Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-dsjbd Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-22T18:47:32.932Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Longitudinal changes in social networks, health and wellbeing among older Koreans

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  28 July 2015

BORIN KIM ,
SOJUNG PARK  and
TONI C. ANTONUCCI
BORIN KIM*
Affiliation:
Department of Social Work, College of Human and Health Services, University of New Hampshire, Durham, USA.
SOJUNG PARK
Affiliation:
George Warren Brown School of Social Work, Washington University, Saint Louis, Missouri, USA.
TONI C. ANTONUCCI
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology and Institute for Social Research, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, USA.
*
Address for correspondence: BoRin Kim, Department of Social Work, College of Human and Health Services, University of New Hampshire, Durham, NH 03824, USA E-mail: [email protected]
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

This study investigates the changes in social network types among older adults in South Korea, and it examines whether, and to what extent, these changes influence their health and psychological wellbeing. Data were obtained from the Korean Longitudinal Study of Ageing. The sample was restricted to respondents over 65 years of age who participated in both the 2006 and 2008 surveys (N = 3,501). The social network types for both years were derived by Latent Class Analysis. Changes in network types over time were then identified. A series of multivariate regression analyses were conducted to examine the effects of social network changes on self-rated health, depressive symptoms and life satisfaction. Restricted, Family, Friend and Diverse network types were derived in each wave of the study. Although the direction of social network changes was not always towards the Restricted type, the Restricted network was the most prevalent and stable type among older Koreans. Older adults who remained in or transitioned to restricted types of social networks were more likely to have poor self-rated health, higher levels of depressive symptoms and lower levels of life satisfaction. This study adds to the limited body of literature on longitudinal network typology, and it expands the knowledge of social network types among older adults in diverse social and cultural contexts.

Keywords

social network typesself-rated healthpsychological wellbeinglongitudinal changescross-cultural differences
Type
Articles
Information
Ageing & Society , Volume 36 , Issue 9 , October 2016 , pp. 1915 - 1936
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 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

