Department of Sociology, Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana, USA.
Indiana University Network Science Institute, Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana, USA.
Biodemography Soc Biol. 2022 Jan-Mar;67(1):84-97. doi: 10.1080/19485565.2022.2052711. Epub 2022 Mar 21.
A large literature highlights the link between cognitive function and social networks in later life. Yet there remains uncertainty about the factors driving this relationship. In the present study, we use measures of subjective cognitive decline and clinical cognitive assessments on a sample of older adults to investigate whether the relationship between cognitive function and social networks is driven by psychosocial factors. We found a consistent link between clinical cognitive assessments and social network type, but no association between subjective concerns of cognitive decline and networks. Participants who exhibited signs of clinical cognitive impairment were more likely to have restricted networks (i.e., smaller networks consisting of fewer contacts, more interconnectivity, and less social diversity) compared to their cognitively normal counterparts, regardless of subjective measures of cognitive decline - both from the participant's perspective and study partner's perspective. These findings suggest that neither cognitively impaired older adults nor their network members appear to consciously dissolve social ties on the basis of perceived cognitive decline. However, it remains unclear whether the association between clinical cognitive impairment and social network type indicates the protective nature of social networks against cognitive decline or a subconscious process leading to social contraction.
大量文献强调了认知功能与晚年社会网络之间的联系。然而，对于推动这种关系的因素仍存在不确定性。在本研究中，我们使用老年人样本中的主观认知下降和临床认知评估来研究认知功能与社会网络之间的关系是否由心理社会因素驱动。我们发现临床认知评估与社会网络类型之间存在一致的联系，但主观认知下降与网络之间没有关联。与认知正常的同龄人相比，表现出临床认知障碍迹象的参与者更有可能拥有受限的网络（即网络规模较小，由较少的联系人组成，相互连接性更强，社会多样性更少），无论其认知下降的主观测量如何 - 无论是从参与者的角度还是从研究伙伴的角度来看。这些发现表明，认知受损的老年人及其网络成员似乎都不会基于感知到的认知下降有意识地解散社交关系。然而，临床认知障碍与社会网络类型之间的关联是否表明社会网络对认知下降具有保护性质，还是导致社交收缩的潜意识过程，目前尚不清楚。
