Social Integration and Morale: a Re-examination

The concern for social integration among the aged lies in its implications for well-being in old age. Evidence about the link between social integration and morale is still inconclusive. This appears to be due to poor conceptionalization and lack of specification concerning the relationships between social integration and other correlates of morale. In this study, social integration is viewed in terms of both its subjective and objective aspects. The central hypothesis is that the relationship between objective aspects of social integration and morale is mediated by the subjective sense of integration. This hypothesis was examined through the use of a structural equation model. Four data sets were used for this inquiry which included surveys conducted in North Carolina, Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Detroit. Findings indicate that objective social integration only has an indirect impact on morale, with subjective sense of integration being the intervening variable. This relationship remains significant even when other factors such as socioeconomic status, financial satisfaction, and health status were controlled.