Andersen, E. M. 1994. Screening for depression in well older adults: evaluation of a short form of the CES-D. American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 10, 2, 77–84.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Antonucci, T. C. 2001. Social relations: an examination of social networks, social support, and sense of control. In Birren, J. E. and Schaie, K. W. (eds), Handbook of the Psychology of Aging. Fifth edition, Academic Press, San Diego, California, 427–53.Google Scholar
Brown, S. L., Nesse, R. M., Vinokur, A. D. and Smith, D. M. 2003. Providing social support may be more beneficial than receiving it: results from a prospective study of mortality. Psychological Science, 14, 4, 320–7.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Cheng, S., Lee, C. K., Chan, A. C., Leung, E. M. and Lee, J. 2009. Social network types and subjective well-being in Chinese older adults. Journals of Gerontology: Psychological Science, 64B, 6, 713–22.Google Scholar
Cheon, E. Y. 2010. Correlation of social network types on health status of Korean elders. Journal of Korean Academy of Nursing, 40, 1, 88–98.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Due, P., Holstein, B., Lund, R., Modvig, J. and Avlund, K. 1999. Social relations: network, support and relational strain. Social Science & Medicine, 48, 5, 661–73.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Fiori, K. L., Antonucci, T. C. and Akiyama, H. 2008. Profiles of social relations among older adults: a cross-cultural approach. Ageing & Society, 28, 2, 203–31.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: Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences, 61B, 1, 25–32.Google Scholar
Fiori, K. L. and Jager, J. 2012. The impact of social support networks on mental and physical health in the transition to older adulthood: a longitudinal, pattern-centered approach. International Journal of Behavioral Development, 36, 2, 117–29.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fiori, K. L., Smith, J. and Antonucci, T. C. 2007. Social network types among older adults: a multidimensional approach. Journals of Gerontology: Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences, 62B, 6, 322–30.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Geiser, C. 2013. Data Analysis with Mplus. The Guilford Press, New York.Google Scholar
Gerstorf, D., Smith, J. and Baltes, P. B. 2006. A systemic-wholistic approach to differential aging: longitudinal findings from the Berlin aging study. Psychology and Aging, 21, 4, 645–63.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hanson, B. S., Isacsson, S. O., Janzon, L. and Lindell, S. E. 1989. Social network and social support influence mortality in elderly men prospective population study of “Men born in 1914,” Malmö, Sweden. American Journal of Epidemiology, 130, 1, 100–11.Google Scholar
Hofstede, G. 2001. Culture's Consequences: Comparing Values, Behaviors, Institutions, and Organizations Across Nations. Second edition, Sage, Thousand Oaks, California.Google Scholar
Ingersoll-Dayton, B., Morgan, D. and Antonucci, T. 1997. The effects of positive and negative social exchanges on aging adults. Journals of Gerontology: Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences, 52B, 4, S190–9.Google Scholar
Kang, Y. W., Na, D. L. and Han, S. H. 1997. A validity study on the Korean Mini-Mental State Examination (K-MMSE) in dementia patients. Journal of the Korean Neurological Association, 15, 2, 300–8.Google Scholar
Koyano, W., Hashimoto, M., Fukawa, T., Shibata, H. and Gunji, A. 1994. The social support system of the Japanese elderly. Journal of Cross-cultural Gerontology, 9, 3, 323–33.Google Scholar
Lawlor, D. A., Hart, C. L., Hole, D. J. and Smith, G. D. 2006. Reverse causality and confounding and the associations of overweight and obesity with mortality. Obesity, 14, 12, 2294–304.Google Scholar
Lee, H. J. 2008. The effect of relationship with the parents perceived by college students on attitudes and care-giving towards older adults. Education and Culture Research, 14, 1, 75–103. (In Korean)Google Scholar
Lee, Y. 2010. Changes in attributes of Korean older adults and its implications (1994–2008). Public Policy and Welfare Issues & Focus, 55, 1–8. (In Korean)Google Scholar
Lee, Y., Chung, K., Yeom, J., Oh, Y., Yoo, H. and Lee, E. 2010. Analysis and Projection of Changes in the Lives of Elderly Koreans. Korea Institute for Health and Social Affairs, Seoul.Google Scholar
Litwin, H. 2001. Social network type and morale in old age. The Gerontologist, 41, 4, 516–24.Google Scholar
Litwin, H. 2011. The association between social network relationships and depressive symptoms among older Americans: what matters most? International Psychogeriatrics, 23, 6, 930–40.Google Scholar
Litwin, H. and Landau, R. 2000. Social network type and social support among the old-old. Journal of Aging Studies, 14, 2, 213–28.Google Scholar
Litwin, H. and Shiovitz-Ezra, S. 2011. Social network type and subjective well-being in a national sample of older Americans. The Gerontologist, 51, 3, 379–88.Google Scholar
