What Are Friends For? A Longitudinal Analysis Of Psychotropic Medication Use And Social Integration In Community-Dwelling Older Adults

Later-life transitions that may disrupt social integration, such as retirement and widowhood, have been linked to psychotropic medication use. Psychotropic medication use has also been associated with loneliness independently of mental health conditions and with a greater likelihood of experiencing persistent loneliness over time. However, little is known about the association between psychotropic medication use and social integration. This study addresses this gap by examining within-individual associations between psychotropic medication use and social integration using data from the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARE). Social integration was approached as a multidimensional construct encompassing social network size, social support and social engagement. In addition, anxiety and depression medication use and sleep medication use were examined separately to assess potential differences in their associations with social integration. The analyses revealed positive within-individual associations between psychotropic medication use and social network size, while only sleep medication use was positively associated with social engagement. No statistically significant associations were observed for social support. These findings suggest that psychotropic medication use may be linked to more active social participation in later life, but not to the supportive quality of close relationships. Considering previous research on loneliness among older adults, the results indicate that loneliness and psychotropic medication use may coexist with larger social networks, a higher likelihood of social engagement, and unchanged social support.