Losing and Gaining in Old Age: Changes in Personal Network Size and Social Support in a Four-Year Longitudinal Study

Objectives. Previous studies have shown that most older people have a significant number of relationships. However, the question of whether the aging of old people produces losses in their personal networks remains open for discussion. This study models the individual variability of the changes affecting multiple personal network characteristics. Methods. Personal interviews were conducted with 2,903 older Dutch adults (aged 55-85) in three waves of a fouryear longitudinal study. Results. A stable total network size was observed, with an increasing number of close relatives and a decreasing number of friends. Contact frequency decreased in relationships, and the instrumental support received and emotional support given increased. Age moderated the effect of time for some of the network characteristics, and for many of them, effects of regression towards the mean were detected. Furthermore, major variations in the direction and the speed of the changes were detected among individual respondents, and nonlinear trends were observed. Discussion. The widely varying patterns of losses and gains among the respondents squares with the focus on the heterogeneity of developments among aging people. The instability of the network composition might reflect the natural circulation in the membership of networks.

[1]  N M Thompson,et al.  Analysis of change: modeling individual growth. , 1991, Journal of consulting and clinical psychology.

[2]  S. Stigler,et al.  Regression Toward the Mean and the Study of Change , 1980 .

[3]  Kathleen Gerson,et al.  Personal Relations Across the Life Cycle , 1977 .

[4]  S. Mcfall,et al.  Stability and change in the informal task support network of frail older persons. , 1991, The Gerontologist.

[5]  Robert K. Leik,et al.  On the stability of network relations under stress , 1997 .

[6]  E. Grundy,et al.  Changes in network composition among the very old living in inner London , 1995, Journal of cross-cultural gerontology.

[7]  David Rogosa,et al.  A growth curve approach to the measurement of change. , 1982 .

[8]  E. Stoller,et al.  Informal Networks of Community-Based Elderly , 1988, Research on aging.

[9]  C. Stein,et al.  Comparing the Structure and Stability of Network Ties Using the Social Support Questionnaire and the Social Network List , 1997 .

[10]  L. Collins,et al.  Measurement of change in research on aging: Old and new issues from an individual growth perspective , 1996 .

[11]  Barry Wellman,et al.  A decade of network change: Turnover, persistence and stability in personal communities☆ , 1997 .

[12]  David L. Morgan,et al.  The stability of core and peripheral networks over time , 1997 .

[13]  Pearl A. Dykstra,et al.  Living arrangements and social networks of older adults , 1996 .

[14]  R. Milardo,et al.  Comparative Methods for Delineating Social Networks , 1992 .

[15]  N. Shulman.  Life-Cycle Variations in Patterns of Close Relationships. , 1975 .

[16]  R. Wallace,et al.  The Epidemiologic study of the elderly , 1992 .

[17]  B. Israel,et al.  Veridicality of social support: a comparison of principal and network members' responses. , 1986, Journal of consulting and clinical psychology.

[18]  Robert L. Kahn,et al.  Convoys over the life course: attachment, roles, and social support , 1980 .

[19]  A. Gouldner.  THE NORM OF RECIPROCITY: A PRELIMINARY STATEMENT * , 1960 .

[20]  Tom A. B. Snijders,et al.  Analysis of longitudinal data using the hierarchical linear model , 1996 .

[21]  S. Kreiner,et al.  Measurement issues in research on social support and health. , 1994, Journal of epidemiology and community health.

[22]  Strategieën bij wederkerigheid in onderlinge steun , 1996 .

[23]  Theo van Tilburg,et al.  Support networks before and after retirement. , 1992 .

[24]  Pearl A. Dykstra,et al.  Living arrangements and social networks as interlocking mediating structures , 1995 .

[25]  G. Wenger.  A longitudinal study of changes and adaptation in the support networks of Welsh elderly over 75 , 1986, Journal of cross-cultural gerontology.

[26]  T. Tilburg.  DELINEATION OF THE SOCIAL NETWORK AND DIFFERENCES IN NETWORK SIZE , 1995 .

[27]  D. Morgan,et al.  The Impact of Life Events on Networks of Personal Relationships: A Comparison of Widowhood and Caring for a Spouse with Alzheimer's Disease , 1992 .

[28]  Paul B. Baltes,et al.  Life-span developmental psychology: Some converging observations on history and theory , 1979 .

[29]  David L. Morgan.  Age differences in social network participation. , 1988, Journal of gerontology.

[30]  Roel Bosker,et al.  Modeled Variance in Two-Level Models , 1994 .

[31]  E. Brody.  Parent Care as a Normative Family Stress , 1985 .

[32]  H Akiyama,et al.  Social networks in adult life and a preliminary examination of the convoy model. , 1987, Journal of gerontology.

[33]  A. Beekman,et al.  Autonomy and well-being in the aging population II: Report from the Longitudinal Aging Study Amsterdam 1992-1996 , 1998 .

[34]  M. Cochran.  Extending Families: The Social Networks of Parents and their Children , 1990 .

[35]  L. Carstensen,et al.  The Process of Successful Ageing , 1996, Ageing and Society.

[36]  L. Carstensen.  Social and emotional patterns in adulthood: support for socioemotional selectivity theory. , 1992, Psychology and aging.