Health inequalities in older Norwegians and the mediating role of social networks

Abstract

This study aims to understand how social networks serve as an intervening pathway leading to socioeconomic health inequality among older adults in Norway. Longitudinal survey data and annual national register data from the second and the third waves of the Norwegian Life Course, Ageing, and Generation Study were used in this paper. The NorLAG second wave (NorLAG2) encompasses the nationwide gross sample of 9238 respondents aged between 40 and 80 during the interview. Similarly, Altogether, 6099 respondents aged between 50 and 95 during the interview participated in the third wave of NorLAG (NorLAG3). Hayes PROCESS was used to estimate the mediating effect of contact frequency and support potential of friends on the impact of socioeconomic position (SEP) at wave two on the health outcomes at wave three. The total indirect effect of income on physical health was observed as 0.04, meaning that those with a higher contact frequency with friends and higher support potential of friends, on average, report 0.04 units higher on the physical health score than those with lower contact frequency with friends and lower support potential of friends. The total indirect effect of the highest attained education level on physical health score is observed as 0.12, meaning that those with a higher contact frequency with friends and higher support potential of friends report on average 0.12 units higher on their physical health scores than those with lower contact frequency with friends and lower support potential of friends. The results showed a socioeconomic gradient in health among older adults in Norway, where the social network is a crucial pathway via which SEP influences peoples’ health. Evidence highlights that contact frequency with friends does not influence the relationship between SEP and health status among older Norwegian adults.