Social network typologies and aging anxiety among middle-aged and older immigrant women in South Korea

Immigrant women often face compounded stressors as they age in a culturally unfamiliar environment, yet little is known about how their social networks influence aging anxiety in non-Western settings. Drawing on social capital and acculturation frameworks, this study adopts a person-centered approach to identify typologies of immigrant women's social networks and examines their association with aging anxiety among middle-aged and older immigrant women in South Korea.

Using data from the 2021 National Survey of Multicultural Families in Korea, 3,358 immigrant women aged 45 and older were analyzed. Latent Class Analysis (LCA) identified distinct social network types, and these types were utilized as an independent variable for assessing the relationship with aging anxiety.

LCA identified five classes: Integrated Support, Co-Ethnic-Dominant, Korean-Dominant, Mixed-Moderate Network, and Network-Limited. In multivariable regression models adjusting for demographic, socioeconomic, and health covariates (reference = Network-Limited), membership in each group was associated with significantly lower aging anxiety, with the Co-Ethnic-Dominant showing the largest association. An age × group interaction revealed that the Korean-Dominant exhibited only a stronger negative association between age and anxiety, indicating an age-graded pattern in which older members of that group reported comparatively lower anxiety.

The results supported the important association between social connectedness and lower aging anxiety among immigrant women. Also, these findings offer an in-depth understanding of how specific network types, particularly how Korean-Dominant and Co-Ethnic-Dominant networks are associated with mental health outcomes within a culturally homogeneous society. The findings underline the need for policy and practical interventions that foster both bonding and bridging relationships among immigrants.