Social network satisfaction and life satisfaction among late middle-aged adults with and without functional disability

Abstract: Having good social networks could lead to better well-being. However, how the relationship between social networks and well-being differ by disability is not well understood. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the association between social network satisfaction and life satisfaction and whether the association is moderated by disability. Our sample consisted of 20,179 individuals aged 50-65 in 17 European countries who participated in the waves 6 and 7 of the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARE). The association between social network satisfaction and life satisfaction was examined using logistic regression analysis and adjusting for potential confounders. Then interaction term between disability and social network satisfaction on life satisfaction was tested. The results showed a statistically significant relationship between social network satisfaction and life satisfaction (OR=1.54, 95% C.I. 1.43-1.65 in the adjusted model). We did not find evidence that disability moderates the association between social network satisfaction and life satisfaction (p-value for interaction 0.16). This study, which assessed the quality of social networks using social network satisfaction as an indicator, could help to better understand the relationship between social networks and wellbeing among people with disabilities.