Livin’ La Vida Sola: Network Diversity and Well‐Being in Middle‐Aged Adults Living Alone

Background: For individuals living alone, having a diverse personal network is considered crucial for mitigating the risk of social isolation and enhancing well‐being. Although a reciprocal dynamic between network diversity and well‐being is likely, longitudinal evidence supporting reciprocal effects is limited. This study investigates dynamic transactions between network diversity and well‐being (life satisfaction, loneliness, and depressiveness) in a community‐based sample of middle‐aged adults from Germany. It also explores moderations by the duration of living alone.

Method: Data were drawn from the three‐wave RIKSCHA (Risks and Chances of Living Alone) project, which includes N  = 389 middle‐aged adults living alone.

Results: Cross‐lagged panel models revealed high rank‐order stabilities and correlated changes in network diversity and well‐being. Random‐intercept cross‐lagged panel models and dynamic panel models indicated that unobserved traits accounted for these high stabilities. Correlated changes disappeared when accounting for the trait‐like stability of variables. Across all models, no evidence of reciprocal associations between network diversity and well‐being was found. All results remained consistent regardless of the duration of living alone.

Conclusions: The study discusses trait factors accounting for the high stabilities observed in network diversity and well‐being among middle‐aged adults living alone. Future research should further explore the traits impacting successful adaptation to living alone within the context of personal networks.