PERSPECTIVES ON SOCIOEMOTIONAL SELECTIVITY IN LATE-LIFE - HOW PERSONALITY AND SOCIAL-CONTEXT DO (AND DO NOT) MAKE A DIFFERENCE

This research extends earlier cross-sectional findings suggesting that although social network sizes were smaller in very old age as compare d to old age, the number of emotionally close relationships in the net work did not distinguish age groups. In a representative sample of com munity dwelling and institutionalized adults, aged 70 to 104 gears, Iv e explored whether such indication of socioemotional selectivity was r elated to personality characteristics and family status. Extraversion, Openness to Experience, and Neuroticism as assessed by the NEO-PI wer e related to overall network size but unrelated to the average emotion al closeness of social partners in the network (i.e., our indicator of socioemotional selectivity). Family status, in contrast, was related to average emotional closeness to network members. Moreover, family st atus moderates the relationship between average emotional closeness to network members and feelings of social embeddedness. Findings suggest a stronger influence of contextual rather than personality factors on social functioning in late life.