Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-94fs2 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-10T21:27:42.922Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

The impact of social networks on the relationship between functional impairment and depressive symptoms in older adults

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  06 May 2015

Kimberly J. Stoeckel  and
Howard Litwin
Kimberly J. Stoeckel
Affiliation:
Israel Gerontological Data Center, Paul Baerwald School of Social Work, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Mount Scopus 91905, Jerusalem, Israel
Howard Litwin*
Affiliation:
Israel Gerontological Data Center, Paul Baerwald School of Social Work, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Mount Scopus 91905, Jerusalem, Israel
*
Correspondence should be addressed to: Howard Litwin, Israel Gerontological Data Center, Paul Baerwald School of Social Work The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Mount Scopus 91905, Jerusalem, Israel. Phone: (972) 2 588 0303, Fax: (972) 2 588 0306. Email: howie.litwin@mail.huji.ac.il.
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Background:

To examine the role of meaningful relationship characteristics, defined here as social network type, in relation to the association between functional impairment and depressive symptoms.

Methods:

The sample included respondents aged 65 years and older (n = 26,401) from the fourth wave of the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARE). Respondents were classified into one of seven relationship network types (Distal Children (living at a distance), Proximal Family (living nearby), Spouse, Other Family, Friend, Other, and No Network) according to the predominant characteristics of their most meaningful relationships. A two-stage regression analysis was performed in which the number of depressive symptoms was first regressed on the extent of functional impairment and network type, controlling for sociodemographic characteristics, cognition, health, and country. In the second stage, variables representing the interactions between functional impairment and network type were considered.

Results:

The compositional characteristics of respondents’ relationships in later life, as defined by social network type, were associated with depressive symptoms. In particular, when experiencing functional impairment, those without any meaningful relationships were found to have more depressive symptoms when compared to all other network types. The findings underscore the importance of meaningful relationships for the mental health of older adults experiencing functional impairment as well as the risk of experiencing depression among those who maintain no personal social network.

Conclusions:

The study shows that differing constellations of meaningful relationships in later life yield different associations with mental health, especially when taking functional limitations into account.

