The role of social relationships in predicting loneliness: The National Social Life, Health, and Aging project

The authors explore associations between objective and subjective social network characteristics and loneliness in later life, using data from the National Social Life, Health, and Aging Project, a nationally representative sample of individuals ages 57 to 85 in the United States. Hierarchical linea...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:	Social work research 2010-09, Vol.34 (3), p.157-167
Main Authors:	Shiovitz-Ezra, Sharon, Leitsch, Sara
Format:	Article
Language:	eng
Subjects:	Age Aged Ageing Aging Aging (Individuals) Blood pressure Cognitive Processes Cohabitation Correlation Depression (Psychology) Elderly Epistemology Families & family life Family Family (Sociological Unit) Friendship Gerontology Health Health Behavior Interpersonal Relationship later life Loneliness Longitudinal Studies Marital Status Marriage Mental health Older Adults Older people Perceptions Personality psychology Physical Health Prediction Psychological aspects Psychological Patterns Quality of Health Care Regression (Statistics) Role Social aspects Social Environment Social Life Social networking Social Networks Social research Social Work Spouses Studies subjective perceptions
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Summary:	The authors explore associations between objective and subjective social network characteristics and loneliness in later life, using data from the National Social Life, Health, and Aging Project, a nationally representative sample of individuals ages 57 to 85 in the United States. Hierarchical linear regression was used to examine the associations between measures of objective and subjective social network characteristics and their importance in predicting loneliness across marital status. For the entire sample, as well as the married—cohabitating subsample, objective indicators such as frequency of contact with social network members were negatively associated with feelings of loneliness, net of background characteristics. However, the authors' analysis highlights the contribution of subjective perceptions of social ties, the quality of marriage in later life for those engaged in marital or cohabitating relationships, and the quality of familial ties for the nonmarried older adults. In a married—cohabitating subsample, the subjective perceptions of one's relationship with the partner explained, by itself, 7% of the variance in loneliness, whereas the quality of family ties explained an additional 6% of the variance in loneliness in the nonmarried sample. Based on the present findings, practical implications for social workers are discussed.
ISSN:	1070-5309 1545-6838