Empty Confidant Network Satisfaction and Mental Well-Being After the Age of 50: An Exploratory Study

This study aimed to examine the relationship between empty confidant network satisfaction and loneliness and depression. Theories of aggression and the stress and coping theory served as the study's theoretical framework. Data were obtained from Waves 8 and 9 of the Survey of Health, Ageing, and Retirement in Europe. The sample included adults aged 50 years and older with no confidants in their personal networks (Wave 8: N = 1,138; Wave 9: N = 1,376). The data were analyzed on the entire sample and by gender using logistic and linear regression models. In each studied wave, low empty network satisfaction was associated with a higher risk of both depression and loneliness. However, empty network satisfaction was associated with a greater risk of loneliness than of depression. Gender-related cross-wave changes in odds ratios were found. The study uncovered another aspect of the complexity of interpersonal relationships in later life.