Stable but Not Static: Re-organization of Enduring Ties in Older Adults’ Personal Networks

• In Event: Social Connections and Health

Abstract

Personal network change and instability are closely associated with both physical and mental health (Cornwell et al. 2014; Eng et al. 2002; Thomas 2012), making them a core area of concern for research on aging. Two empirical regularities coexist in the current literature on aging and personal networks. First, the overall structure and size of core networks often appear relatively stable (Carstensen 2021; English and Carstensen 2014). Second, older adults’ core networks show substantial churn (Cornwell, Goldman, and Laumann 2020; Cornwell, Laumann, and Schumm 2008). What remains underdeveloped, however, is the re-organization of enduring ties within personal networks. The extent to which this form of instability is prevalent, its correlates, and its impacts remain largely unstudied. And yet, network re-organization is likely to emerge in distinct circumstances and produce distinct outcomes. To answer these questions, I leverage data from the Social Networks in Alzheimer's Disease Study (SNAD), a longitudinal study of older adults’ personal networks. I distinguish between two sets of ties—core and peripheral—and track newly formed and dropped connections (instability due to churn), in addition to relationships that move between core and periphery (instability due to re-organization). Descriptive results show that, among 5,818 enduring contacts, 23% are re-organized between core and periphery. Preliminary results using mixed-effects multinomial models indicate that significant life events (e.g., widowhood, Alzheimer’s diagnosis) are associated with either churn or re-organization, suggesting different adaptive mechanisms. This research extends conceptualizations of personal network change and aging to include an understudied source of instability.

Authors

• Gabriel Varela, Duke University

• Brea Louise Perry, Indiana University-Bloomington