scholarly journals An Evaluation of Social Bridging and Bonding Mechanisms in the Association of Social Networks and Cognitive Function

2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 574-574
Author(s):  
Brea Perry ◽  
Siyun Peng ◽  
Adam Roth ◽  
Max Coleman ◽  
Hope Sheean
Keyword(s):  
Social Networks ◽  
Cognitive Function ◽  
Verbal Memory ◽  
Cognitive Aging ◽  
Social Connectedness ◽  
Population Level ◽  
Social Bonding ◽  
Network Size ◽  
Depression Symptoms ◽  
The Social

Abstract Background and Objectives Substantial evidence links social connectedness prospectively to cognitive aging outcomes, but there is little agreement about the social processes or mechanisms that drive this relationship. This study evaluated nine measures of social connectedness, focusing on two distinct forms of social enrichment – access to an expansive and diverse set of loosely connected individuals (i.e., social bridging) and integration in a supportive network of close ties (i.e., social bonding). Research Design and Methods This study used egocentric social network and clinical cognitive data from 311 older adults in the first wave of the Social Networks in Alzheimer Disease (SNAD) study. Linear regressions adjusting for gender, age, education, and depression symptoms were used to estimate the association between nine measures of social connectedness and global cognitive function, verbal memory, and attention. Results Measures indicative of social bridging (larger network size, lower density, presence of weak ties, and proportion non-kin) were consistently associated with better cognitive outcomes, while measures of social bonding largely produced null effects. Discussion and Implications: These findings suggest that the protective benefits of social connectedness for cognitive function and memory may operate primarily through a cognitive reserve mechanism that is driven by irregular contact with a larger and more diverse group of peripheral others. Population-level interventions that promote the cultivation of social bridging relationships and activities may have benefits for cognition later in life.

scholarly journals Effects of Participation in Social Activities on Cognitive Function Among Middle-Aged and Older Adults in Korea

2018 ◽  
Vol 15 (10) ◽  
pp. 2315 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jongnam Hwang ◽  
Sangmin Park ◽  
Sujin Kim
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Cognitive Function ◽  
Cognitive Decline ◽  
Social Connectedness ◽  
Social Activity ◽  
Later Life ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Social Activities ◽  
The Social ◽  
Gender Groups

Cognitive function is a critical health issue in later life, the decline of which disrupts well-being and daily life function. Cognitive decline in older ages can also be understood in the context of the social environment such as social connectedness and engagement in personal life. This study aimed to examine: (1) whether participation in social activities contributes to preventing cognitive decline, and (2) what type of social activities are beneficial to maintaining cognitive function. Data from the Korean Longitudinal Study of Aging (KLOSA) 2006–2014, a longitudinal survey of the household-dwelling population aged 45 and older in Korea were used. The results revealed that Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) scores decreased with increasing age, at a rate of approximately 0.18 units across all age-gender groups, and the decrease was steeper for adults aged 65 and over. Participation in social gatherings was likely to delay the decline in cognitive function after the age of 65. In a gender-stratified model, social activity may not have an impact on the decline of cognitive function for men, whereas participation in social gatherings was negatively related to the decline of MMSE scores in women. This study suggests the need for a gender-stratified policy for preventing the decline of cognitive function while promoting engagement in social activities in Korean older adults.

scholarly journals The Social Networks and Social Support of Siblings of Children with Cancer

Children ◽  
2022 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 113
Author(s):  
Sarah E. Wawrzynski ◽  
Melissa A. Alderfer ◽  
Whitney Kvistad ◽  
Lauri Linder ◽  
Maija Reblin ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Social Networks ◽  
Network Size ◽  
Support Networks ◽  
Support Network ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Children With Cancer ◽  
Network Characteristics ◽  
The Social ◽  
Need Support ◽  
Sources Of Support

