Selective narrowing of social networks across adulthood is associated with improved emotional experience in daily life

Abstract

Past research has documented age differences in the size and composition of social networks that suggest that networks grow smaller with age and include an increasingly greater proportion of well-known social partners. According to socioemotional selectivity theory, such changes in social network composition serve an antecedent emotion regulatory function that supports an age-related increase in the priority that people place on emotional well-being. The present study employed a longitudinal design with a sample that spanned the full adult age range to examine whether there is evidence of within-individual (developmental) change in social networks and whether the characteristics of relationships predict emotional experiences in daily life. Using growth curve analyses, social networks were found to increase in size in young adulthood and then decline steadily throughout later life. As postulated by socioemotional selectivity theory, reductions were observed primarily in the number of peripheral partners; the number of close partners was relatively stable over time. In addition, cross-sectional analyses revealed that older adults reported that social network members elicited less negative emotion and more positive emotion. The emotional tone of social networks, particularly when negative emotions were associated with network members, also predicted experienced emotion of participants. Overall, findings were robust after taking into account demographic variables and physical health. The implications of these findings are discussed in the context of socioemotional selectivity theory and related theoretical models.

Emotions and Aging

“…A recent longitudinal analysis of social network change over time supports this claim. The reduction in network size appears to be driven by reductions in acquaintances while the inner circle of close family and friends is retained and concomitant improvements in daily emotional experience accompany these selective reductions (English and Carstensen, 2014b).…”

Så kommer det et lite pling … Internett og sosiale mediers betydning for eldres hverdagsliv [Then there's a little pling ... The significance of the Internet and social media for older adult's everyday lives]

“…Dette samsvarer med funn fra tidligere forskning (Lüders & Brandtzaeg, 2016;English & Carstensen, 2014;Lindley m.fl ., 2008). Mine intervjupersoner bruker gjerne ord som "uinteressant", "småtteri" og "platt" om aktiviteten en fi nner på sosiale medier.…”

“…Ikke-brukere foretrekker gjerne å pleie det de oppfatter som naere sosiale relasjoner ansikt-til-ansikt, til fordel for det de mener er en mer selvsentrert, overfl adisk og uviktig aktivitet på sosiale medier (English & Carstensen, 2014;Lindley m.fl ., 2008). Ofte tenker de at de er 'for gamle' til å kunne beherske moderne teknologi (Turner m.fl ., 2007) og uttrykker en generell skepsis overfor personvern og sikkerhet på nett (Lüders & Brandtzaeg, 2014).…”

Når alt sosialt blir flyktig - En kvalitativ studie av hvordan eldre opplever sosiale medier

“…Tidligere forskning viser at eldre vektlegger betydningen av de naere sosiale relasjonene (English & Carstensen, 2014;Lindley m.fl., 2008). Sosioemosjonell selektivitetsteori beskriver en endret motivasjon hos mennesker de siste leveårene, hvor meningsfulle og naere sosiale relasjoner oppleves viktigere (Carstensen m.fl., 2003).…”