Huxhold Oliver, Fiori Katherine L, Webster Noah J, Antonucci Toni C
German Centre of Gerontology, Berlin, Germany.
Gordon F. Derner School of Psychology, Adelphi University, Garden City, New York.
J Gerontol B Psychol Sci Soc Sci. 2020 Aug 13;75(7):1433-1442. doi: 10.1093/geronb/gbaa019.
The purpose of this study was to examine dynamic links between changes in social ties and changes in emotional well-being.
Trivariate dual-change score models were used to test whether a large number of close ties would be more strongly associated with low levels of depressed affect than a large number of weaker ties, and a large number of weaker ties would be more strongly associated with high levels of positive affect compared to a large number of close ties, across three waves of a large, regionally representative sample of U.S. adults aged 40 and older (N = 802).
We found that a greater number of weaker ties was associated with having more close ties over time, and that the number of weaker ties was more strongly predictive of positive age-related changes in both aspects of well-being (i.e., more positive affect and less depressed affect) than the number of close ties.
Contrary to popular theoretical orientations in gerontology, weaker ties may offer older adults a more effective avenue for promoting emotional well-being over time than close ties, and may have the additional benefit of compensating for losses in the number of close ties.
本研究旨在探讨社会关系变化与情绪幸福感变化之间的动态联系。
使用三变量双变化得分模型，对一个具有区域代表性的、包含802名40岁及以上美国成年人的大样本进行三次随访，以检验大量紧密关系与低抑郁情绪水平的关联是否比大量较弱关系更强，以及大量较弱关系与高积极情绪水平的关联是否比大量紧密关系更强。
我们发现，随着时间的推移，大量较弱关系与更多紧密关系相关，并且较弱关系的数量比紧密关系的数量更能强烈预测幸福感两个方面与年龄相关的积极变化（即更多积极情绪和更少抑郁情绪）。
与老年学中流行的理论取向相反，随着时间的推移，较弱关系可能比紧密关系为老年人提供更有效的促进情绪幸福感的途径，并且可能具有弥补紧密关系数量损失的额外益处。
