IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/socmed/v175y2017icp58-65.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Relation between social network and psychological distress among middle-aged adults in Japan: Evidence from a national longitudinal survey

Author

Listed:
  • Fu, Rong
  • Noguchi, Harkuo
  • Tachikawa, Hirokazu
  • Aiba, Miyuki
  • Nakamine, Shin
  • Kawamura, Akira
  • Takahashi, Hideto
  • Tamiya, Nanako

Abstract

It is widely documented that psychological distress is negatively associated with social networks involvement. However, despite the theoretical postulations that social networks are crucial for alleviating psychological distress, no study has yet empirically confirmed the causality of this relationship. Thus, we used the random-effects generalized least squares method to investigate the effect of one- and two-year lagged values for involvement in social networks on psychological distress. Nine years of longitudinal data were extracted from a nationally representative survey in Japan (“The Longitudinal Survey of Middle-aged and Older Persons”). We utilized the Kessler 6 (K6) score to measure psychological distress among 15,242 respondents aged 50–59 years in the baseline year (2005), and stratified participants into three layers of social networks: inner (well-established friendship ties and participating in hobby activates), intermediary (neighborly ties), and outer (involvement in community activities). We found highly significant and negative associations between all three layers and K6 scores, with the strongest association being for the inner layer. We further observed that one-year lagged involvement in the inner and intermediary layers led to significantly lower K6 scores. However, the protective influences of social networks generally diminished over time. In addition, the protective influences of social network involvement on psychological distress were stronger for women than for men. Furthermore, involvement in social networks was especially important for improving mental health among people with psychological distress. These findings would be important for policymaking to prevent mental health deterioration among middle-aged adults in Japan.

