Comparing Neighbors and Friends in Age-Related Network Changes.
J Gerontol B Psychol Sci Soc Sci
; 79(9)2024 Sep 01.
Article
en En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-38943523
ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVES:
To assess how the role of neighbors and friends in people's networks changes with age and how this is affected by cohort, marriage, employment, and socioeconomic status. The hypothesis is that for most aspects of the network, friends lose "importance" as people become older, with neighbors gradually becoming more dominant in the nonkin network.METHODS:
Data are used for people aged 55-90 between 1999 and 2019 from the Swiss Household Panel (Nâ =â 5,585). A total of 4 network aspects were measured size, contact, practical support, and emotional support. Measures for neighbors and friends were compared and analyzed with fixed-effects and hybrid-effects regression models on person-year observations.RESULTS:
The sizes of both network segments declined with age but more strongly for friends than neighbors. Contact with friends was stable but contact with neighbors increased. Support from friends declined whereas support from neighbors was stable. Direct comparisons revealed that the relative share of neighbors vis-à-vis friends increased as people age. Friends were more common and supportive vis-à-vis neighbors for divorced and widowed people than for married people, but this gap declined with age. The share of neighbors increased with retirement, especially for men. The share of neighbors vis-à-vis friends was also larger for people with less income and education and this gap did not change with age.DISCUSSION:
In the nonkin part of older adults' networks, proximity eventually becomes dominant. This finding is interpreted in terms of rising needs, greater opportunity for local contact, and friend mortality risks, all favoring the neighbor segment of the network.Palabras clave
Texto completo:
1
Colección:
01-internacional
Base de datos:
MEDLINE
Asunto principal:
Apoyo Social
/
Amigos
Límite:
Aged
/
Aged80
/
Female
/
Humans
/
Male
/
Middle aged
País/Región como asunto:
Europa
Idioma:
En
Revista:
J Gerontol B Psychol Sci Soc Sci
Asunto de la revista:
CIENCIAS SOCIAIS
/
GERIATRIA
/
PSICOLOGIA
Año:
2024
Tipo del documento:
Article
País de afiliación:
Países Bajos
Pais de publicación:
Estados Unidos