Loneliness and Expanding Social Ties in Later Life: Motivation, Perceived Success, and Implications for Emotional Health.

ABSTRACT:

Objectives

Social networks undergo changes in later life, reflecting proactive decreases as well as increases in size, but relatively little is known about the factors that motivate older adults to expand their social ties. Loneliness might be expected to motivate older adults to expand their social ties. Paradoxically, however, studies of younger age groups have linked loneliness to a self-protective reluctance to initiate social contact. The current study investigated whether loneliness fosters or inhibits older adults' efforts to expand their social ties and whether successful efforts are related to gains in emotional health.

Methods

Loneliness, motivation to expand social ties, and emotional health were assessed in a subset of older participants (N = 375) from the Later

SUBMITTER: Rook KS 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11439993 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature