Social ties and psychological well-being in late life: the mediating role of relationship satisfaction

Abstract

Objective: The current paper examines whether quantitative aspects of social support (i.e., support network characteristics) indirectly influence psychological well-being via older adults' qualitative perceptions of support (i.e., satisfaction with social relationships).

Methods: A sample of 416 adults aged ≥60 was drawn from the Social Integration and Aging Study, a community-based survey conducted in a small US (Midwestern) city. The survey assessed social networks, social support, and physical and mental health among older adults.

Results: Bootstrapping was used to examine mediation models. Greater support network size predicted lower perceived stress, fewer depressive symptoms, and better life satisfaction, yet this association was fully mediated by relationship satisfaction. For support network composition, greater proportion kin was associated with lower stress and better life satisfaction, though not depressive symptoms, however, relationship satisfaction did not mediate this link.

Discussion: Findings highlight the complex interplay of support network characteristics and satisfaction, and suggest the greater import of support satisfaction for older adults' psychological well-being.

Keywords:

• support networks
• support satisfaction
• depressive symptoms
• life satisfaction
• stress

Acknowledgements

The author wishes to thank research assistants Samjhana Rajbhandari, Jennifer Wenner, and Sara Raap for their hard work in collecting these data; two anonymous reviewers and editor Steven Zarit for their insightful feedback on previous drafts of this manuscript; and, the senior participants who generously shared their experiences with us.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.