RESEARCH ARTICLE a d

Full list of author information is available at the end of the articleSocial factors and older age: What is social vulnerability? This paper aims to develop this concept of social vulner-ability in old age and to situate it in the context of a human ecology theoretical framework. We then apply a theoretical model based on an ecological perspective of social vulnerability to an analysis of data from a longitu-dinal health survey of older Canadians. degree to which a person’s overall social situation leaves them susceptible to health problems, where “health problems ” are broadly construed to include physical, mental, psychological and functional problems [1-5]. Con-sidered in the inverse, social reserve would be the degree of resilience that a well-connected and supportive social situation might impart. Though potentially relevant for people of all ages, social vulnerability is particularly im