Siblings of children with cancer need support to ameliorate the challenges they encounter; however, little is known about what types and sources of support exist for siblings. This study addresses this gap in our understanding of the social networks and sources of support for adolescents with a brother or sister who has cancer. Additionally, we describe how the support siblings receive addresses what they feel are the hardest aspects of being a sibling of a child with cancer. During semi-structured interviews, siblings (ages 12–17) constructed ecomaps describing their support networks. Data were coded for support type (emotional, instrumental, informational, validation, companionship) and support provider (e.g., mother, teacher, friend). Network characteristics and patterns of support were explored. Support network size ranged from 3 to 10 individuals (M = 6 ± 1.9); siblings most frequently reported mothers as sources of support (n = 22, 91.7%), followed by fathers (n = 19, 79.2%), close friends (n = 19, 79.2%) and siblings (with or without cancer) (n = 17, 70.8%). Friends and brothers or sisters most often provided validation and companionship while instrumental and informational supports came from parents. This study provides foundational knowledge about siblings’ support networks, which can be utilized to design interventions that improve support for siblings of children with cancer.

scholarly journals Cultural selection shapes network structure

2019 ◽  
Vol 5 (8) ◽  
pp. eaaw0609 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marco Smolla ◽  
Erol Akçay
Keyword(s):  
Social Networks ◽  
Network Structure ◽  
Cultural Evolution ◽  
Level Structure ◽  
Population Level ◽  
Trade Off ◽  
Skill Sets ◽  
Individual Level ◽  
Dense Networks ◽  
The Social

Cultural evolution relies on the social transmission of cultural traits along a population’s social network. Research indicates that network structure affects information spread and thus the capacity for cumulative culture. However, how network structure itself is driven by population-culture co-evolution remains largely unclear. We use a simple model to investigate how populations negotiate the trade-off between acquiring new skills and getting better at existing skills and how this trade-off shapes social networks. We find unexpected eco-evolutionary feedbacks from culture onto social networks and vice versa. We show that selecting for skill generalists results in sparse networks with diverse skill sets, whereas selecting for skill specialists results in dense networks and a population that specializes on the same few skills on which everyone is an expert. Our model advances our understanding of the complex feedbacks in cultural evolution and demonstrates how individual-level behavior can lead to the emergence of population-level structure.

scholarly journals Associations Between Social Support, Social Networks, and Financial Exploitation in Older Adults

2016 ◽  
Vol 37 (8) ◽  
pp. 990-1011 ◽  
Author(s):  
Scott R. Beach ◽  
Richard Schulz ◽  
Rodlescia Sneed
Keyword(s):  
Social Support ◽  
Older Adults ◽  
Social Networks ◽  
Social Network ◽  
Perceived Social Support ◽  
Population Based ◽  
Network Size ◽  
Social Network Size ◽  
Financial Exploitation ◽  
The Social

Social support and social networks are important correlates of elder mistreatment. This study tests hypothesized associations between perceived social support, social network size, and financial exploitation (FE). A population-based survey of 903 older adults (60+) in Allegheny County (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania) found that lower perceived social support and larger social networks were simultaneously associated with higher risk for FE since age 60, controlling for known risk factors. The same associations were found for FE in the last 6 months. Older adults with larger social networks combined with lower perceived social support were most likely to report FE. When it comes to the role of social relationships and risk for FE, “more may not always be better.” Encouragement to widen the social network by “making new friends” should be stressed less than making sure these new network members will truly be supportive of the older adult.

scholarly journals When the Old Becomes the New: How COVID-19 Changed Potentially Creative Action on Facebook

2020 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 346-372
Author(s):  
Asdrúbal Borges Formiga Sobrinho
Keyword(s):  
Social Networks ◽  
Social Isolation ◽  
Social Bonding ◽  
Small Sample ◽  
The Social ◽  
New Meanings ◽  
Personal Experiences ◽  
Human Emotions ◽  
Cultural Features

Abstract Psychology usually treats the creative act as both novel and adapted, a definition that can embrace the social and the cultural features of creativity. Allied to the need for social bonding and the promise of self-realization, available technological resources have enabled valuable social networks. However, social isolation caused by the COVID-19 crisis has reduced outdoor and collective personal experiences usually shared on Facebook, encouraging some users to re-publish past events. Considering that posting is potentially a creative act, hence both new and adapted, may this action now equally become old and adapted? To illustrate the question, a set of 293 posts made by twelve Brazilians with mean age of 49.7 years (SD 7.34) were collected from May 25th to June 8th, 51 of them being re-posts. The authors were inter-viewed about their use of Facebook, relation to others, and first re-posts published in the period. Thematic dialogical analysis was applied to the content of the interviews and led to finding new meanings about old posts. Despite a small sample (n = 12) and the fact that 56.1% of Facebook users in Brazil are under 35 years old, the analysis of the phenomenon can shed new light on problematization of the notion of creativity by reflecting on its role in regulation of human emotions during the COVID-19 crisis, through the action of posting legacy experience on Facebook.

