Editing Social environment (section)

{{Short description|Setting in which people live or something happens, from a social perspective}}
{{Redirect|Milieu|other uses|Milieu (disambiguation)}}
{{Use American English|date=January 2019}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=January 2018}}
{{Sociology}}
The '''social environment''', '''social context''', '''sociocultural context''' or '''milieu''' refers to the immediate physical and social setting in which [[people]] live or in which something happens or develops. It includes the [[culture]] that the individual was educated or lives in, and the people and [[institutions]] with whom they interact.<ref>{{cite journal | pmc= 1446600 | pmid=11249033 | volume=91 | issue=3 | title=A definition of "social environment" | journal=Am J Public Health | page=465 | last1 = Barnett | first1 = E | last2 = Casper | first2 = M | doi=10.2105/ajph.91.3.465a| year=2001 }}</ref> The interaction may be in person or through communication media, even anonymous or one-way,<ref>Marjorie Taylor, ''Imaginary Companions'' (1999) p. 147</ref> and may not imply equality of [[social status]]. The social environment is a broader concept than that of [[social class]] or [[social circle]].

The physical and social environment is a determining factor in active and [[healthy]] [[aging]] in place, being a central factor in the study of environmental [[gerontology]].<ref>{{cite journal | year=2015 |volume=60 | title=Physical-social environments and aging population from environmental gerontology and geography. Socio-spatial implications in Latin America | journal=Revista de Geografía Norte Grande | pages=97–114 | author1 = Sanchez-Gonzalez, D | doi=10.4067/S0718-34022015000100006| doi-access=free }}</ref>

Moreover, the social environment is the setting where people live and interact. It includes the buildings and roads around them, the jobs available, and how money flows; relationships between people, like who has power and how different groups get along; and culture, like art, religion, and traditions. It includes the physical world and the way people relate to each other and their communities.<ref>{{cite book |title=Genes, behavior, and the social environment: moving beyond the nature/nurture debate |chapter=Social Environmental and Genetic Influences on Obesity and Obesity-Promoting Behaviors: Fostering Research Integration |date=2006 |publisher=National Academies Press |location=Washington, D.C |isbn=978-0309101967 |url=https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK19935/}}</ref>