Keywords

social tiesfunctional limitationsdepressionSHARE
Type
Research Article
Information
International Psychogeriatrics , Volume 28 , Issue 1 , January 2016 , pp. 39 - 47
Copyright
Copyright © International Psychogeriatric Association 2015 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Allen, S. M., Ciambrone, D. and Welch, L. C. (2000). Stage of life course and social support as a mediator of mood state among persons with disability. Journal of Aging and Health, 12, 318–341. doi: 10.1177/089826430001200303.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Avlund, K., Lund, R., Holstein, B. E. and Due, P. (2004). Social relations as determinant of onset of disability in aging. Archives of Gerontology and Geriatrics, 38, 85–99. doi: 10.1016/j.archger.2003.08.003.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Blazer, D. G. and Hybels, C. F. (2005). Origins of depression in later life. Psychological Medicine, 35, 1241–1252. doi:10.1017/S0033291705004411.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Bruce, M. L. (2001). Depression and disability in late life. Directions for future research. The American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, 9, 102–112. doi: 10.1097/00019442-200105000-00003.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Chan, N., Anstey, K. J., Windsor, T. D. and Luszcz, M. A. (2011). Disability and depressive symptoms in later life: the stress-buffering role of informal and formal support. Gerontology, 57, 180–189. doi: 10.1159/000314158.Google Scholar
Cole, S. A., Juncos, J. L., Kogos, J. L., Youngstrom, E. A. and Watts, R. L. (1996). Depression and disability in Parkinson's disease. The Journal of Neuropsychiatry and Clinical Neurosciences, 8, 20–25.Google Scholar
Cornwall, B., Schumm, L. P., Laumann, E. O. and Graber, J. (2009). Social networks in the NSHAP study: rationale, measurement, and preliminary findings. Journals of Gerontology: Social Sciences, 64B (suppl 1), i47–i55. doi: 10.1093/geronb/gpb042.Google Scholar
Cuijpers, P., de Graaf, R. and van Dorsselaer, S. (2004). Minor depression: risk profiles, functional disability, health car use and risk of developing major depression. Journal of Affective Disorders, 79, 71–79. doi: 10.1016/S0165-0327(02)00348-8.Google Scholar
Doubova, S. V., Perez-Cuevas, R., Espinosa-Alarcon, P. and Flores-Hernandez, S. (2010). Social network types and functional dependency in older adults in Mexico. BMC Public Health, 10, 104. doi: 10.1186/1471-2458-10-104.Google Scholar
Fiori, K. L., Antonucci, T. C. and Cortina, K. S. (2006). Social network typologies and mental health among older adults. Journals of Gerontology: Social Sciences, 61, P25–P32.Google Scholar
Fyrand, L., Moum, T., Finset, A. and Glennas, A. (2002). The impact of disability and disease duration on social support of women with rheumatoid arthritis. Journal of Behavioral Medicine, 25, 251–268. doi: 10.1023/a:1015380711375.Google Scholar
Golden, J., Conroy, R. M. and Lawlor, B. A. (2009). Social support network structure in older people: underlying dimensions and association with psychological and physical health. Psychology Health & Medicine, 14, 280–290. doi: 10.1080/13548500902730135.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Lenze, E. J. et al. (2001). The association of late life depression and anxiety with physical disability. A review of the literature and prospectus for future research. The American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, 9, 113–135. doi: 10.1097/00019442-200105000-00004.Google Scholar
Litwin, H. (1998). Social network type and health status in a national sample of elderly Israelis. Social Science and Medicine, 46, 599–609. doi: 10.1016/S0277-9536(97)00207-4.Google Scholar
Litwin, H. (2011). The association between social network relationships and depressive symptoms among older Americans: what matters most? International Psychogeriatrics, 23, 930–940. doi: 10.1017/S1041610211000251.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Litwin, H. and Shiovitz-Ezra, S. (2011). Social network type and subjective well-being in a national sample of older Americans. Gerontologist, 51, 379–388. doi: 10.1093/geront/gnq094.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Litwin, H. and Stoeckel, K. J. (2014). Confidant network types and well-being among older Europeans. The Gerontologist, 54, 762–772. doi: 10.1093/geront/gnt056.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Litwin, H., Stoeckel, K. J., Roll, A., Shiovitz-Ezra, S. and Kotte, M. (2013). Social network measurement in SHARE wave 4. In Malter, F. and Börsch-Supan, A. (eds.), SHARE Wave 4: Innovations & Methodology (pp. 18–37). Munich: MEA, Max-Planck-Institute for Social Law and Social Policy.Google Scholar
Loke, S. C., Abdullah, S. S., Chai, S. T., Hamid, T. A. and Yahaya, N. (2011). Assessment of factors influencing morale in the elderly. Plos One, 6, e16490. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0016490.Google Scholar
Mendes de Leon, C. F., Gold, D. T., Glass, T. A., Kaplan, L. and George, L. K. (2001). Disability as a function of social networks and support in elderly African Americans and whites: the duke EPESE 1986–1992. Journals of Gerontology: Social Sciences, 56, S179–S190. doi: 10.1093/gerongb/56.3.S170.Google Scholar
Netuveli, G., Wiggins, R. D., Montgomery, S. M., Hildon, Z. and Blane, D. (2008). Mental health and resilience at older ages: bouncing back after adversity in the british household panel survey. Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, 62, 987–991. doi: 10.1136/jech.2007.069138.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Olstad, R., Sexton, H. and Søgaard, A. J. (2001). The finnmark study. A prospective population study of the social support buffer hypothesis, specific stressors and mental distress. Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology, 36, 582–589. doi: 10.1007/s127-001-8197-0.Google Scholar
Prince, M. J. et al. (1999). Development of the EURO-D scale: a European Union initiative to compare symptoms of depression in 14 European centres. The British Journal of Psychiatry, 174, 330–338. doi: 10.1192/bjp.174.4.330.Google Scholar
Sicotte, M., Alvarado, B. E., Leon, E. M. and Zunzunegui, M. V. (2008). Social networks and depressive symptoms among elderly women and men in Havana, Cuba. Aging & Mental Health, 12, 193–201. doi: 10.1080/13607860701616358.Google Scholar
Stafford, M., McMunn, A., Zaninotto, P. and Nazroo, J. (2011). Positive and negative exchanges in social relationships as predictors of depression: evidence from the English Longitudinal Study of Aging. Journal of Aging and Health, 23, 607–628. doi: 10.1177/0898264310392992.Google Scholar
Taylor, M. G. and Lynch, S. M. (2004). Trajectories of impairment, social support, and depressive symptoms in later life. Journals of Gerontolog:Social Sciences, 59, S238–S246. doi: 10.1093/geronb/59.4.S238.Google Scholar
Wahrendorf, M., Reinhardt, J. D., and Siegrist, J. (2013). Relationship of disability with aged 50–85: evidence from the United States, England and Continental Europe. Plos One, 8, e71893.Google Scholar
Wenger, G. C. (1991). A network typology: from theory to practice. Journal of Aging Studies, 5, 147–162. doi: 10.1016/0890-4065(91)90003-b.Google Scholar