IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/socmed/v130y2015icp59-68.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Social network types and the health of older adults: Exploring reciprocal associations

Author

Listed:
  • Li, Ting
  • Zhang, Yanlong

Abstract

Social network types have been proved to have significant impacts on older population's health outcomes. However, the existing discoveries are still inconsistent, which may be attributed largely to the heterogeneous measures and methods scholars used and to the unidirectional causalities presumed in most research. This study addresses these gaps by using more-refined measures to explore whether the network types have differential impacts on older adults' health outcomes, and whether a reverse causal relationship exists between older adults' health conditions and the network types they adopted. Using data from three recent waves (2005, 2008, and 2012) of the Chinese Longitudinal Healthy Longevity Survey (n = 4190), we constructed four network types using the K-means clustering method (i.e., diverse, friend, family, and restricted), and examined their impacts on a variety of health outcomes (i.e., physical, cognitive, psychological, and overall well-being). Our results demonstrate that there are strong reciprocal associations between these two factors. On the one hand, a diverse network type yielded the most beneficial health outcomes as measured by multiple health indicators, and the friend-focused network type is more beneficial than the family-focused network type in physical outcomes but not in psychological outcomes. On the other hand, we found that a decrease in all health indicators leads to withdrawal from more-beneficial network types such as a diversified network type, and a shift to less-beneficial network types such as family-focused or restricted networks. The understanding of this reciprocal association could encourage programs designed to enhance healthy aging to focus on improving the bridging social capital of older adults so that they can break the vicious cycle between network isolation and poor health conditions.

