During the COVID-19 pandemic older adults are asked to maintain physical distancing, which can be linked to loneliness. While older people are encouraged to use electronic communication to stay socially connected, it remains an open question whether electronic contacts are related to lower loneliness during the pandemic. This study examined the associations of physical distancing during the pandemic with loneliness and the role of in-person and electronic contacts with children and non-kin as explaining these associations across European regions. The study used data from Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARE), collected during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. Mediation and moderation analyses tested the direct and indirect associations between physical distancing, contact frequency and loneliness, as well as the differences across European regions. The results indicate that adults who reported higher frequency of physical distancing also felt lonelier during the pandemic. This association was partly explained by social contacts—those who practiced physical distancing maintained less in-person contact with children and non-kin and less electronic contact with non-kin, which were related to feeling lonelier. Adults in Southern European countries felt lonelier and reported more frequent contacts. The moderation analyses showed that the link between physical distancing and loneliness was found in the northern region, but not in the southern and eastern regions of Europe. This study can indicate that attention should be paid to adults who may struggle to maintain social contacts in light of physical distancing guidelines.

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Physical distancing is related to fewer electronic and in-person contacts and to increased loneliness during the COVID-19 pandemic among older Europeans.

This paper investigates whether lockdown policies aggravated mental health problems of older populations (50 and over) in Europe during the first COVID-19 wave. Using data from the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARE COVID-19 questionnaire) and from the Oxford COVID-19 Government Response Tracker for 17 countries, we estimate the causal effect of lockdown policies on mental health by combining cross-country variability in the strictness of the policies with cross-individual variability in face-to-face contacts prior to the pandemic. We find that lockdown policies worsened insomnia, anxiety, and depression by 5, 7.2 and 5.1 percentage points, respectively. This effect was stronger for women and those aged between 50 and 65. Interestingly, lockdown policies notably damaged the mental health of healthy populations. We close with a discussion of lockdown policies targeted at individuals above 65 and/or with pre-existing conditions. 

Lockdown strictness and mental health effects among older populations in Europe.

Objectives: One’s personal social network constitutes a contextual framing factor for late-life cognitive function. This study examined the association between network type at baseline and changes in three cognitive measures: immediate recall, delayed recall, and fluency, two years hence, among Europeans aged 50 and older. Participants:
 Data were taken from Waves four and five of the Survey of Health, Ageing, and Retirement in Europe of adults aged 50 and above (N = 50,071). Measurements:
 The latent class analysis was applied to a set of criterion variables. The procedure yielded five distinct network types: multi-tie (6%), family-rich (23%), close-family (49%), family-poor (12%), and friend-enhanced (10%). The network types were then regressed on the cognition measures at follow-up, controlling for the respective baseline cognition scores, as well as for age, gender, education, self-rated health, mobility difficulty, and country. Results:
 Respondents in family-poor network types had poorer cognition scores at follow-up, compared to those in the modal close-family network, while those in multi-tie networks had consistently better scores. The family-rich network and the friend-enhanced network also had a somewhat better cognitive function. Conclusions:
 Having varied sources of network ties, e.g. friendship ties and/or several types of family relationships, is beneficial to the cognitive health of older adults over time. Networks based mainly on ties with relatives other than spouse and children, on the other hand, have poorer cognitive outcomes. Older people in this latter group face an increased risk for cognitive decline and should receive assistance in enhancing their interpersonal environments.

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Social network type and subsequent cognitive health among older Europeans

Physical activity and predictors of loneliness in community-dwelling older adults: The role of social connectedness.

This study examines the impact of COVID-19 experience of infection in the individual's social environment on psychological burden controlling for a broad range of factors using data on an older population (50+ years). Based on the empirical evidence of preexisting studies, it is hypothesized that psychological burden will increase concurrent to the severity of COVID-19 experience (tested positive, hospitalized, and death) independent of the other stressors resulting from the pandemic, such as a subjective sense of uncertainty or financial burden. Data of the Survey of Health, Aging and Retirement in EUROPE, and a European cross-national panel study were used to examine this hypothesis. Besides Chi2 test and Spearman's rho, a logistic regression model was constructed to test the hypothesized model. The study confirms that there is significantly higher risk for psychological burden by heightened COVID-19 severity in the social environment independent of multiple also significantly influential variables depicting stressors to everyday life of older people during the pandemic. The results point to the importance of multiple factors (social, financial, health, and sociodemographic) which have significantly affected the psychological condition of the individual during the past year. Conclusively, the results illustrate the dilemma that infection and illness in the social circle, as well as countermeasures (social distancing), have negative consequences for our mental health.

