{"title":"Confidants and Caregivers: Network Multiplexity and Subjective Well-Being of Older Adults.","authors":"Yongxin Shang, Sarah E Patterson","doi":"10.1093/geronb/gbae164","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Objectives: </strong>Older adults rely on personal networks for different types of support. Given shifts in family composition in later adulthood, more work is needed to map network members who can provide multiple aspects of support and the implications for older adults. We explore the phenomenon of having the same network members as both a confidant and a caregiver (multiplexity) and its implications for the well-being of older adults.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>Using the 2011 National Health and Aging Trends Study (NHATS), we describe the prevalence of having someone as both a confidant and a caregiver (henceforth \"multiplex helper\") for older adults and examine its association with subjective well-being. We also investigate the differences by having whom as multiplex helpers.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>About three-quarters (76%) of older adults with at least one confidant and one caregiver have at least one multiplex helper. Partnered older adults are more likely to have any multiplex helpers than unpartnered counterparts and usually nominate their partner as a multiplex helper, whereas the unpartnered are more likely to rely on their children to serve multiple roles, especially for widowed older adults. Having a multiplex helper is associated with better subjective well-being.</p><p><strong>Discussion: </strong>Network multiplexity is prevalent and positively associated with the subjective well-being of older adults who have at least one confidant and one caregiver, above and beyond having any confidants or caregivers separately. The baseline patterns established in this study lay the groundwork for future research to further explore support dynamics in older adults' networks.</p>","PeriodicalId":56111,"journal":{"name":"Journals of Gerontology Series B-Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":4.8000,"publicationDate":"2024-09-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Journals of Gerontology Series B-Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences","FirstCategoryId":"3","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1093/geronb/gbae164","RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q1","JCRName":"GERIATRICS & GERONTOLOGY","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Objectives: Older adults rely on personal networks for different types of support. Given shifts in family composition in later adulthood, more work is needed to map network members who can provide multiple aspects of support and the implications for older adults. We explore the phenomenon of having the same network members as both a confidant and a caregiver (multiplexity) and its implications for the well-being of older adults.
Methods: Using the 2011 National Health and Aging Trends Study (NHATS), we describe the prevalence of having someone as both a confidant and a caregiver (henceforth "multiplex helper") for older adults and examine its association with subjective well-being. We also investigate the differences by having whom as multiplex helpers.
Results: About three-quarters (76%) of older adults with at least one confidant and one caregiver have at least one multiplex helper. Partnered older adults are more likely to have any multiplex helpers than unpartnered counterparts and usually nominate their partner as a multiplex helper, whereas the unpartnered are more likely to rely on their children to serve multiple roles, especially for widowed older adults. Having a multiplex helper is associated with better subjective well-being.
Discussion: Network multiplexity is prevalent and positively associated with the subjective well-being of older adults who have at least one confidant and one caregiver, above and beyond having any confidants or caregivers separately. The baseline patterns established in this study lay the groundwork for future research to further explore support dynamics in older adults' networks.
期刊介绍:
The Journal of Gerontology: Psychological Sciences publishes articles on development in adulthood and old age that advance the psychological science of aging processes and outcomes. Articles have clear implications for theoretical or methodological innovation in the psychology of aging or contribute significantly to the empirical understanding of psychological processes and aging. Areas of interest include, but are not limited to, attitudes, clinical applications, cognition, education, emotion, health, human factors, interpersonal relations, neuropsychology, perception, personality, physiological psychology, social psychology, and sensation.