lewis) [81:274]Social participation (Michielsen et al.) [82:371] | Being actively involved with family and community •-Formal: participation in community organisations •-Informal: participation more based on personal development and well-being |
| Social engagement (Zhang et al.) [83:334] | Carrying out meaningful social roles through activities embedded within social relationships |
| Social participation (Niedzwiedz et al.) [11:25] | Attending external activities, such as social clubs or volunteering |
| Social participation (Provencher et al.) [84:976] | Accomplishing an attempted life habit without difficulty |
| Social participation (Tomioka et al.) [85:555] | Person’s engagement in social groups |
| Social participation (Bourassa et al.) [86:133] | People’s involvement in social activities |
| Community participation (Lin) [87:1161] | Involvement in local economic, political, cultural and voluntary activities |
| Social participation (Carver et al.) [88:2] | Form of social interaction that includes activities with friends, family and/or other individuals |
| Social engagement (Shibayama et al.) [89:1062] | Participation in social activities, such as community events, volunteerism or providing support to older people |
| Social participation (Tomioka et al.) [90:801] | Respondent’s social group involvement |
| Community integration (Camacho et al.) [91:526] | Community involvement and interaction with social networks (e.g. attended religious services, attended a public meeting or visited friends or relatives) |
| Social participation (Chanda & Mishra) [92:3] | Involvement in society had occurred [. . .] The aspects were: public meeting, attending a club, participating in society or other meetings, etc. |
| Social engagement (Gyasi et al.) [93:156] | Interaction with neighbours and participation in social activities including attending religious services, social clubs/organisation meetings, sports/cultural activities and civic/political organisations |
| Social participation (Hosokawa et al.) [94:317] | Both aggressive participation and passive participation in social interactions (i.e. both time spent in social interaction and time spent in presence of others together) |
| Social engagement (Kubota et al.) [95:187] | Taking part in events, meetings and activities within a local community |
| Social participation (Pan et al.) [96:1959] | Two categories •-Formal: participation through membership of an organised association •-Informal: day-to-day activities initiated by older people themselves, without an organisation |
| Social participation (Zheng et al.) [97:6] | Various activities in which the older adults participate in their neighbourhood, including five styles: volunteer works, self-management and mutual assistance activities, lectures and reports, recreational and sports activities, and interest groups |
| Social participation (Aroogh & Shahboulaghi) [33:68] | Conscious and active engagement in outdoor social activities leading to interacting and sharing resources with other people in the community, and the person has a personal satisfaction resulting from that engagement |
| Social participation (Government of Quebec) [98] | Participating in activities of a social nature, i.e. nurturing meaningful relationships, being part of a community, and participating in group, volunteer or paid work activities |
| Social engagement (Luo et al.) [99:2] | To engage in both individual and society-level activities. Also called social participation or social involvement, forms the basis of social relationships or participation in a community and provides a sense of belonging, social identity, and fulfilment |
| Social involvement (Schwartz et al.) [100:2] | •-Informal: relationships with people from one’s social network, such as family and friends, and focuses on useful interactions that entail provision of support in which adults are needed and beneficial •-Formal: activity in formal organisations, such as volunteering |
| Civic engagement (Serrat et al.) [101:39] | Psychological attentiveness to social and political issues |
| Civic participation (Serrat et al.) [101:39] | Action [on social and political issues]; behavioural in nature; activities conducted individually (termed individual, private or informal participation) or within a group or organisation (termed collective, public or formal participation); civic activities may primarily aim to help others, solve a community problem or produce common good, with no manifest political intention (referred to as social, civil, community, pre-political or latent political participation), or may explicitly seek to influence political outcomes (termed political participation or manifest political participation) |