The association of background and network type among older americans: Is "who you are" related to "who you are with"?

Howard Litwin*, Sharon Shiovitz-Ezra

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

28 Scopus citations

Abstract

This study examined the sociodemographic and health correlates of social network types among older Americans. It also considered whether greater human capital is associated with embeddedness in more socially endowed network types. Data from the first wave of the National Social Life, Health and Aging Project (NSHAP) were employed, focusing on the 65 years and older subsample. Multivariate logistic regressions were executed with core sociodemographic and health characteristics viewed in relation to five social network types: diverse, friend, congregant, family, and restricted networks. The analysis showed that religion, educational level, ethnicity, and gender were indeed associated with network type, to varying degrees. Age was unrelated to network type, but the interaction of disability and age was. Moreover, human capital was found to be partially correlated with social network type, mainly in the friend network. The findings substantiate that older Americans coalesce in varied social network types and that these interpersonal constellations are differentially associated with background characteristics.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)735-759
Number of pages25
JournalResearch on Aging
Volume33
Issue number6
DOIs
StatePublished - Nov 2011

Keywords

  • 65+
  • NSHAP
  • connectedness
  • human capital
  • sociodemographic characteristics

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