Lubben, J., Blozik, E., Gillmann, G., Iliffe, S., Kruse, W. V., Beck, J. C. and Stuck, A. E. 2006. Performance of an abbreviated version of the Lubben Social Network Scale among three European community-dwelling older adult populations. The Gerontologist, 46, 4, 503–13.Google Scholar
Lund, R., Modvig, J., Due, P. and Holstein, B. E. 2000. Stability and change in structural social relations as predictor of mortality among elderly women and men. European Journal of Epidemiology, 16, 12, 1087–97.Google Scholar
McCutcheon, A. L. 2002. Basic concepts and procedures in single and multiple group latent class analysis. In Hagenarrs, J. A. and McCutcheon, A. L. (eds), Applied Latent Class Analysis. Cambridge University Press, New York, 56–88.Google Scholar
Melkas, T. and Jylhä, M. 1996. Social network characteristics and social network types among elderly people in Finland. In Litwin, H. (ed.), The Social Networks of Older People: A Cross-national Analysis. Praeger, Westport, Connecticut, 99–116.Google Scholar
Newsom, J. T., Nishishiba, M., Morgan, D. L. and Rook, K. 2003. The relative importance of three domains of positive and negative social exchanges: a longitudinal model with comparable measures. Psychology and Aging, 18, 4, 746–54.Google Scholar
Park, K. S., Phua, V., McNally, J. and Sun, R. 2005. Diversity and structure of intergenerational relationships: elderly parent–adult child relations in Korea. Journal of Cross-cultural Gerontology, 20, 4, 285–305.Google Scholar
Park, N. S., Jang, Y., Lee, B. S., Ko, J. E., Haley, W. E. and Chiriboga, D. A. 2015. An empirical typology of social networks and its association with physical and mental health: a study with older Korean immigrants. Journals of Gerontology: Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences, 70, 1, 67–76.Google Scholar
Park, S., Smith, J. and Dunkle, R. E. 2013. Social network types and well-being among South Korean older adults. Aging & Mental Health, 18, 1, 72–80.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Radloff, L. S. 1977. The CES-D scale a self-report depression scale for research in the general population. Applied Psychological Measurement, 1, 3, 385–401.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Schafer, J. L. 1999. Multiple imputation: a primer. Statistical Methods in Medical Research, 8, 1, 3–15.Google Scholar
Scharf, T. and Wenger, G. C. (eds) 1995. International Perspectives on Community Care for Older People. Avebury, Aldershot, UK.Google Scholar
Smith, J., Borchelt, M., Maier, H. and Jopp, D. 2001. Health and well-being in the young old and oldest old. Journal of Social Issues, 58, 4, 715–32.Google Scholar
Stone, L. and Rosenthal, C. 1996. Profiles of the social networks of Canada's elderly: an analysis of 1990 General Social Survey data. In Litwin, H. (ed.), The Social Networks of Older People: A Cross-national Analysis. Praeger, Westport, Connecticut, 77–97.Google Scholar
Sung, K. T. 2001. Elder respect: exploration of ideals and forms in East Asia. Journal of Aging Studies, 15, 1, 13–26.Google Scholar
Triandis, H. C. 2001. Individualism-collectivism and personality. Journal of Personality, 69, 6, 907–24.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
von Faber, M., Bootsma-van der Wiel, A., van Exel, E., Gussekloo, J., Lagaay, A. M., van Dongen, E., Knook, D. L., van der Geest, S. and Westendorp, R. G. 2001. Successful aging in the oldest old: who can be characterized as successfully aged? Archives of Internal Medicine, 161, 22, 2694–700.Google Scholar
Wahl, H.-W. and Lang, F. R. 2004. Aging in context across the adult life course: integrating physical and social environmental research. In Wahl, H. W., Scheidt, R. J., Windley, P. G. and Schaie, K. W. (eds), Annual Review of Gerontology and Geriatrics. Springer, New York, 1–33.Google Scholar
Wenger, G. C. 1991. A network typology: from theory to practice. Journal of Aging Studies, 5, 2, 147–62.Google Scholar
Wenger, G. C. 1996. Social networks and gerontology. Reviews in Clinical Gerontology, 6, 3, 285–93.Google Scholar
Wenger, G. C. 1997. Social networks and the prediction of elderly people at risk. Aging and Mental Health, 1, 4, 311–20.Google Scholar
Won, C. W., Yang, K. Y., Rho, Y. G., Kim, S. Y., Lee, E., Yoon, J. L., Cho, K. H., Shin, H. C., Cho, B. R. and Oh, J. R. 2002. The development of Korean Activities of Daily Living (K-ADL) and Korean Instrumental Activities of Daily Living (K-IADL) Scale. Korean Journal of Geriatric Medicine, 6, 2, 107–20.Google Scholar
Yamaguchi, K. 2000. Multinomial logit latent-class regression models: an analysis of the predictors of gender-role attitudes among Japanese women. American Journal of Sociology, 105, 6, 1702–40.Google Scholar
Zheng, W., McLerran, D. F., Rolland, B., Zhang, X., Inoue, M., Matsuo, K., … and Potter, J. D. 2011. Association between body-mass index and risk of death in more than 1 million Asians. New England Journal of Medicine, 364, 8, 719–29.Google Scholar