School of Public Health, University of Nevada, Reno, Reno, Nevada, USA.
Department of Sociology, Baylor University, Waco, Texas, USA.
J Gerontol B Psychol Sci Soc Sci. 2023 Nov 14;78(11):1917-1926. doi: 10.1093/geronb/gbad124.
Research among older adults reveals that the loss of core network members is a risk factor for loneliness. Still, it is not clear whether all such losses induce similar levels of loneliness, particularly as network members are distributed at varied geographic distances. Neither is it clear whether tie addition-the other ubiquitous aspect of network turnover in later life-offsets the loneliness that arises from different network loss scenarios.
This paper scrutinized core network losses across multiple relationship-distance scenarios. We used the fourth and sixth waves of data from the Survey of Health, Ageing, and Retirement in Europe and estimated fixed-effect models.
The loss of a child from a core network increases feelings of loneliness across variant distances, especially when not complemented by additional connections. Losing relatives or nonkin core connections in proximity (within 1 km and 5 km radius, respectively) is also associated with increased loneliness, yet such effects are also largely mitigated by the addition of new core network members.
The relationship between core network member losses and loneliness can significantly differ based on the nature of the lost connection and its geographic distance. Active rebalancing of one's core network following losses and proactive network expansion can serve as pivotal strategies to prevent loneliness for the aging population.
老年人的研究表明，核心网络成员的丧失是孤独的一个风险因素。然而，目前尚不清楚所有这些损失是否都会引起类似程度的孤独感，特别是因为网络成员分布在不同的地理距离。目前也不清楚关系纽带的增加（晚年网络更替的另一个普遍方面）是否可以抵消因不同网络损失情况而产生的孤独感。
本文考察了跨多种关系距离场景的核心网络损失。我们使用了欧洲健康、老龄化和退休调查的第四和第六波数据，并估计了固定效应模型。
从核心网络中失去一个孩子会增加不同距离的孤独感，尤其是在没有额外联系的情况下。在近距离（分别在 1 公里和 5 公里半径内）失去亲属或非亲属核心关系也与孤独感增加有关，但通过增加新的核心网络成员，这些影响也在很大程度上得到缓解。
核心网络成员损失与孤独感之间的关系可能会因失去的联系的性质及其地理距离而显著不同。在失去后积极调整核心网络，并主动扩展网络，可以作为防止老龄化人口孤独的关键策略。