scholarly journals Social networks and cognitive function in older adults: findings from the HAPIEE study

2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Yifan Nie ◽  
Marcus Richards ◽  
Ruzena Kubinova ◽  
Anastasiya Titarenko ◽  
Sofia Malyutina ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Social Networks ◽  
Cognitive Function ◽  
Social Activity ◽  
Network Size ◽  
Activity Participation ◽  
Social Activities ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Global Cognitive Function ◽  
Contact Frequency

Abstract Background Social networks are associated with better cognitive health in older people, but the role of specific aspects of the social network remains unclear. This is especially the case in Central and Eastern Europe. This study examined associations between three aspects of the social network (network size of friends and relatives, contact frequency with friends and relatives, and social activity participation) with cognitive functions (verbal memory, learning ability, verbal fluency, processing speed, and global cognitive function) in older Czech, Polish, and Russian adults. Methods Linear regression estimated associations between baseline social networks and cognitive domains measured at both baseline and follow-up (mean duration of follow-up, 3.5 ± 0.7 years) in 6691 participants (mean age, 62.2 ± 6.0 years; 53.7% women) from the Health, Alcohol and Psychosocial factors In Eastern Europe (HAPIEE) study. Results Cross-sectional analyses, adjusted for country, age, and sex, showed positive associations of global cognitive function with social activity participation and network size of friends and relatives, but not with contact frequency in either network. Further adjustment for sociodemographic, behavioural, and health characteristics attenuated the associations with network size of relatives (P-trend = 0.074) but not with network size of friends (P-trend = 0.036) or social activities (P-trend< 0.001). In prospective analyses, network size and social activity participation were also linked with better cognition in simple models, but the associations were much stronger for social activities (P-trend< 0.001) than for network size of friends (P-trend = 0.095) and relatives (P-trend = 0.425). Adjustment for baseline cognition largely explained the prospective associations with network size of friends (P-trend = 0.787) and relatives (P-trend = 0.815), but it only slightly attenuated the association with social activities (P-trend< 0.001). The prospective effect of social activities was largely explained by sociodemographic, health behavioural, and health covariates (P-trend = 0.233). Analyses of specific cognitive domains generally replicated the cross-sectional and prospective findings for global cognitive function. Conclusions Older Central and Eastern European adults with larger social networks and greater social activities participation had better cognitive function, but these associations were stronger at baseline than over the short-term follow-up.

The Impact of Social Networks on EITC Claiming Behavior

2020 ◽  
pp. 1-45 ◽  
Author(s):  
Riley Wilson
Keyword(s):  
Social Networks ◽  
Income Tax ◽  
Social Connectedness ◽  
State Level ◽  
Behavior Changes ◽  
County Level ◽  
Earned Income ◽  
Self Employment ◽  
The Social ◽  
The Impact

Using the Social Connectedness Index (Bailey et al., 2018b) to capture county-to-county Facebook linkages, I explore how county-level Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) claiming behavior changes when the county's out-of-state social network is exposed to a newly implemented state EITC. Having more out-of-state friends face a state EITC shifts the composition of EITC claims toward more self-employment claiming. EITC claiming households' income distribution also shifts, moving away from the EITC region with smaller credits, towards income levels that generate the largest EITC. This mimics the direct impacts of state-level EITC policies, consistent with social networks increasing information or salience about EITC policy.

scholarly journals Social brain volume is associated with in-degree social network size among older adults

2018 ◽  
Vol 285 (1871) ◽  
pp. 20172708 ◽  
Author(s):  
Seyul Kwak ◽  
Won-tak Joo ◽  
Yoosik Youm ◽  
Jeanyung Chey
Keyword(s):  
Social Network ◽  
Social Connectedness ◽  
Brain Volume ◽  
Brain Regions ◽  
Network Size ◽  
Global Network ◽  
Social Brain ◽  
Social Network Size ◽  
The Social ◽  
Brain Correlates

