In terms of core network size

In terms of core network size, social participation moderated the association between relationship type and core network size, such that participation was associated with the greater contribution of friends compared to kin to core network size (NBE: 0.17 (SE: 0.06, p<0.01). Generalized trust was also shown to moderate the association between relationship type and core network size such that those with high trust had fewer acquaintance compared to kin ties (−0.32 (0.11), p<0.01) in their core networks. Perceived resperidone also moderated the association between relationship type and core network size such that those with higher perceived cohesion had more acquaintances (−0.17 (0.16), p<0.01) compared to kin in their core networks. Finally, perceived control was associated with larger overall core network size (0.08 (0.03), p<0.01), but control did not moderate the association between relationship type and core network size.
Discussion Based on our findings, we discuss three points. First, network diversity like core network size declined in older age groups. Adults older than 65 years had higher proportion of participants reporting no contacts in the position generator and name generator. The decline in network diversity among the oldest age group represents a significant change in a person\'s social connections and access to resources. In addition, the pattern by which acquaintances, friends, and kin contributed to network diversity and core network size differed across age groups. Acquaintances contributed the greatest proportion to network diversity, whereas kin contributed the greatest proportion to core network size. Among the oldest age groups, friends contributed the least to network diversity and acquaintances the least to core network size. As suggested in previous research, a shift toward kin-based relationships can represent a loss in the bridging capital or social integration of older adults (Cornwell, 2009). Our findings on network diversity and core network size do not suggest a shift toward kin-based relationships in older age groups, as much as the overall loss of network diversity and core network size through the decline in reporting friend ties. Future research examining social capital and aging should consider the network changes that happen around retirement age, potentially examining not only whether older adults can access social capital but also the types of ties by which they might access social capital. Second, our research examined the role that social and psychosocial characteristics might play in the breadth and tie composition of network diversity. Recent research on social capital and health has examined the degree to which different measures of social capital (e.g., trust) are valid indicators of network social capital (Moore et al., 2009; Carpiano & Hystad, 2011; Carpiano & Fitterer, 2014). For example, Carpiano and Fitterer (2014) showed that measures of generalized and particularized trust were associated with general and mental health outcomes, after adjusting for network capital measures, concluding that trust is conceptually distinct from and an inadequate proxy for network ties. This study reframed the question slightly to ask whether trust, participation, and perceived cohesion might alter the types of ties composing a person\'s network capital. Based on the proposition that weaker ties contribute to greater network heterogeneity and bridging capital (Granovetter, 1973; Granovetter, 1983), our study showed that those with higher participation had more friends compared to kin in their diverse and core networks. Social participation may thus reflect greater network heterogeneity and bridging capital in a person\'s social networks. Generalized trust, on the other hand, was not associated with network diversity, suggesting that generalized trust is a distinct construct from that of network social capital (Carpiano & Fitterer, 2014). However, our study did show that those persons with higher generalized trust tended to have less heterogeneous core networks (i.e., more acquaintances and friends compared to kin). Perceived cohesion altered the tie composition of network diversity and core network size in similar directions. Those with higher perceived cohesion had fewer acquaintances compared to kin in their network diversity and core networks. Finally, higher perceived control was directly associated with greater network diversity and core network size, but did not alter their tie composition, suggesting that persons with greater perceived control may maintain more diverse and larger core networks regardless of the type of relationships composing them. Further research is required to understand better the role of psychosocial factors in the tie composition of personal social networks, and whether variations in composition can help to explain specific types of social or health outcomes. Nevertheless, our findings suggest that participation, often considered a structural measure of social capital, introduces a greater number of friends compared to kin into one\'s networks. Generalized trust and perceived cohesion, often considered cognitive measures of social capital, reduces the number of acquaintances compared to kin. Future research might examine whether network compositional differences between structural and cognitive measures have additional implications for health outcomes.