Social ties in old age: the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic

Social ties amongst older adults were immediately affected by the COVID-19 pandemic—both by the deaths occurring disproportionately amongst older adults and by the policies limiting social contact implemented by governments to curb the spread of the virus. We explore changes in close social networks amongst older-aged adults before and during the pandemic across 13 European countries using panel data from the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe. We utilise four waves of data collected over a decade, the latest of which was during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2021–2022. The social network is measured based on respondents’ reports on confidants, individuals with whom respondents discuss important matters, whether in-person or remotely. Results from individual fixed and random effects models indicate that while it appears that the number of confidants older adults have is not associated with the pandemic, the churning of these confidants was considerable. Older-aged adults lost members of their close network much more over the pandemic period than they did beforehand, though new social ties were also made. Across all waves, and especially over the pandemic, we find significant instability of social resources, which could have important implications for older adult well-being.