NDLI: Social networks and mental health among older Europeans: are there age effects?

Content Provider	Springer Nature Link
Author	Litwin, Howard Stoeckel, Kimberly J. Schwartz, Ella
Copyright Year	2015
Abstract	This study examined different components of personal social networks—structure, interaction, and quality—and the extent to which each is related to mental health among a 65+ sample (n = 26,784) taken from the fourth wave of the Survey of Health, Ageing, and Retirement in Europe. The first aim of the study was to determine which network components had the strongest associations with the number of depressive symptoms, measured on the EURO-D scale. Secondly, the study considered if and how age impacted the associations between social network and depression, using interaction terms that paired age category (age 65–79; age 80+) with the score on each network component. Hierarchical OLS regressions revealed that social network quality and network structure were both negatively related to the number of depressive symptoms. The association between network size (structure) and depression was even greater among those 80+. Age differences were also found for network interaction. More frequent contact with the network was related to a greater extent of depressive symptoms, but only among respondents aged 80 and older. Closer geographic proximity was related to having fewer depressive symptoms, but only among respondents aged 65–79. The findings imply that the association between meaningful personal relationships and depression in late life is nuanced by both network characteristics and by age.
Starting Page	299
Ending Page	309
Page Count	11
File Format	PDF
ISSN	16139372
Journal	European Journal of Ageing
Volume Number	12
Issue Number	4
e-ISSN	16139380
Language	English
Publisher	Springer Netherlands
Publisher Date	2015-06-16
Publisher Place	Dordrecht
Access Restriction	Subscribed
Subject Keyword	SHARE Depression Network size Network satisfaction Proximity Aging Demography Geriatrics/Gerontology Public Health Psychology
Content Type	Text
Resource Type	Article
Subject	Health (social science) Geriatrics and Gerontology

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