Suggested Citation

  • Li, Ting & Zhang, Yanlong, 2015. "Social network types and the health of older adults: Exploring reciprocal associations," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 130(C), pages 59-68.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:socmed:v:130:y:2015:i:c:p:59-68
    DOI: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2015.02.007
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0277953615000908
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.socscimed.2015.02.007?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. Luo, Ye & Hawkley, Louise C. & Waite, Linda J. & Cacioppo, John T., 2012. "Loneliness, health, and mortality in old age: A national longitudinal study," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 74(6), pages 907-914.
    2. Berkman, Lisa F. & Glass, Thomas & Brissette, Ian & Seeman, Teresa E., 2000. "From social integration to health: Durkheim in the new millennium," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 51(6), pages 843-857, September.
    3. Benjamin Cornwell, 2011. "Independence Through Social Networks: Bridging Potential Among Older Women and Men," The Journals of Gerontology: Series B, The Gerontological Society of America, vol. 66(6), pages 782-794.
    4. Legh-Jones, Hannah & Moore, Spencer, 2012. "Network social capital, social participation, and physical inactivity in an urban adult population," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 74(9), pages 1362-1367.
    5. Litwin, Howard, 0. "Social network type and health status in a national sample of elderly Israelis," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 46(4-5), pages 599-609, February.
    6. Zhenmei Zhang, 2006. "Gender Differentials in Cognitive Impairment and Decline of the Oldest Old in China," The Journals of Gerontology: Series B, The Gerontological Society of America, vol. 61(2), pages 107-115.
    7. Seeman, Teresa & Glei, Dana & Goldman, Noreen & Weinstein, Maxine & Singer, Burt & Lin, Yu-Hsuan, 2004. "Social relationships and allostatic load in Taiwanese elderly and near elderly," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 59(11), pages 2245-2257, December.
    8. repec:cai:popine:popu_p2001_13n1_0116 is not listed on IDEAS
    9. 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.
    10. Sheung-Tak Cheng & Coty K. L. Lee & Alfred C. M. Chan & Edward M. F. Leung & Jik-Joen Lee, 2009. "Social Network Types and Subjective Well-being in Chinese Older Adults," The Journals of Gerontology: Series B, The Gerontological Society of America, vol. 64(6), pages 713-722.
    11. Katherine L. Fiori & Jacqui Smith & Toni C. Antonucci, 2007. "Social Network Types Among Older Adults: A Multidimensional Approach," The Journals of Gerontology: Series B, The Gerontological Society of America, vol. 62(6), pages 322-330.
    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. Linglong Ye & Jiecheng Luo & Ben-Chang Shia & Ya Fang, 2019. "Multidimensional Health Groups and Healthcare Utilization Among Elderly Chinese: Based on the 2014 CLHLS Dataset," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(20), pages 1-13, October.
    2. Christoph Becker & Isadora Kirchmaier & Stefan T Trautmann, 2019. "Marriage, parenthood and social network: Subjective well-being and mental health in old age," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 14(7), pages 1-20, July.
    3. 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.
    4. 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.
    5. 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.
    6. Carly Roman & Christopher R. Beam & Elizabeth Zelinski, 2022. "Psychosocial Outcomes of Age Integration Status: Do Age-Integrated Social Networks Benefit Older Adults?," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(19), pages 1-15, September.
    7. Jiang, Yanping & Li, Mengting & Chung, Tammy, 2023. "Living alone and all-cause mortality in community-dwelling older adults: The moderating role of perceived neighborhood cohesion," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 317(C).
    8. Vonneilich, Nico & Lüdecke, Daniel & von dem Knesebeck, Olaf, 2020. "Educational inequalities in self-rated health and social relationships – analyses based on the European Social Survey 2002-2016," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 267(C).
    9. Massimiliano Tani & Zhiming Cheng & Matloob Piracha & Ben Zhe Wang, 2022. "Ageing, Health, Loneliness and Wellbeing," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 160(2), pages 791-807, April.
    10. Ivaylo Vassilev & Anne Rogers & Anne Kennedy & Michel Wensing & Jan Koetsenruijter & Rosanna Orlando & Maria Carmen Portillo & David Culliford, 2016. "Social Network Type and Long-Term Condition Management Support: A Cross-Sectional Study in Six European Countries," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 11(8), pages 1-15, August.
    11. Cheng, Grand H.-L. & Sung, Pildoo & Chan, Angelique & Ma, Stefan & Malhotra, Rahul, 2022. "Transitions between social network profiles and their relation with all-cause mortality among older adults," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 292(C).
    12. Víctor Manuel Mendoza-Núñez & Fabiola González-Mantilla & Elsa Correa-Muñoz & Raquel Retana-Ugalde, 2017. "Relationship between Social Support Networks and Physical Functioning in Older Community-Dwelling Mexicans," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 14(9), pages 1-9, August.
    13. Child, Stephanie T. & Lawton, Leora E., 2020. "Personal networks and associations with psychological distress among young and older adults," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 246(C).
    14. Aria C. H. Yang & Habib Chaudhury & Jeffrey C. F. Ho & Newman Lau, 2023. "Measuring the Impact of Bedroom Privacy on Social Networks in a Long-Term Care Facility for Hong Kong Older Adults: A Spatio-Social Network Analysis Approach," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(8), pages 1-19, April.
    15. Dembo, Robert S. & Huntington, Nick & Mitra, Monika & Rudolph, Abby E. & Lachman, Margie E. & Mailick, Marsha R., 2022. "Social network typology and health among parents of children with developmental disabilities: Results from a national study of midlife adults," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 292(C).
    16. Yang, Yulin & Huang, Rui & Grol-Prokopczyk, Hanna & Torres, Jacqueline M., 2022. "Social network change after new-onset pain among middle-aged and older European adults," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 310(C).
    17. Jianye Liu & Roderic Beaujot & Zenaida Ravanera, 2018. "Measuring the Effects of Stress and Social Networks on the Health of Canadians," Applied Research in Quality of Life, Springer;International Society for Quality-of-Life Studies, vol. 13(4), pages 891-908, December.
    18. Foster, Sarah & Hooper, Paula & Knuiman, Matthew & Giles-Corti, Billie, 2016. "Does heightened fear of crime lead to poorer mental health in new suburbs, or vice versa?," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 168(C), pages 30-34.
    19. Liping Ye & Xinping Zhang, 2019. "Social Network Types and Health among Older Adults in Rural China: The Mediating Role of Social Support," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(3), pages 1-14, January.
    20. Xiaoqing Zeng & Yahui Chen & Yeqing Li, 2023. "Generate Greater Gratitude When Being Help? A Study of the Psychological Mechanism of Gratitude for Chinese Poor College Students," Applied Research in Quality of Life, Springer;International Society for Quality-of-Life Studies, vol. 18(4), pages 1875-1893, August.
    21. Yen, Dorothy & Cohen, Geraldine & Wei, Liyuan & Asaad, Yousra, 2022. "Towards a framework of healthy aging practices," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 142(C), pages 176-187.
    22. Catherin Bosle & Hermann Brenner & Joachim E. Fischer & Marc N. Jarczok & Ben Schöttker & Laura Perna & Kristina Hoffmann & Raphael M. Herr, 2022. "The association between supportive social ties and autonomic nervous system function—differences between family ties and friendship ties in a cohort of older adults," European Journal of Ageing, Springer, vol. 19(2), pages 263-276, June.
    23. Admassu N. Lamu & Jan Abel Olsen, 2018. "Yes, health is important, but as much for its importance via social life: The direct and indirect effects of health on subjective well‐being in chronically ill individuals," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 27(1), pages 209-222, January.
    24. Li, Ting & Yang, Yang Claire & Zhang, Yanlong, 2018. "Culture, economic development, social-network type, and mortality: Evidence from Chinese older adults," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 204(C), pages 23-30.
    25. Lebenbaum, Michael & Laporte, Audrey & de Oliveira, Claire, 2021. "The effect of mental health on social capital: An instrumental variable analysis," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 272(C).

