Higher Education, Bigger Networks? Differences by Family Socioeconomic Background and Network Measures

Andersson, Matthew A.

doi:10.1177/2378023118797217

Cited by 59 publications

(10 citation statements)

References 66 publications

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“…Compared to those with a high school or less education, those with at least some college or a Bachelor’s degree or more were least likely to be in the small, restricted, high contact network compared to the large without strain network type. This corroborates previous evidence that individuals with more education have larger, and more diverse networks, partly because it expands one’s nonkin and community ties ( 70 ) .…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 90%

Multidimensional Social Network Types and Their Correlates in Older Americans

Ali

Elliott

Antonucci

et al. 2022

Innovation in Aging

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Background and Objectives Social support networks of older adults have been linked to their health and well-being; however, findings regarding the effects of specific network characteristics have been mixed. Additionally, due to demographic shifts increasing numbers of older adults live outside of traditional family structures. Previous studies have not systematically examined the resulting complexity and heterogeneity of older adults’ social networks. Our objectives were to examine this complexity and heterogeneity by developing a multidimensional typology of social networks that simultaneously considers multiple structural and functional network characteristics, and to examine differences in network type membership by sociodemographic characteristics, health characteristics, and birth cohort. Research Design and Methods Participants included 5,192 adults aged 57–85 years in the National Social Life, Health, and Aging Project at rounds 1 (2005–2006) and 3 (2015–2016). Data were collected on social relationships including network size, diversity, frequency of contact, and perceived support and strain in relationships. We used latent class analysis to derive the network typology and multinomial logistic regression to examine differences in network type membership by sociodemographic characteristics, health characteristics, and birth cohort. Results Older adults were classified into 5 distinct social network types: (i) large, with strain; (ii) large, without strain; (iii) small, diverse, low contact; (iv) small, restricted, high contact; and (v) medium size and support. Membership in these network types varied by age, gender, marital status, race/ethnicity, education, mental health, and birth cohort. Discussion and Implications Network typologies can elucidate the varied interpersonal environments of older adults and identify individuals who lack social connectedness on multiple network dimensions and are therefore at a higher risk of social isolation.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 90%

Multidimensional Social Network Types and Their Correlates in Older Americans

Ali

Elliott

Antonucci

et al. 2022

Innovation in Aging

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“…In fact, college education and income were substantially higher in areas of low incidence. This analysis focused particularly on education and income because these 2 parameters plus occupation are considered the chief components of overall SES . Indeed, some public health investigators consider education to be the best single marker of SES as it relates to health, and the difference in college education between AA hot spots and cold spots was especially large at 26% vs 56%.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Geographic Association Between Incidence of Acute Appendicitis and Socioeconomic Status

et al. 2020

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IMPORTANCE Some studies based on proportions of patients with perforated appendicitis (PA) among all patients with acute appendicitis (AA) have found an association between socioeconomic status (SES) and risk of perforation. A potential limitation is their use of proportions, which assumes that incidence of AA is evenly distributed across populations at risk. This assumption may be invalid, and SES may have a more complex association with both AA and PA. OBJECTIVE To generate population-based incidences of AA and PA and to examine geographic patterns of incidence alongside geographic patterns of SES. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS Retrospective study of data from Washington's Comprehensive Hospital Abstract Reporting System and the 2010 US census. Geographic methods were used to identify patterns of age-and sex-standardized incidence in Washington State between 2008 and 2012. The study included all patients discharged with International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision codes for AA or PA. Data were analyzed between November 2016 and December 2018. EXPOSURES Location of primary residence.MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES Age-and sex-standardized incidence for AA and PA was generated for each census tract (CT). Global spatial autocorrelation was examined using Moran index (0.0 = completely random incidence; 1.0 = fully dependent on location). Clusters of low-incidence CTs (cold spots) and high-incidence CTs (hot spots) were identified for AA. Census-based SES data were aggregated for hot spots and cold spots and then compared.RESULTS Statewide, over the 5-year study period, there were 35 730 patients with AA (including 9780 cases of PA), of whom 16 574 were women (46.4%). Median age of the cohort was 29 years (IQR, 16-48 years). Statewide incidence of AA and PA was 106 and 29 per 100 000 person-years (PY), respectively. Crude incidence was higher within the male population and peaked at age 10 to 19 years. Age-and sex-standardized incidence of AA demonstrated significant positive spatial autocorrelation (Moran index, 0.30; P < .001), but autocorrelation for PA was only half as strong (0.16; P < .001). Median incidence of AA was 118.1 per 100 000 PY among hot spots vs 86.2 per 100 000 PY among cold spots (P < .001). Socioeconomic status was higher in cold spots vs hot spots: mean proportion of college-educated adults was 56% vs 26% (P < .001), and mean per capita income was $44 691 vs $30 027 (P < .001).CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE Age-and sex-standardized incidence of appendicitis is not randomly distributed across geographic subunits, and geographic clustering of AA is twice as strong as PA. Socioeconomic advantages, such as higher income and secondary education, are strongly associated with lower incidence of AA. These findings challenge conventional views that AA occurs randomly and has no predisposing characteristics beyond age/sex. Socioeconomic status, and likely other geographically circumscribed factors, are associated with incidence of AA.

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“…An older adult sample introduces questions about sample generalizability and selection, which is characteristic of research focusing on the later part of the life course. Earlier experiences and exposures in older adults' lives, such as childhood adversity, that are unmeasured in our study may contribute to both older adults' health and patterns in social accompaniment (e.g., Andersson 2018;Haas 2007;Hayward and Gorman 2004). Survival bias draws attention to the fact that an older adult sample necessarily is limited to respondents who survived to ages 65 and older, and who may have therefore experienced greater advantages (health and otherwise).…”

Section: The Present Studymentioning

confidence: 98%

Stand by Me: Social Ties and Health in Real Time

Goldman

Cornwell

2023

Socius: Sociological Research for a Dynamic World

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Sociological research has documented myriad associations between individuals’ overall social connectedness and health but rarely considers the shorter-term dynamics of social life that may underlie these associations. The authors examine how being with others (“social accompaniment”) is associated with momentary experiences of symptoms, drawing smartphone-based ecological momentary assessments ( n = 12,760) collected from 342 older adults from the Chicago Health and Activity Space in Real-Time study. The authors find that patterns of social accompaniment are distinct from global measures of social integration such as network size. Older adults who are in the company of friends or neighbors are significantly less likely to experience momentary fatigue and stress, even after accounting for global measures of social integration. These results suggest that social accompaniment has unique implications for short-term health outcomes. New theoretical perspectives and empirical analyses are needed to better understand the dynamic nature of everyday social accompaniment and its longer-term implications for well-being.

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Higher Education, Bigger Networks? Differences by Family Socioeconomic Background and Network Measures

Cited by 59 publications

References 66 publications

Multidimensional Social Network Types and Their Correlates in Older Americans

Multidimensional Social Network Types and Their Correlates in Older Americans

Geographic Association Between Incidence of Acute Appendicitis and Socioeconomic Status

Stand by Me: Social Ties and Health in Real Time

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