Author ORCID Identifier
Date of Award
12-31-2025
Document Type
Campus Access Dissertation
Degree Name
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
Department
Gerontology
First Advisor
Jeffrey A. Burr
Second Advisor
Jan E. Mutchler
Third Advisor
Deborah Carr
Abstract
Cognitive health serves as critical capacity for performing daily activities in late adulthood. Maintaining meaningful social connections with network members has been found to be significantly associated with cognitive function. However, group differences and underlying mechanisms remain understudied. In addition, it is unclear whether childhood social relationships shape distinct trajectories of cognitive function in later life and whether individuals’ cognitive function, both their own (actor) and their partners’ (partner), influence the characteristics of their social networks. This dissertation seeks to investigate the complex interplay between social networks and cognitive function in both the U.S. and China.
Study 1 examined whether the association between sources of social support and social strain and cognitive function is moderated by gender and racial-ethnic group, and mediated by depression, among older Americans aged 51 years and above. Data were drawn from the 2006– 2014 waves of the Health and Retirement Study. Linear growth modeling, combined with multiple group analysis and structural equation modeling, was employed to test these relationships. The results supported the differential effects of these network characteristics on cognitive health across gender and racial/ethnic groups, as well as the potential pathway through which social relationship quality with spouse, children, and friends may influence cognitive outcomes via depression.
Study 2 examined the actor and partner effects of cognitive function on friendship network characteristics among older couples aged 51 years and above using 2014 and 2016 Health and Retirement Study. An actor and partner interdependence model was adopted to test the proposed dyadic relationships. The findings suggested that one’s own and partner’s cognitive function influenced contact frequency with friends, but not the number of close friends or perceived social strain from friends. Notably, wives with higher cognitive function reported less social strain from friends. No significant gender differences were found.
Study 3 examined the long-term ramifications of childhood social relationships and contemporaneous of adulthood social relationships on later-life cognitive trajectories, as well as hukou-related differences in these associations, using 2011-2018 China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study. Group-based trajectory modeling and multinomial logistic regression were employed to test the proposed hypotheses. The results highlighted the crucial role of childhood relationships with mothers and the important influence of social interactions with friends across the life course in shaping later-life cognitive trajectories. No moderating effect of hukou was found on these associations.
These studies have deepened our understanding of how and why different characteristics of social networks are linked to cognitive function, suggesting that tailored interventions should be provided to older adults based on their demographic characteristics. The findings also emphasized the necessity of incorporating early-life social environments when screening older adults at risk of cognitive decline, as well as the dyadic association between social relationships and cognitive function among individuals living in shared environments, such as couples.
Recommended Citation
Peng, Changmin, "Social Networks and Cognitive Function in Late Adulthood" (2025). Graduate Doctoral Dissertations. 1129.
https://scholarworks.umb.edu/doctoral_dissertations/1129
Comments
Free and open access to this Campus Access Thesis is made available to the UMass Boston community by ScholarWorks at UMass Boston. Those not on campus and those without a UMass Boston campus username and password may gain access to this thesis through Interlibrary Loan. If you have a UMass Boston campus username and password and would like to download this work from off-campus, click on the “Off-Campus Users” button.