Suggested Citation

  • Fu, Rong & Noguchi, Harkuo & Tachikawa, Hirokazu & Aiba, Miyuki & Nakamine, Shin & Kawamura, Akira & Takahashi, Hideto & Tamiya, Nanako, 2017. "Relation between social network and psychological distress among middle-aged adults in Japan: Evidence from a national longitudinal survey," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 175(C), pages 58-65.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:socmed:v:175:y:2017:i:c:p:58-65
    DOI: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2016.12.043
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0277953616307237
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.socscimed.2016.12.043?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Giurgescu, Carmen & Misra, Dawn P. & Sealy-Jefferson, Shawnita & Caldwell, Cleopatra H. & Templin, Thomas N. & Slaughter- Acey, Jaime C. & Osypuk, Theresa L., 2015. "The impact of neighborhood quality, perceived stress, and social support on depressive symptoms during pregnancy in African American women," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 130(C), pages 172-180.
    2. Liu, Xian & Liang, Jersey & Gu, Shengzu, 1995. "Flows of social support and health status among older persons in China," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 41(8), pages 1175-1184, October.
    3. Pachucki, Mark C. & Ozer, Emily J. & Barrat, Alain & Cattuto, Ciro, 2015. "Mental health and social networks in early adolescence: A dynamic study of objectively-measured social interaction behaviors," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 125(C), pages 40-50.
    4. Katherine L. Fiori & Toni C. Antonucci & Kai S. Cortina, 2006. "Social Network Typologies and Mental Health Among Older Adults," The Journals of Gerontology: Series B, The Gerontological Society of America, vol. 61(1), pages 25-32.
    5. Flaherty, Joseph & Richman, Judith, 1989. "Gender differences in the perception and utilization of social support: Theoretical perspectives and an empirical test," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 28(12), pages 1221-1228, January.
    6. Rong Fu & Haruko Noguchi, 2016. "Does Marriage Make Us Healthier? Inter-Country Comparative Evidence from China, Japan, and Korea," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 11(2), pages 1-15, February.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Piao, Xiangdan & Managi, Shunsuke, 2022. "Long-term improvement of psychological well-being in the workplace: What and how," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 298(C).
    2. Xiangdan Piao, 2021. "Marriage Stability and Private Versus Shared Expenditures Within Families: Evidence from Japanese Families," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 153(2), pages 533-559, January.
    3. Marina B. Kotova & Vyacheslav B. Rozanov & Anton R. Kiselev & Sergey A. Maksimov & Oxana M. Drapkina, 2021. "Association of Vital Exhaustion with Risk Factors for Cardiovascular Diseases, Quality of Life and Lifestyle in 41–44-Year-Old Muscovite Men," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(18), pages 1-14, September.
    4. Rong Fu & Haruko Noguchi, 2018. "Does the positive relationship between health and marriage reflect protection or selection? Evidence from middle-aged and elderly Japanese," Review of Economics of the Household, Springer, vol. 16(4), pages 1003-1016, December.
    5. Nobuaki Moriyama & Hajime Iwasa & Masaharu Tsubokura & Yujiro Kuroda & Seiji Yasumura, 2019. "Living in the Restoration Public Housing after the Great East Japan Earthquake Correlates with Lower Subjective Well-Being of Older Adults," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(15), pages 1-14, July.
    6. Fumikazu Hayashi & Yuka Shirai & Tetsuya Ohira & Kokoro Shirai & Naoki Kondo & Katsunori Kondo, 2023. "Subjective Happiness, Frequency of Laughter, and Hypertension: A Cross-Sectional Study Based on the Japan Gerontological Evaluation Study (JAGES)," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(9), pages 1-12, May.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Cheng, Cheng, 2017. "Anticipated support from children and later-life health in the United States and China," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 179(C), pages 201-209.
    2. Liping Ye & Xinping Zhang, 2021. "The association mechanism between social network types and health‐related behaviours among the elderly in rural Hubei Province, China," International Journal of Health Planning and Management, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 36(3), pages 826-846, May.
    3. Jane K L Teh & Nai Peng Tey & Sor Tho Ng, 2014. "Ethnic and Gender Differentials in Non-Communicable Diseases and Self-Rated Health in Malaysia," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 9(3), pages 1-8, March.
    4. Kazuma Sato, 2020. "Does marriage improve subjective health in Japan?," The Japanese Economic Review, Springer, vol. 71(2), pages 247-286, April.
    5. Ann W. Nguyen, 2017. "Variations in Social Network Type Membership Among Older African Americans, Caribbean Blacks, and Non-Hispanic Whites," The Journals of Gerontology: Series B, The Gerontological Society of America, vol. 72(4), pages 716-726.
    6. Victor Kaufman & Anthony Rodriguez & Lisa C. Walsh & Edward Shafranske & Shelly P. Harrell, 2022. "Unique Ways in Which the Quality of Friendships Matter for Life Satisfaction," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 23(6), pages 2563-2580, August.
    7. Rong Fu & Haruko Noguchi, 2018. "Does the positive relationship between health and marriage reflect protection or selection? Evidence from middle-aged and elderly Japanese," Review of Economics of the Household, Springer, vol. 16(4), pages 1003-1016, December.
    8. Silvana Miceli & Laura Maniscalco & Domenica Matranga, 2019. "Social networks and social activities promote cognitive functioning in both concurrent and prospective time: evidence from the SHARE survey," European Journal of Ageing, Springer, vol. 16(2), pages 145-154, June.
    9. Vera Toepoel, 2013. "Ageing, Leisure, and Social Connectedness: How could Leisure Help Reduce Social Isolation of Older People?," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 113(1), pages 355-372, August.
    10. Sónia Guadalupe & Henrique Testa Vicente, 2022. "Types of Personal Social Networks of Older Adults in Portugal," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 160(2), pages 445-466, April.
    11. Ben King & Omolola E. Adepoju & LeChauncy Woodard & Abiodun O. Oluyomi & Xiaotao Zhang & Christopher I. Amos & Hoda Badr, 2023. "The Effects of COVID-19 Lockdown on Social Connectedness and Psychological Distress in U.S. Adults with Chronic Diseases," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(13), pages 1-14, June.
    12. Kolodziej, Ingo W.K. & García-Gómez, Pilar, 2017. "The causal effects of retirement on mental health: Looking beyond the mean effects," Ruhr Economic Papers 668, RWI - Leibniz-Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung, Ruhr-University Bochum, TU Dortmund University, University of Duisburg-Essen.
    13. Wanlian Li & Fei Sun & Steven Anderson, 2018. "Differences in depressive symptoms between rural and urban Chinese labor force: The mediating effects of community factors," International Journal of Social Psychiatry, , vol. 64(4), pages 317-325, June.
    14. Sohn, Sung Yun & Joo, Won-tak & Kim, Woo Jung & Kim, Se Joo & Youm, Yoosik & Kim, Hyeon Chang & Park, Yeong-Ran & Lee, Eun, 2017. "Social network types among older Korean adults: Associations with subjective health," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 173(C), pages 88-95.
    15. Chunkai Zhao & Jianhao Guo, 2022. "Are Veterans Happy? Long-term Military Service and the Life Satisfaction of Elderly Individuals in China," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 23(2), pages 477-508, February.
    16. Masood A. Badri & Guang Yang & Mugheer Al Khaili & Muna Al Bahar & Asma Al Rashdi & Layla Al Hyas, 2021. "Hierarchical Regression of Wellbeing and Self-Rated Health among Older Adults in Abu Dhabi," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(15), pages 1-12, July.
    17. Sarkar, Kaushik & Dasgupta, Aparajita & Sinha, Multipada & Shahbabu, Bhaskar, 2017. "Effects of health empowerment intervention on resilience of adolescents in a tribal area: A study using the Solomon four-groups design," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 190(C), pages 265-274.
    18. Siyao Gao & Yang Cheng, 2020. "Older People’s Perception of Changes in Their Living Environment after Relocation: A Case Study in Beijing, China," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(6), pages 1-19, March.
    19. Wenjuan Du & Jiayi Zhou & Jianjian Liu & Xuhao Yang & Hanxu Wang & Meikun He & Zongfu Mao & Xiaojun Liu, 2019. "Social-Demographic Correlates of the Mental Health Conditions among the Chinese Elderly," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(24), pages 1-13, December.
    20. Takahashi, Shuko & Jang, Soong-nang & Kino, Shiho & Kawachi, Ichiro, 2020. "Gender inequalities in poor self-rated health: Cross-national comparison of South Korea and Japan," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 252(C).

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:socmed:v:175:y:2017:i:c:p:58-65. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/wps/find/journaldescription.cws_home/315/description#description .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.