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Hitting Close to Home: The Effect of COVID-19 Illness in the Social Environment on Psychological Burden in Older Adults.

This article examines the influence of social networks on selected aspects of mental health following the outbreak of the coronavirus.We linked data from a post outbreak telephone survey in 2020 by...

Social networks and mental health change in older adults after the Covid-19 outbreak.

Using SHARE data, this study was based on an earlier analysis that derived social network types among adults aged 65 and over in Europe. The current effort investigated the transitions that occurred across these network types after 4 years (N = 13,767). Four general network transition patterns were identified according to network type (close-family networks and other networks) and whether a network transition occurred. The associations between network type, network transitions and well-being (depression and life satisfaction) were examined. We regressed depressive symptoms and a life satisfaction measure on the network transition patterns, controlling for socio-demographic background, health and country. The results revealed that a majority of older Europeans experienced a range of network transition, while close-family-based networks tended to prevail over time. Moreover, respondents who remained in or transitioned to close-family networks had fewer depressive symptoms and better life satisfaction than those in other network types. The study, thus, underscores the varied effects of network types and network changes on emotional well-being in late life. It also demonstrates that beneficial changes can be made in one’s social network in old age, especially with regard to greater family closeness.

Network type, transition patterns and well-being among older Europeans

The present study investigated the changes that occurred within the interpersonal environments of a sample of socially isolated older Europeans after four years. Based upon data from the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARE), the inquiry looked at 834 older people who were socially detached at baseline, at follow-up or at both time-points. The analysis traced changes in relation to the social network types that they acquired or left. The findings indicate that respondents more frequently moved from no-network status at baseline to close family-based social network types at follow-up than to other network types. In comparison, the loss of a network at follow-up was seen to originate from close networks and from other network types alike. Multivariate analysis revealed that those who moved from socially detached status to close-family networks had fewer depressive symptoms compared to those who moved to other network types. However, the move from a close-family network to the no-network status was about as depressing as was being chronically isolated. The effects of network transitions were more varied in relation to the life satisfaction outcome. In sum, the findings suggest that a transition out of social isolation in late life is possible and it may be beneficial as well.

https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/E1E4F36C4A35F1D919AD32D0C16F433E/S0144686X20000240a.pdf/div-class-title-always-alone-network-transitions-among-detached-older-europeans-and-their-effects-div.pdf

Always alone? Network transitions among detached older Europeans and their effects

Background and objectives To clarify whether awareness of the extent and severity of exposure to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in the social networks of older adults is related to the engagement by the latter in self-protective behaviors. The inquiry is guided by the Health Belief Model and by concepts from the domain of social networks. Research design and methods Data from the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARE) were used, including the SHARE COVID-19 Survey executed in the summer of 2020. The study sample numbered 33,053 persons aged 50 and older in 26 countries. We regressed a logged count of self-protective behaviors on network-exposure severity, controlling for sociodemographic background, country, personality traits, and self-exposure severity. Age and network-exposure interaction terms were examined, as were "close family" and "other" network ties. Results Network-exposure severity was positively associated with the extent of engagement in self-protective behaviors among older adults, but mainly among the oldest group, aged 70 and older. Awareness of exposure severity in "close family" and "other" networks were similarly associated with self-protection. Respondents from countries with the lowest rates of COVID-19 infection at the time (Latvia, Finland, and Denmark) engaged in fewer self-protective behaviors, while those from countries with high infection rates (Spain, Italy, and Portugal) self-protected to a greater degree. Discussion and implications The study findings point to the role of the social network, even if indirect, in promoting self-protective behaviors among the oldest segment of society. Policymakers should collaborate with the social networks of older adults in order to promote the adoption of self-protective behaviors. Such intervention might help to reduce the threat of infection among the most vulnerable age group.

Michal Levinsky

Papers

Social networks and mental health change in older adults after the Covid-19 outbreak.

Network type, transition patterns and well-being among older Europeans

Social network type and subsequent cognitive health among older Europeans

Always alone? Network transitions among detached older Europeans and their effects

Network-Exposure Severity and Self-Protective Behaviors: The Case of COVID-19