Changes in structure and function of social networks of independently living middle-aged and older adults in diverse sociodemographic subgroups during the COVID-19 pandemic: a longitudinal study

BMC Public Health

Research

Nanne de Vries¹  Rik Crutzen¹  Mandy MN Stijnen²  Nicole HTM Dukers-Muijrers³  Stephanie Brinkhues⁴  Lisanne CJ Steijvers⁵  Christian JPA Hoebe⁶  Theo G van Tilburg⁷ 

[1] Department of Health Promotion, Care and Public Health Research Institute (CAPHRI), Maastricht University, Maastricht, the Netherlands;Department of Knowledge and Innovation, Public Health Service South Limburg, Heerlen, the Netherlands;Department of Health Services Research, Care and Public Health Research Institute (CAPHRI), Maastricht University, Maastricht, the Netherlands;Department of Sexual Health, Infectious Diseases, and Environmental Health, Public Health Service South Limburg, Heerlen, the Netherlands;Department of Health Promotion, Care and Public Health Research Institute (CAPHRI), Maastricht University, Maastricht, the Netherlands;Department of Social Medicine, Care and Public Health Research Institute (CAPHRI), Maastricht University, Maastricht, the Netherlands;Department of Knowledge and Innovation, Public Health Service South Limburg, Heerlen, the Netherlands;Department of Social Medicine, Care and Public Health Research Institute (CAPHRI), Maastricht University, Maastricht, the Netherlands;Department of Sexual Health, Infectious Diseases, and Environmental Health, Public Health Service South Limburg, Heerlen, the Netherlands;Department of Social Medicine, Care and Public Health Research Institute (CAPHRI), Maastricht University, Maastricht, the Netherlands;Department of Sexual Health, Infectious Diseases, and Environmental Health, Public Health Service South Limburg, Heerlen, the Netherlands;Department of Medical Microbiology, Care and Public Health Research Institute (CAPHRI), Maastricht University Medical Center (MUMC+), Maastricht, the Netherlands;Department of Sociology, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam, the Netherlands;

关键词: Social networks;    Network size;    Social support;    Sociodemographic subgroups;   

DOI  :  10.1186/s12889-022-14500-2

 received in 2022-07-01, accepted in 2022-10-31,  发布年份 2022

来源: Springer

【 摘 要 】

BackgroundSocial networks, i.e., all social relationships that people have, contribute to well-being and health. Governmental measures against COVID-19 were explicitly aimed to decrease physical social contact. We evaluated ego-centric social network structure and function, and changes therein, among various sociodemographic subgroups before and during the COVID-19 pandemic.MethodsIndependently living Dutch adults aged 40 years and older participating in the SaNAE longitudinal cohort study filled in online questionnaires in 2019 and 2020. Changes in network size (network structure) and social supporters (network function) were assessed. Associations with risk for changes (versus stable) were assessed for sociodemographic subgroups (sex, age, educational level, and urbanization level) using multivariable regression analyses, adjusted for confounders.ResultsOf 3,344 respondents 55% were men with a mean age of 65 years (age range 41–95 in 2020). In all assessed sociodemographic subgroups, decreases were observed in mean network size (total population: 11.4 to 9.8), the number of emotional supporters (7.2 to 6.1), and practical supporters (2.2 to 1.8), and an increase in the number of informational supporters (4.1 to 4.7). In all subgroups, the networks changed to being more family oriented. Some individuals increased their network size or number of supporters; they were more often women, higher-educated, or living in rural areas.ConclusionThe COVID-19 pandemic impacted social networks of people aged 40 years and older, as they increased informational support and reduced the number of their social relationships, mainly in terms of emotional and practical supporters. Notably, some individuals did not show such unfavorable trends and managed to reorganize their networks to attribute social support roles more centrally.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© The Author(s) 2022

【 图 表 】

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