The social brain hypothesis proposes that large neocortex size evolved to support cognitively demanding social interactions. Accordingly, previous studies have observed that larger orbitofrontal and amygdala structures predict the size of an individual's social network. However, it remains uncertain how an individual's social connectedness reported by other people is associated with the social brain volume. In this study, we found that a greater in-degree network size, a measure of social ties identified by a subject's social connections rather than by the subject, significantly correlated with a larger regional volume of the orbitofrontal cortex, dorsomedial prefrontal cortex and lingual gyrus. By contrast, out-degree size, which is based on an individual's self-perceived connectedness, showed no associations. Meta-analytic reverse inference further revealed that regional volume pattern of in-degree size was specifically involved in social inference ability. These findings were possible because our dataset contained the social networks of an entire village, i.e. a global network. The results suggest that the in-degree aspect of social network size not only confirms the previously reported brain correlates of the social network but also shows an association in brain regions involved in the ability to infer other people's minds. This study provides insight into understanding how the social brain is uniquely associated with sociocentric measures derived from a global network.

scholarly journals Inequality, Social Networks, and Internet Use: Exploring the Implications of the Social Diversification Hypothesis

2020 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 1-19
Author(s):  
Eric Tsetsi ◽  
Stephen A. Rains
Keyword(s):  
Social Networks ◽  
Internet Use ◽  
Social Resources ◽  
Network Size ◽  
Disadvantaged Groups ◽  
Internet Users ◽  
The Social ◽  
Nationally Representative ◽  
Diversification Hypothesis ◽  
The Relationship

The social diversification hypothesis (SDH) suggests that in multicultural societies Internet use can help mitigate structural inequalities in access to social resources. Whereas traditionally disadvantaged groups are predicted to use the Internet to expand and diversify their social networks, advantaged groups use it to maintain existing connections. The present study investigates this central prediction of the SDH by examining the relationship between Internet and social network site (SNS) use and inequalities in network size and diversity based on race, sex, and education among a nationally representative sample of U.S. adults. The results largely contradict the SDH. Internet and SNS use were associated with greater networked-based inequalities stemming from education. The relationships between education and indicators of network size and diversity were stronger among Internet users than non-users and stronger among SNSs users than Internet-only users. Network inequalities directly related to race, sex, and education were also explored.

scholarly journals The Association Between Social Resources and Depressive Symptoms Among Chinese Migrants and Non-Migrants Living in Guangzhou, China

2015 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 120-129 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chan Kit Hoi ◽  
Wen Chen ◽  
Fangjing Zhou ◽  
Kalon Sou ◽  
Brian J. Hall
Keyword(s):  
Social Network ◽  
Rating Scale ◽  
Mainland China ◽  
Population Level ◽  
Social Resources ◽  
Network Size ◽  
Depression Symptoms ◽  
Internal Migrant ◽  
Social Network Size ◽  
Patient Health

Background: Depression is a commonly studied mental disorder affecting Chinese internal (i.e., rural-to-urban) migrants. Social resources effectively reduce depression for many communities experiencing adversities. This study evaluated social-level risk factors for depression between internal migrant and non-migrant Chinese living in mainland China. Method: We conducted a random population-level survey among migrants and local residents living in Guangzhou, China. Data were collected using face-to-face interviews. We used items from the Social Support Rating Scale to measure social resource dimensions, including social network size, emotional support, structural social capital, and one (self-developed) item that measured belonging (an element of social cohesion). The Patient Health Questionnaire-9 measured depression. Correlation and regression analyses of the partial sample (n = 678) were conducted to estimate the association between social resources and depression for migrants (n = 383) and non-migrants (n = 295). Results: Stratified regression analysis demonstrated that for migrants, greater belonging was associated with less depression, while age and larger friendship social network size was related to less depression among non-migrants. Conclusion: Differences emerged in our sample with regard to the types of social resources that are protective against depression between migrants and non-migrants. Interventions that provide opportunities for migrants to better integrate and feel welcomed into their new communities may reduce their depression symptoms.

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