Perceived Neighborhood Cohesion Across the Life Course and Late-Life Friendship: Evidence From the U.S. Health and Retirement Study

Abstract

How does neighborhood cohesion across the life course shape late-life friendship? Using longitudinal data from the Health and Retirement Study, this study examines how neighborhood cohesion in childhood, midlife, and late life influences structural, behavioral, and affective dimensions of friendship in older adulthood. Marginal structural generalized estimating equations models estimate independent and cumulative effects across life stages. Neighborhood cohesion at all three stages is independently associated with a greater number of close friends and stronger perceived support. The association between childhood cohesion and contact frequency operates indirectly through midlife and late-life cohesion. Midlife and late-life cohesion are significantly linked to late-life friendship outcomes. Findings partially support cumulative (dis)advantage frameworks while highlighting the particularly salient role of midlife and late-life contexts. Results underscore the importance of integrating place and time into theories of aging and social integration.

Keywords

neighborhood cohesion life course friendship marginal structural models

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Antonucci

T. C.

Ajrouch

K. J.

Birditt

K. S.

(2014). The convoy model: Explaining social relations from a multidisciplinary perspective. The Gerontologist, 54(1), 82–92. https://doi.org/10.1093/geront/gnt118

Béland

Zunzunegui

M.-V.

Alvarado

Otero

del Ser

(2005). Trajectories of cognitive decline and social relations. Journals of Gerontology Series B: Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences, 60(6), P320–P330. https://doi.org/10.1093/geronb/60.6.p320

Blieszner

Ogletree

A. M.

Adams

R. G.

(2019). Friendship in later life: A research agenda. Innovation in Aging, 3(1), Article igz005. https://doi.org/10.1093/geroni/igz005

Cagney

K. A.

Glass

T. A.

Skarupski

K. A.

Barnes

L. L.

Schwartz

B. S.

Mendes de Leon

C. F.

(2009). Neighborhood-level cohesion and disorder: Measurement and validation in two older adult urban populations. The Journals of Gerontology: Serie Bibliographique, 64(3), 415–424. https://doi.org/10.1093/geronb/gbn041

Cantor

M. H.

(1979). Neighbors and friends: An overlooked resource in the informal support system. Research on Aging, 1(4), 434–463. https://doi.org/10.1177/016402757914002

Carpiano

R. M.

(2007). Neighborhood social capital and adult health: An empirical test of a Bourdieu-based model. Health & Place, 13(3), 639–655. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.healthplace.2006.09.001

Caunca

M. R.

Odden

M. C.

Glymour

M. M.

Elfassy

Kershaw

K. N.

Sidney

Yaffe

Launer

Al Hazzouri

A. Z.

(2020). Association of racial residential segregation throughout young adulthood and cognitive performance in middle-aged participants in the CARDIA study. JAMA Neurology, 77(8), 1000–1007. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamaneurol.2020.0860

Chen

Williams

D. R.

Nishimi

Slopen

Kubzansky

L. D.

Weuve

(2022). A life course approach to understanding stress exposures and cognitive function among middle-aged and older adults. Social Science & Medicine, 314(2022), Article 115448. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2022.115448

Clarke

Morenoff

Debbink

Golberstein

Elliott

M. R.

Lantz

P. M.

(2014). Cumulative exposure to neighborhood context: Consequences for health transitions over the adult life course. Research on Aging, 36(1), 115–142. https://doi.org/10.1177/0164027512470702

10.

Cornwell

(2009). Good health and the bridging of structural holes. Social Networks, 31(1), 92–103. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socnet.2008.10.005

11.

Cornwell

Laumann

E. O.

(2015). The health benefits of network growth: New evidence from a national survey of older adults. Social Science & Medicine, 125(2015), 94–106. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2013.09.011

12.

Cornwell

Laumann

E. O.

Schumm

L. P.

(2008). The social connectedness of older adults: A national profile. American Sociological Review, 73(2), 185–203. https://doi.org/10.1177/000312240807300201

13.

Dannefer

(2003). Cumulative advantage/disadvantage and the life course: Cross-fertilizing age and social science theory. Journals of Gerontology Series B: Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences, 58(6), S327–S337. https://doi.org/10.1093/geronb/58.6.s327

14.

