Social network type in the continuing care retirement community

Area of Science:

• Gerontology
• Social Network Analysis
• Psychology

Background:

• Continuing care retirement communities (CCRCs) offer integrated living and social support for older adults.
• Understanding the social networks of CCRC residents is crucial for assessing their wellbeing.
• Previous research has explored social ties but not specifically typologies within CCRC settings.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and evaluate a social network typology for residents of a CCRC.
• To examine how different social network structures relate to residents' physical and emotional wellbeing.
• To investigate the role of social networks in influencing health outcomes within a CCRC environment.

Main Methods:

• A name-generator approach was used to identify individuals within residents' social networks.
• Detailed questions assessed the characteristics of network members and relationship dynamics.
• Latent profile analysis identified distinct social network typologies among CCRC residents.

Main Results:

• A two-profile solution best fit the data, revealing a "friends-based" network (N=97) and a "child-based" network (N=108).
• The two network types differed significantly in size and composition (e.g., proportion of friends, family, spouse).
• No significant differences were found between network types regarding medical conditions, activities of daily living impairment, wellbeing, or loneliness.

Conclusions:

• Social network type may play a less influential role in CCRC residents' wellbeing compared to the general community.
• The inherent social environment of CCRCs might mitigate the impact of specific network structures on individual outcomes.
• Further research could explore how CCRC social structures inherently support older adults' social needs, potentially equalizing wellbeing across different network types.