Educational gradients in older adults' personal network size, diversity and social support
A widening gap between haves and have nots across birth cohorts
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 11200903 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Bianca Suanet (0000-0002-5289-3176, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2024 |
| Volume | 44 |
| Issue | 5 |
| Pages | 1051-1072 |
| Publication date | 2024-05-01 |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Ageing and Society (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0144-686X • E-ISSN: 1469-1779 |
| Publisher | Cambridge University Press (CUP) (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.1017/s0144686x22000654 |
| OpenAlex | W4285799309 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 1 |
| References cited | 29 |
Societal change related to individualisation has likely made individual resources more important for the maintenance of social ties. This raises the question whether lower-educated adults are more disadvantaged in later-born cohorts in personal network structure and function. Observations are from 4,886 individuals aged 55 and over from the Longitudinal Aging Study Amsterdam (LASA), who are followed over a timespan of a maximum of 24 years between 1992 and 2016. Multi-level regression models are estimated to determine cohort differences. Network size is larger in later-born cohorts, and more so for the higher-educated than for the lower-educated adults. Network diversity increases across birth cohorts irrespective of educational level. Lower- and higher-educated women, and lower-educated men give more instrumental support in later-born cohorts, whereas higher-educated men do not show such a steep increase. More emotional and instrumental support is also received in later-born cohorts irrespective of educational level, but higher-educated adults receive more emotional support in all birth cohorts. Thus, lower-educated older adults are not necessarily worse off socially in later-born cohorts. Instead, they are even more likely to be active givers of support. Also, most of the gains in personal networks of older adults in later-born cohorts are independent of educational level, suggesting that the social landscape for older adults today is much richer
Cohort · Developmental psychology · Disadvantaged · Diversity (politics) · Educational attainment · Social network (sociolinguistics) · Social support · Sociology · Demography · Health disparities and outcomes · Intergenerational Family Dynamics and Caregiving · Medicine · Psychology · Social Psychology · Youth Education and Societal Dynamics · Gerontology
Active and Successful Aging
Social Ties and Susceptibility to the Common Cold
Cohort Profile
Social class, solipsism, and contextualism
Social Network Type and Subjective Well-being in a National Sample of Older Americans
“Mini-mental state”
Studies of Illness in the Aged
Building a Network Theory of Social Capital
Individualization
Flexibility, friendship, and family
Personal relationships in late modernity
Cohort Differences in Received Social Support in Later Life
Losing and Gaining in Old Age
Nonkin in Older Adults' Personal Networks
Social Network Types Among Older Adults
Social Network Types and Subjective Well-being in Chinese Older Adults
Social Networks Among Men and Women
Social Disadvantage and Network Turnover
Network size and support in old age
Wellbeing depends on social relationship characteristics
The socioeconomic status of older adults
Education and Physical Health Trajectories in Later Life
Beyond homophily
Balance in social support exchange and discontinuation of young-old's personal relationships in three birth cohorts
The Structure of Coping
The Gender Revolution
| Citations per year | 1 |
|---|---|
| Citation span | 2025 - 2025 (1) |
| Highly cited | No |