Homeostasis Revisited: Patterns of Stability and Rebalancing in Older Adults' Social Lives
Homeostasis Revisited: Patterns of Stability and Rebalancing in Older Adults' Social Lives
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DOI：
10.1093/geronb/gbaa026
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发表时间：
2021-04-01
影响因子：
6.2
通讯作者：
Laumann, Edward O.
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Cornwell, Benjamin;Goldman, Alyssa;Laumann, Edward O.
目的：研究晚年社会连通性的变化模式：(a)社会连通性不同方面变化的程度和方向，包括社会网络的规模、密度和组成、网络周转和三种类型的社区参与；(b)这些变化随时间的顺序性质。方法：我们使用2005/2006年至2015/2016年全国社会生活、健康和老龄化项目中具有全国代表性的三波数据。随访时，受访者的年龄在67岁至95岁之间。在两个连续的5年期间，他们的社会联系的变化类型进行了比较，以辨别随时间的变化模式。结果：分析显示，大多数老年人的社会网络规模稳定或增长，他们接触非亲属关系的机会，网络的扩张性，以及几种形式的社区参与。大多数老年人在他们的网络中经历了更替，但损失和增加通常相互抵消，导致网络规模和结构特征总体稳定。此外，当老年人在研究期间的前半段报告某种特定形式的社会联系减少（增加）时，这些变化通常会在随后的5年期间出现相应的增加（减少）。这种一般模式适用于网络和社区连接。讨论：有一种势不可挡的趋势是维持或重新平衡以前的结构和个人网络连接和社区参与的水平。这导致了整体的体内平衡。最后，我们讨论了需要一个统一的理论框架来解释这些模式。
Objectives: To examine patterns of change in later-life social connectedness: (a) the extent and direction of changes in different aspects of social connectedness, including size, density, and composition of social networks, network turnover, and three types of community involvement and (b) the sequential nature of these changes over time.Method: We use three waves of nationally representative data from the National Social Life, Health, and Aging Project, collected from 2005/2006 to 2015/2016. Respondents were between the ages of 67 and 95 at follow-up. Types of changes in their social connectedness between the two successive 5-year periods are compared to discern over-time change patterns.Results: Analyses reveal stability or growth in the sizes of most older adults' social networks, their access to non-kin ties, network expansiveness, as well as several forms of community involvement. Most older adults experienced turnover within their networks, but losses and additions usually offset each other, resulting in generally stable network size and structural features. Moreover, when older adults reported decreases (increases) in a given form of social connectedness during the first half of the study period, these changes were typically followed by countervailing increases (decreases) over the subsequent 5-year period. This general pattern holds for both network and community connectedness.Discussion: There is an overwhelming tendency toward either maintaining or rebalancing previous structures and levels of both personal network connectedness and community involvement. This results in overall homeostasis. We close by discussing the need for a unifying theoretical framework that can explain these patterns.