Conceptualizing Daily Dynamics of Social Connection in an Adult Lifespan Sample
Jonathan Rush, Eric Cerino, Jennifer Piazza, David Almeida, Susan Charles

TL;DR
This study explores how daily fluctuations in social connection affect health and well-being across the adult lifespan.
Contribution
The paper introduces a dynamic, daily measure of social connection that captures both structural and emotional aspects.
Findings
Daily feelings of belonging and closeness form a reliable social connection construct.
About 40% of social connection variability occurs within individuals on a daily basis.
Daily social connection measures show convergent validity with global social well-being indicators.
Abstract
Social connection is central to many aspects of healthy aging, including increased emotional well-being and a reduced risk of mortality. Existing studies examining the link between social connection and health typically conceptualize social connection as a static, trait-like variable. Yet similar to other daily experiences, feeling socially connected fluctuates from day-to-day, and may provide additional insight into how social connection and health are linked. The present research examines three aspects of daily social connection: one structural (positive interactions) and two related to quality: feeling a sense of belonging; and responsivity (i.e., how sense of belonging varies in response to a positive interaction). Using eight days of daily diary data (N = 2,022), we examine the psychometric properties and utility of these three aspects of daily social connection. Each day,…
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Taxonomy
TopicsHealth disparities and outcomes · Mental Health Research Topics · Death Anxiety and Social Exclusion
