Social interactions buffer the effects of poor health on older adults' well-being

This study examines whether social interactions in different modalities buffer the effects of poor self-reported health on well-being in older adults. We apply multilevel models to experience sampling data including daily assessments of health, frequency of social interactions (face-to-face, telephone, and digital text-based) and well-being (positive and negative affect, loneliness) from 118 older adults (M_age = 71.75; SD_age = 5.05). Between subjects, fewer health complaints were associated with higher well-being. Within-subjects, well-being was higher on days when subjects reported better health and fewer health complaints than their average. The findings regarding the buffering effects were inconsistent: In line with our hypothesis, on days with more face-to-face interactions, the effect of daily self-reported health on loneliness was smaller. Similarly, on days with more telephone interactions, the effects of daily self-reported health on positive affect and loneliness were smaller. Furthermore, for participants who experienced more telephone calls than others, the effect of overall health complaints on negative affect and loneliness was smaller. For participants who experienced more digital text-based social interactions than others, the effect of overall health complaints on positive affect and the effect of self-reported health on loneliness were weaker. Follow-up analyses that examined the pleasantness of social interaction as a buffering factor show that pleasantness did not buffer adverse effects of poor health on well-being more consistently than the frequency of social interactions did. Taken together, our findings show that poor health is a risk factor for well-being and social interactions in different modalities might partially buffer those adverse effects. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved).