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During the COVID-19 pandemic, information and communication technology (ICT) became crucial for staying connected with loved ones and accessing health services. In this scenario, disparities in ICT use may have exacerbated other forms of inequality, especially among older adults who were less familiar with technology and more vulnerable to severe COVID-19 health consequences. This study investigated changes in ICT use, psychological and physical health, and social capital before and after the pandemic among the oldest old population (aged 80 years or older after the pandemic) and explored how internet use influenced these changes. We leveraged data from the InveCe.Ab study, a population-based longitudinal cohort of people born between 1935 and 1939 and living in Abbiategrasso, a municipality on the outskirts of Milan, Italy. Participants underwent multidimensional assessment at baseline (2010) and after 2, 4, 8, and 12 years. We restricted our analysis to cohort members who participated in the last wave (ie, 2022) and who did not have a diagnosis of dementia (n=391). We used linear mixed models to assess the impact of COVID-19 and time on changes in social capital, physical and psychological health, and ICT use in a discontinuity regression design while controlling for age, sex, education, and income satisfaction. Then, we assessed the influence of internet use and its interaction with COVID-19 on these changes. COVID-19 had a significant impact on social relationships (β=-4.35, 95% CI 6.38 to -2.32; P<.001), cultural activities (β=-.55, 95% CI -0.75 to -0.35; P<.001), cognitive functioning (β=-1.00, 95% CI -1.28 to -0.72; P<.001), depressive symptoms (β=.42, 95% CI 0.10-0.74; P=.009), physical health (β=.07, 95% CI 0.04-0.10; P<.001), and ICT use (β=-.11, 95% CI -0.18 to -0.03; P=.008). Internet use predicts reduced depressive symptoms (β=-.56, 95% CI -1.07 to -0.06; P=.03) over time. The interaction between internet use and COVID-19 was significant for cultural activities (β=-.73, 95% CI -1.22 to -0.24; P=.003) and cognitive functioning (β=1.36, 95% CI 0.67-2.05; P<.001). The pandemic had adverse effects on older adults' health and social capital. Contrary to expectations, even ICT use dropped significantly after the pandemic. Internet users maintained higher psychological health regardless of time and COVID-19 status. However, COVID-19 was associated with a steeper decline in cognitive functioning among internet nonusers. Policy makers may develop initiatives to encourage ICT adoption among older adults or strengthen their digital skills. ClinicalTrials.gov NCT01345110; https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT01345110.

The paper discusses the problem of the Southern European (SE) capitalism and its difficult path into the EMU (European Monetary Union), looking at the remote causes of the crisis that hit these economies. For this reason, we consider European countries as a set of asymmetrically integrated variety of capitalism. The institutional configuration chosen by Europe to aggregate the many varieties of capitalism not only reduced the political autonomy of the single states, but effectively hindered the specific coordination mechanism of Southern European (SE) capitalism which was importantly based on state intervention as a structural element and on inflationary policies. Despite the deep market-oriented reforms this change caused both structural and macroeconomic unbalances. The aim of the paper is to integrate some principles of the variety of capitalism and the dynamics of institutional change with some insights inspired by the work of Arrighi to supply a synthetic and 'alternative' perspective on the difficult role that Southern countries are experiencing in Europe.

Past research has documented the positive influence of frequent interactions with social networks on several health outcomes in later life, with different patterns by gender. In this study, we explore the association of frequent contact with different members of the social network (namely partner, grandchildren, siblings, friends and neighbours) on self-perceived health status and the limitation of illnesses among older grandparents in Italy, using a large national representative survey. Our results confirm the positive association between good health indicators and frequent contact with members of the “horizontal” network (partner, siblings and friends), while a more ambiguous association has been found with frequent face-to-face contact with children and grandchildren. The results hold for both male and female grandparents. The Mediterranean family-focused culture may possibly explain the distinctly Italian results.

Livi-Bacci discusses the sustained population decline in Italy and its impact on the country. As Italians become ever more prosperous, the scarcity of human resources continues to decline, especially among the number of children born in Italy each year.

Examines social policies of Mediterranean countries; focuses on family models of male breadwinner, dual-earner, and family and kinship solidarity model; based on case study of Italy and Spain. Summary in English.