Diez Roux

A. V.

Mair

(2010). Neighborhoods and health. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 1186(1), 125–145. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1749-6632.2009.05333.x

15.

Elder

G. H.

Giele

J. Z.

(2009). The craft of life course research. Guilford Press.

16.

Elder

G. H.

Jr. Johnson

M. K.

Crosnoe

(2003). The emergence and development of life course theory. In Handbook of the life course (pp. 3–19). Springer.

17.

English

Carstensen

L. L.

(2014). Selective narrowing of social networks across adulthood is associated with improved emotional experience in daily life. International Journal of Behavioral Development, 38(2), 195–202. https://doi.org/10.1177/0165025413515404

18.

Fiori

K. L.

Antonucci

T. C.

Akiyama

(2008). Profiles of social relations among older adults: A cross-cultural approach. Ageing and Society, 28(2), 203–231. https://doi.org/10.1017/s0144686x07006472

19.

Glass

T. A.

Balfour

J. L.

(2003). Neighborhoods, aging, and functional limitations. In Kawachi

Berkman

L. F.

(Eds.), Neighborhoods and health (pp. 303–334). Oxford University Press.

20.

Glass

T. A.

Rasmussen

M. D.

Schwartz

B. S.

(2006). Neighborhoods and obesity in older adults: The Baltimore memory study. American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 31(6), 455–463. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.amepre.2006.07.028

21.

Greenfield

E. A.

Reyes

(2015). Continuity and change in relationships with neighbors: Implications for psychological well-being in middle and later life. Journals of Gerontology Series B: Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences, 70(4), 607–618. https://doi.org/10.1093/geronb/gbu084

22.

Han

S. H.

Kim

Burr

J. A.

(2017). Friendship and depression among couples in later life: The moderating effects of marital quality. The Journals of Gerontology: Serie Bibliographique, 74(2), 222–231. https://doi.org/10.1093/geronb/gbx046

23.

Hanley

J. A.

Negassa

Edwardes

M. D. d.

Forrester

J. E.

(2003). Statistical analysis of correlated data using generalized estimating equations: An orientation. American Journal of Epidemiology, 157(4), 364–375. https://doi.org/10.1093/aje/kwf215

24.

Health and Retirement Study . (2025). Cross-wave 2015-2019 life history mail survey (LHMS): Harmonized and aggregated public data resource (V1.0) [data set]. https://doi.org/10.7826/XUFS7190

25.

Latham-Mintus

(2019). A friend in need? Exploring the influence of disease and disability onset on the number of close friends among older adults. The Journals of Gerontology: Serie Bibliographique, 74(8), e119–e124. https://doi.org/10.1093/geronb/gbz050

26.

Leventhal

Brooks-Gunn

(2000). The neighborhoods they live in: The effects of neighborhood residence on child and adolescent outcomes. Psychological Bulletin, 126(2), 309–337. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-2909.126.2.309

27.

Leventhal

Dupéré

Brooks-Gunn

(2009). Neighborhood influences on adolescent development. In Lerner

R. M.

Steinberg

(Eds.), Handbook of adolescent psychology: Contextual influences on adolescent development (3rd ed., pp. 411–443). John Wiley & Sons, Inc. https://doi.org/10.1002/9780470479193.adlpsy002013

28.

Litwin

Shiovitz-Ezra

(2006). Network type and mortality risk in later life. The Gerontologist, 46(6), 735–743. https://doi.org/10.1093/geront/46.6.735

29.

Marden

J. R.

Tchetgen Tchetgen

E. J.

Kawachi

Glymour

M. M.

(2017). Contribution of socioeconomic status at 3 life-course periods to late-life memory function and decline: Early and late predictors of dementia risk. American Journal of Epidemiology, 186(7), 805–814. https://doi.org/10.1093/aje/kwx155

30.

Puterman

Gemmill

Karasek

Weir

Adler

N. E.

Prather

A. A.

Epel

E. S.

(2016). Lifespan adversity and later adulthood telomere length in the nationally representative US health and retirement study. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 113(42), E6335–E6342. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1525602113

31.

