Social Network Dimensions and Health Changes in Older Europeans

Population ageing is accompanied by increasing heterogeneity in older adults’ social relationships. While social networks are widely recognized as relevant for health and well-being, they are often measured through isolated indicators that fail to capture their multidimensional nature, alongside static measures of health. This study adopts a multidimensional perspective on social networks in later life, integrating structural (composition and size), functional (support exchange and contact frequency), and qualitative (relationship satisfaction) dimensions, as well as a dynamic perspective on health changes over time. Using longitudinal data from Waves 6 and 9 of the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARE), we describe the distribution of these social network indicators among individuals aged 65–95 across 17 European countries and analyse gender differences in relational configurations, baseline health conditions, and subsequent health changes. Preliminary descriptive results highlight substantial heterogeneity in network composition and differences between men and women, supporting the need for typological approaches that account for the complexity of social ties in later life. Further developments will involve identifying network typologies and analysing their association with subsequent health transitions.