Abstract
Past research has documented the positive influence of frequent interactions with social networks on several health outcomes in later life, with different patterns by gender. In this study, we explore the association of frequent contact with different members of the social network (namely partner, grandchildren, siblings, friends and neighbours) on self-perceived health status and the limitation of illnesses among older grandparents in Italy, using a large national representative survey. Our results confirm the positive association between good health indicators and frequent contact with members of the “horizontal” network (partner, siblings and friends), while a more ambiguous association has been found with frequent face-to-face contact with children and grandchildren. The results hold for both male and female grandparents. The Mediterranean family-focused culture may possibly explain the distinctly Italian results.
Highlights
Social relationships strongly affect health outcomes in later life (e.g. Blazer, 1982, Gliksman et al 1995, House et al 1988, Sabin, 1993, Turner, & Marino, 1994, Avlund et al 1998, de Leon et al 2001, Haber et al 2007, Youm et al 2014)
In the following sub-sections, we summarise the most recent findings in the study of the association between social relationships and health of aged people, and, when available, among grandparents, underlining the different components analysed, the recent contradictions in results and the possible explanations suggested by past studies
The proportion of grandparents perceiving themselves in good health is lower with just one third of grandmothers reporting a good health status
Summary
Social relationships strongly affect health outcomes in later life (e.g. Blazer, 1982, Gliksman et al 1995, House et al 1988, Sabin, 1993, Turner, & Marino, 1994, Avlund et al 1998, de Leon et al 2001, Haber et al 2007, Youm et al 2014). Mainly using data from the US and Western Europe, have reported evidence of a positive correlation between good health and social relations with relatives, friends or neighbours (House et al 1988, Pinquart & Sörensen, 2000; Umberson & Montez, 2010). Grandparents are at the centre of a complex interweave of family connections, both “vertical”, i.e. children and grandchildren, and “horizontal”, i.e. spouse and siblings. They can maintain social relations beyond the Tomassini et al Genus (2020) 76:19 family, with friends or neighbours, that overlap with family relations. The different aspects that may comprise a grandparent’s social network and the growing importance of their role in the family make grandparents a good fit for the study of associations between familial and social contacts, and health in later life
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