The link between disability and social participation revisited: Heterogeneity by type of social participation and by socioeconomic status

Background: While prior literature explores the impact of disability on social participation, the distinct characteristics of diverse social activities could further complicate this relationship. Furthermore, this relationship may exhibit heterogeneity when considering socioeconomic status (SES). Objective: This study aims to investigate whether the relationship between disability and social participation differs depending on the type of social participation, and to what extent this relationship is moderated by SES. Methods: Data from seven waves of the Korean Longitudinal Study of Ageing were analyzed. Various types of social participation, including socializing, leisure, volunteer, political, and religious activities, were considered. Individual fixed effects models were employed to account for unobserved individual-level heterogeneity. To investigate the potential moderating role of SES, an interaction term between disability and SES was included. Results: Disability was associated with a decrease in social participation (b = −0.088). When differentiating types of social participation, the associations were negative for socializing and leisure activities (b = −0.092 and b = −0.012, respectively) and positive for volunteer activities (b = 0.012). The negative association between disability and social participation was generally stronger among higher-SES groups than lower-SES groups. Specifically, the negative association with leisure activities was more pronounced among the high-education groups. In contrast, the positive association with volunteer activities was more evident among the low-education group. Conclusions: Disability has a negative association with engagement in socializing and leisure activities and a positive association with engagement in volunteer activities. Policymakers should consider the role of SES in complicating the relationship between disability and social participation.