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Social Network Types and Subjective Well-being in Chinese Older Adults

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  • Sheung-Tak Cheng
  • Coty K. L. Lee
  • Alfred C. M. Chan
  • Edward M. F. Leung
  • Jik-Joen Lee

Abstract

The study examined social network types in a sample of 1,005 older Chinese adults in Hong Kong and the networks' relations to subjective well-being. Given the nature of kinship in Chinese society, we broke down social support provision by closeness of blood ties (immediate kin, distant kin, and non-kin). Using K-means cluster analysis, we identified 5 network types: diverse, friend focused, restricted, family focused, and distant family. The latter was characterized by few immediate kin but mostly distant kin. Diverse and family-focused networks were most beneficial to well-being, whereas restricted networks were least. Distant family networks were associated with only marginally lower well-being than family-focused networks and were comparable to friend-focused networks. Results suggested the importance of the extended family in support provision for Chinese older adults, especially in the absence of immediate kin and friends. Implications of the present findings for other cultural groups are discussed. Copyright 2009, Oxford University Press.

Suggested Citation

  • Sheung-Tak Cheng & Coty K. L. Lee & Alfred C. M. Chan & Edward M. F. Leung & Jik-Joen Lee, 2009. "Social Network Types and Subjective Well-being in Chinese Older Adults," The Journals of Gerontology: Series B, The Gerontological Society of America, vol. 64(6), pages 713-722.
    • Handle: RePEc:oup:geronb:v:64b:y:2009:i:6:p:713-722
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    File URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10.1093/geronb/gbp075
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    Cited by:

    1. Shiovitz-Ezra, Sharon & Litwin, Howard, 2012. "Social network type and health-related behaviors: Evidence from an American national survey," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 75(5), pages 901-904.
    2. Sónia Guadalupe & Henrique Testa Vicente, 2022. "Types of Personal Social Networks of Older Adults in Portugal," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 160(2), pages 445-466, April.
    3. Zeev Hille & Hannes Ulrich & Vera Maren Straßburger & Pichit Buspavanich, 2024. "Social networks of men who have sex with men engaging in chemsex in Germany: differences in social resources and sexual health," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 11(1), pages 1-13, December.
    4. Patrycjusz Zarębski & Dominika Zwęglińska-Gałecka, 2020. "Mapping the Food Festivals and Sustainable Capitals: Evidence from Poland," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(24), pages 1-23, December.
    5. Haosen Sun & Markus Schafer, 2022. "Close ties, near and far away: patterns and predictors of geographic network range among older Europeans," European Journal of Ageing, Springer, vol. 19(3), pages 699-716, September.
    6. Chiyoe Murata & Tami Saito & Taishi Tsuji & Masashige Saito & Katsunori Kondo, 2017. "A 10-Year Follow-Up Study of Social Ties and Functional Health among the Old: The AGES Project," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 14(7), pages 1-9, July.
    7. Chiyoe Murata & Tami Saito & Masashige Saito & Katsunori Kondo, 2019. "The Association between Social Support and Incident Dementia: A 10-Year Follow-Up Study in Japan," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(2), pages 1-10, January.
    8. Lei, Xiaoyan & Shen, Yan & Smith, James P. & Zhou, Guangsu, 2015. "Do social networks improve Chinese adults’ subjective well-being?," The Journal of the Economics of Ageing, Elsevier, vol. 6(C), pages 57-67.
    9. Rassaby, Madeleine & Shakya, Holly B. & Fowler, James H. & Oveis, Christopher & Sieber, William J. & Jain, Sonia & Stein, Murray B. & Taylor, Charles T., 2024. "Application of an egocentric social network approach to examine changes in social connections following treatment for anxiety and depression: A novel measurement tool for clinical trials research?," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 350(C).
    10. Gerstorf, Denis & Hoppmann, Christiane A. & Löckenhoff, Corinna E. & Infurna, Frank J. & Schupp, Jürgen & Wagner, Gert G., 2016. "Terminal Decline in Well-Being: The Role of Social Orientation," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, vol. 31(2), pages 149-165.
    11. Yafei Liu & Martin Dijst & Stan Geertman, 2017. "The subjective well-being of older adults in Shanghai: The role of residential environment and individual resources," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 54(7), pages 1692-1714, May.
    12. Li, Ting & Zhang, Yanlong, 2015. "Social network types and the health of older adults: Exploring reciprocal associations," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 130(C), pages 59-68.
    13. Sheung-Tak Cheng, 2017. "Self-Perception of Aging and Satisfaction With Children’s Support," The Journals of Gerontology: Series B, The Gerontological Society of America, vol. 72(5), pages 782-791.
    14. Howard Litwin & Michal Levinsky & Ella Schwartz, 2020. "Network type, transition patterns and well-being among older Europeans," European Journal of Ageing, Springer, vol. 17(2), pages 241-250, June.
    15. Sohn, Sung Yun & Joo, Won-tak & Kim, Woo Jung & Kim, Se Joo & Youm, Yoosik & Kim, Hyeon Chang & Park, Yeong-Ran & Lee, Eun, 2017. "Social network types among older Korean adults: Associations with subjective health," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 173(C), pages 88-95.
    16. Aria C. H. Yang & Habib Chaudhury & Jeffrey C. F. Ho & Newman Lau, 2023. "Measuring the Impact of Bedroom Privacy on Social Networks in a Long-Term Care Facility for Hong Kong Older Adults: A Spatio-Social Network Analysis Approach," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(8), pages 1-19, April.
    17. Torres, Zaira & Oliver, Amparo & Tomás, José M. & Kondo, Naoki, 2024. "Exploring social network typologies and their impact on health and mental well-being in older adults: Evidence from JAGES," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 348(C).
    18. Azam Tariq & Tian Beihai & Nadeem Abbas & Sajjad Ali & Wang Yao & Muhammad Imran, 2020. "Role of Perceived Social Support on the Association between Physical Disability and Symptoms of Depression in Senior Citizens of Pakistan," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(5), pages 1-14, February.
    19. Liping Ye & Xinping Zhang, 2019. "Social Network Types and Health among Older Adults in Rural China: The Mediating Role of Social Support," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(3), pages 1-14, January.
    20. Kyung-Won Choi & Gyeong-Suk Jeon, 2021. "Social Network Types and Depressive Symptoms among Older Korean Men and Women," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(21), pages 1-14, October.
    21. Li, Ting & Yang, Yang Claire & Zhang, Yanlong, 2018. "Culture, economic development, social-network type, and mortality: Evidence from Chinese older adults," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 204(C), pages 23-30.

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