ArticleInternational psychogeriatrics2017
Are newly added and lost confidants in later life related to subsequent mental health?
Article in International psychogeriatrics, 2017. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 9 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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Who cites it
9 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- The association of social networks and depression in community-dwelling older adults: a systematic review.Systematic reviews · 2024Pooled it
- Reward Deficits in Co-Occurring Social Anxiety and Depression: The Roles of Anhedonia, Boredom, Loneliness, and COVID-19 Social Restriction.Journal of clinical psychology · 2026Article
- The mental health implications of informal care receipt stability among older adults with persistent care needs.The journals of gerontology. Series B, Psychological sciences and social sciences · 2025Observational
- Neighborhood Conditions and Social Network Turnover among Older Adults.Social networks · 2023Article
- Distinct aspects of human connection associated with subjective well-being.SSM. Mental health · 2022Article
- The Contribution of the Internet to Reducing Social Isolation in Individuals Aged 50 Years and Older: Quantitative Study of Data From the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe.Journal of medical Internet research · 2022Article
- Network type, transition patterns and well-being among older Europeans.European journal of ageing · 2020Article
- Who is Dropped and Why? Methodological and Substantive Accounts for Network Loss.Social networks · 2020Article
- The Interplay of Personality Traits and Social Network Characteristics in the Subjective Well-Being of Older Adults.Research on agingArticle
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Authors and funding
2 authors.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundThis study examined internal changes in the personal social networks of older people and the relationship between these changes and mental health over time. It focused on two key aspects: emotional closeness and contact frequency with lost and newly added confidants.
methodsThe study was based on data from the fourth (2011) and sixth (2015) waves of the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARE). The study sample consisted of respondents aged 65 years and older who participated in both waves (n = 14,101). We performed OLS regressions in which the scores on two mental health indicators over time - depressive symptoms (Euro-D) and perceived quality of life (CASP-12) - were regressed on the relationship with lost and newly added confidants, controlling for baseline social networks, socio-demographic, and health variables.
resultsThe nature of the relationship with the lost and newly added confidants was associated with mental health, beyond the number of these confidants. Emotional closeness with newly added confidants was related to improved mental health in both indicators (B = -0.09, CI = -0.14 to -0.04 for depression; B =1.13, CI = 0.67-1.60 for quality of life). Losing frequently contacted confidants was associated with higher depressive symptoms (B = 0.09, CI = 0.02-0.15).
conclusionsThe results show the positive mental health implications of adding emotionally close confidants to older adults' social milieus, and the negative effects of losing frequently contacted confidants. Practitioners are advised to pay attention to the quality of such changing relationships, due to their mental health consequences.
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