Robins

J. M.

Hernan

M. A.

Brumback

(2000). Marginal structural models and causal inference in epidemiology. Epidemiology (Cambridge. Mass.), 11(5), 550–560. https://doi.org/10.1097/00001648-200009000-00011

32.

Rogers

S. H.

Halstead

J. M.

Gardner

K. H.

Carlson

C. H.

(2011). Examining walkability and social capital as indicators of quality of life at the municipal and neighborhood scales. Applied Research in Quality of Life, 6(2), 201–213. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11482-010-9132-4

33.

Sampson

R. J.

(2012). Neighborhood Effects: The Evolution of an Idea. In Great American city: Chicago and the enduring neighborhood effect. University of Chicago Press.

34.

Sharkey

Elwert

(2011). The legacy of disadvantage: Multigenerational neighborhood effects on cognitive ability. American Journal of Sociology, 116(6), 1934–1981. https://doi.org/10.1086/660009

35.

Sharkey

Faber

J. W.

(2014). Where, when, why, and for whom do residential contexts matter? Moving away from the dichotomous understanding of neighborhood effects. Annual Review of Sociology, 40(1), 559–579. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-soc-071913-043350

36.

Stafford

De Silva

Stansfeld

Marmot

(2008). Neighbourhood social capital and common mental disorder: Testing the link in a general population sample. Health & Place, 14(3), 394–405. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.healthplace.2007.08.006

37.

Stokes

J. E.

(2019). Trajectories of perceived neighborhood quality across the life course: Sociodemographic determinants and implications for well-being. Social Science Research, 79(2019), 181–193. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ssresearch.2018.11.001

38.

Stokes

J. E.

(2020). Implications of perceived neighborhood quality, daily discrimination, and depression for social integration across mid-and later life: A case of person-environment fit? The Gerontologist, 60(4), 661–671. https://doi.org/10.1093/geront/gnz103

39.

Stokes

J. E.

Moorman

S. M.

(2016). Who are the people in your neighborhood? Neighborhood age composition and age discrimination. Social Psychology Quarterly, 79(1), 68–80. https://doi.org/10.1177/0190272515626569

40.

Torres

J.M.

Calderon

Kogut

MacCuish

Warner

Rodriguez

M.T.

Garcia

Romero

Morga

McDowell-Sanchez

A. K.

(2025). Lifecourse socioeconomic status and cognitive performance among midlife Latina women in a California agricultural region. American Journal of Epidemiology. online first. https://doi.org/10.1093/aje/kwaf036

41.

Torres

J. M.

Yang

Rudolph

K. E.

Glymour

M. M.

Courtin

(2022). Adult child schooling and older parents’ cognitive outcomes in the survey of health, aging and retirement in Europe (SHARE): A quasi-experimental study. American Journal of Epidemiology.

42.

US Bureau of Labor Statistics . (2000). Changes in women’s labor force participation in the 20th century. Retrieved from. https://www.bls.gov/opub/ted/2000/feb/wk3/art03.htm#:∼:text=In_1950_about_one_in,with_59.8_%_in_1998

43.

Walen

H. R.

Lachman

M. E.

(2000). Social support and strain from partner, family, and friends: Costs and benefits for men and women in adulthood. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, 17(1), 5–30. https://doi.org/10.1177/0265407500171001

44.

Yang

Grol-Prokopczyk

(2021). Chronic pain and friendship among middle-aged and older U.S. adults. Journals of Gerontology Series B: Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences, 76(10), 2131–2142. https://doi.org/10.1093/geronb/gbaa185

45.

Yen

I. H.

Michael

Y. L.

Perdue

(2009). Neighborhood environment in studies of health of older adults: A systematic review. American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 37(5), 455–463. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.amepre.2009.06.022

Supplementary Material

Please find the following supplemental material available below.

For Open Access articles published under a Creative Commons License, all supplemental material carries the same license as the article it is associated with.

For non-Open Access articles published, all supplemental material carries a non-exclusive license, and permission requests for re-use of supplemental material or any part of supplemental material shall be sent directly to the copyright owner as specified in the copyright notice associated with the article.

0.28 MB

0.00 MB