T. Vantilburg, LOSING AND GAINING IN OLD-AGE - CHANGES IN PERSONAL NETWORK SIZE AND SOCIAL SUPPORT IN A 4-YEAR LONGITUDINAL-STUDY, The journals of gerontology. Series B, Psychological sciences and social sciences, 53(6), 1998, pp. 313-323
Objectives. Previous studies have shown that most older people have a
significant number of relationships. However, the question of whether
the aging of old people produces losses in their personal networks rem
ains open for discussion. This study models the individual variability
of the changes affecting multiple personal network characteristics. M
ethods. Personal interviews were conducted with 2,903 older Dutch adul
ts (aged 55-85) in three waves of a four-year longitudinal study. Resu
lts. A stable total network size was observed, with an increasing numb
er of close relatives and a decreasing number of friends. Contact freq
uency decreased in relationships, and the instrumental support receive
d and emotional support given increased. Age moderated the effect of t
ime for some of the network characteristics, and for many of them, eff
ects of regression towards the mean were detected. Furthermore, major
variations in the direction and the speed of the changes were detected
among individual respondents, and nonlinear trends were observed. Dis
cussion. The widely varying patterns of losses and gains among the res
pondents squares with the focus on the heterogeneity of developments a
mong aging people. The instability of the network composition might re
flect the natural circulation in the membership of networks.