Lea Ellwardt

Does Loneliness Mediate the Relation between Social Support and Cognitive Functioning in Later Life

Research in gerontology has demonstrated mixed effects of social support on cognitive decline and dementia: Social support has been shown to be protective in some studies, but not in others. Moreover, little is known about the underlying mechanisms between social support and cognitive functioning. We investigate one of the possible mechanisms, and argue that subjective appraisals rather than received amounts of social support affect cognitive functioning. Loneliness is seen as an unpleasant experience that occurs when a persons network of relationships is felt to be deficient in some important way. As such, loneliness describes the extent to which someones needs are not being met and thus provides a subjective assessment of support quality. We expect that receiving instrumental and emotional support reduces loneliness, which in turn preserves cognitive functioning. Data are from the Longitudinal Aging Study Amsterdam (LASA) and include 2255 Dutch participants aged 55-85 over a period of six years. Respondents were measured every three years. Cognitive functioning was assessed with the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE), the Coding Task, and the Ravens Coloured Progressive Matrices. The analytical approach comprised latent growth mediation models. Frequent emotional support related to reduced feelings of loneliness and better cognitive functioning. Increases in emotional support also directly enhanced cognitive performance. The protective effect of emotional support was strongest amongst adults aged 65 years and older. Increase in instrumental support did not buffer cognitive decline, instead there were indications for faster decline. After ruling out the possibility of reversed causation, we conclude that emotional support relationships are a more powerful protector of cognitive decline than instrumental support relationships.

The co-evolution of gossip and friendship in workplace social networks

This study investigates the co-evolution of friendship and gossip in organizations. Two contradicting perspectives are tested. The social capital perspective predicts that friendship causes gossip between employees, defined as informal evaluative talking about absent colleagues. The evolutionary perspective reverses this causality claiming that gossiping facilitates friendship. The data comprises of three observations of a complete organizational network, allowing longitudinal social network analyses. Gossip and friendship are modeled as both explanatory and outcome networks with RSiena. Results support the evolutionary perspective in that gossip between two individuals increases the likelihood of their future friendship formation. However, individuals with disproportionately high gossip activity have fewer friends in the network, suggesting that the use of gossiping to attract friends has a limit

The mix matters: Complex personal networks relate to higher cognitive functioning in old age

Stronger engagement of older adults in social activities and greater embeddedness in networks is often argued to buffer cognitive decline and lower risks of dementia. One of the explanations is that interaction with other people trains the brain, thereby enhancing cognitive functioning. However, research on the relationship between personal networks and cognitive functioning is not yet conclusive. While previous studies have focused on the size of personal networks as a proxy of cognitive stimulation, little attention has been paid to the complexity of the personal network. Adults embedded in a broad range of network relationships (i.e., various relationship types) are likely to be exposed to a wider range of stimuli than adults embedded in a homogeneous network including similar relationship types. We expect that higher numbers of personal relationship types rather than a higher number of similar contacts relate to higher levels of cognitive functioning and slower cognitive decline. Data are from the Longitudinal Aging Study Amsterdam (LASA) and include 2959 Dutch participants aged 54 to 85 at baseline in 1992 and six follow-ups covering a time span of twenty years. Cognitive functioning is assessed with the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE), and for network complexity we use the Social Network Index. We test our expectations using fixed-effects regression models. The results reveal that a reduction in network complexity is associated with a reduction in cognitive functioning, which is neither explained by size of the network nor by presence of specific relationship types. However, enhanced complexity has only a marginal buffering effect on decline in cognitive functioning. We conclude that network characteristics and cognitive functioning are intertwined and that their association is mostly cross-sectional in nature.

Personal networks and mortality risk in older adults: A twenty-year longitudinal study

Background Research on aging has consistently demonstrated an increased chance of survival for older adults who are integrated into rich networks of social relationships. Theoretical explanations state that personal networks offer indirect psychosocial and direct physiological pathways. We investigate whether effects on and pathways to mortality risk differ between functional and structural characteristics of the personal network. The objective is to inquire which personal network characteristics are the best predictors of mortality risk after adjustment for mental, cognitive and physical health. Methods and Findings Empirical tests were carried out by combining official register information on mortality with data from the Longitudinal Aging Study Amsterdam (LASA). The sample included 2,911 Dutch respondents aged 54 to 85 at baseline in 1992 and six follow-ups covering a time span of twenty years. Four functional characteristics (emotional and social loneliness, emotional and instrumental support) and four structural characteristics (living arrangement, contact frequency, number of contacts, number of social roles) of the personal network as well as mental, cognitive and physical health were assessed at all LASA follow-ups. Statistical analyses comprised of Cox proportional hazard regression models. Findings suggest differential effects of personal network characteristics on survival, with only small gender differences. Mortality risk was initially reduced by functional characteristics, but disappeared after full adjustment for the various health variables. Mortality risk was lowest for older adults embedded in large (HR = 0.986, 95% CI 0.979—0.994) and diverse networks (HR = 0.948, 95% CI 0.917—0.981), and this effect continued to show in the fully adjusted models. Conclusions Functional characteristics (i.e. emotional and social loneliness) are indirectly associated with a reduction in mortality risk, while structural characteristics (i.e. number of contacts and number of social roles) have direct protective effects. More research is needed to understand the causal mechanisms underlying these relations.

Talking About the Boss: Effects of Generalized and Interpersonal Trust on Workplace Gossip

This study developed and tested a relational theory of positive and negative gossip about managers. It is argued that spreading information about managers depends on trust in organizations, more specifically the employees’ generalized and interpersonal trust in managers and colleagues. Hypotheses were tested by conducting two studies in a medium-sized Dutch child care organization, namely, an employee survey (N = 132) and a network study at two sites (N = 58). Multiple regressions and cross-sectional social network analysis (exponential random graph modeling [ERGM]) revealed that negative gossip about managers increases when employees have low trust, nonfriendly relationships, and infrequent contact with the managers. This effect is further enhanced when contacts between employees are trusting and frequent. Implications for theories about management and organizations are discussed.

Types of Non-kin Networks and Their Association With Survival in Late Adulthood: A Latent Class Approach

Objectives Integration into social networks is an important determinant of health and survival in late adulthood. We first identify different types of non-kin networks among older adults and second, investigate the association of these types with survival rates. Method Official register information on mortality is combined with data from the Longitudinal Aging Study Amsterdam (LASA). The sample includes 2,440 Dutch respondents aged 54-85 at baseline in 1992 and six follow-ups covering a time span of 20 years. Using latent class analysis, respondents are classified into distinct types of non-kin networks, based on differences in number and variation of non-kin relations, social support received from non-kin, and contact frequency with non-kin. Next, membership in network types is related to mortality in a Cox proportional hazard regression model. Results There are four latent types of non-kin networks that vary in network size and support. These types differ in their associations with mortality, independent of sociodemographic and health confounders. Older adults integrated into networks high in both number and variation of supportive non-kin contacts have higher chances of survival than older adults embedded in networks low in either amount or variation of support or both. Discussion A combination of structural and functional network characteristics should be taken into account when developing intervention programs aiming at increasing social integration outside the family network.