    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. Li, Ting & Yang, Yang Claire & Zhang, Yanlong, 2018. "Culture, economic development, social-network type, and mortality: Evidence from Chinese older adults," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 204(C), pages 23-30.
    2. 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.
    3. Howard Litwin & Michal Levinsky & Ella Schwartz, 2020. "Network type, transition patterns and well-being among older Europeans," European Journal of Ageing, Springer, vol. 17(2), pages 241-250, June.
    4. Shiovitz-Ezra, Sharon & Litwin, Howard, 2012. "Social network type and health-related behaviors: Evidence from an American national survey," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 75(5), pages 901-904.
    5. Child, Stephanie T. & Lawton, Leora E., 2020. "Personal networks and associations with psychological distress among young and older adults," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 246(C).
    6. Haosen Sun & Markus Schafer, 2022. "Close ties, near and far away: patterns and predictors of geographic network range among older Europeans," European Journal of Ageing, Springer, vol. 19(3), pages 699-716, September.
    7. Liping Ye & Xinping Zhang, 2019. "Social Network Types and Health among Older Adults in Rural China: The Mediating Role of Social Support," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(3), pages 1-14, January.
    8. Keunbok Lee, 2021. "Different Discussion Partners and Their Effect on Depression among Older Adults," Social Sciences, MDPI, vol. 10(6), pages 1-22, June.
    9. 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.
    10. Vonneilich, Nico & Lüdecke, Daniel & von dem Knesebeck, Olaf, 2020. "Educational inequalities in self-rated health and social relationships – analyses based on the European Social Survey 2002-2016," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 267(C).
    11. Young Bum Kim & Seung Hee Lee, 2022. "Gender Differences in Correlates of Loneliness among Community-Dwelling Older Koreans," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(12), pages 1-11, June.
    12. 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.
    13. 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.
    14. 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.
    15. 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.
    16. Ellwardt, Lea & Van Tilburg, Theo G. & Aartsen, Marja J., 2015. "The mix matters: Complex personal networks relate to higher cognitive functioning in old age," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 125(C), pages 107-115.
    17. Viviana Amati & Silvia Meggiolaro & Giulia Rivellini & Susanna Zaccarin, 2017. "Relational Resources of Individuals Living in Couple: Evidence from an Italian Survey," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 134(2), pages 547-590, November.
    18. Zhen Zhang & Jianxin Zhang, 2015. "Social Participation and Subjective Well-Being Among Retirees in China," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 123(1), pages 143-160, August.
    19. Ivaylo Vassilev & Anne Rogers & Christian Blickem & Helen Brooks & Dharmi Kapadia & Anne Kennedy & Caroline Sanders & Sue Kirk & David Reeves, 2013. "Social Networks, the ‘Work’ and Work Force of Chronic Illness Self-Management: A Survey Analysis of Personal Communities," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 8(4), pages 1-13, April.
    20. Carly Roman & Christopher R. Beam & Elizabeth Zelinski, 2022. "Psychosocial Outcomes of Age Integration Status: Do Age-Integrated Social Networks Benefit Older Adults?," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(19), pages 1-15, September.

    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:130:y:2015:i:c:p:59-68. 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.