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Teo AR, Choi H, Andrea SB, Valenstein M, Newsom JT, Dobscha SK, Zivin K. Does Mode of Contact with Different Types of Social Relationships Predict Depression in Older Adults? Evidence from a Nationally Representative Survey. Paper presented at: Society of Behavioral Medicine Annual Meeting and Scientific Sessions; 2015 Apr 25; San Antonio, TX.
Lack of social contact with family and friends is a risk for depression, but does it matter whether the social contact occurs in-person or by other means? This study determined the associations between in-person, telephone, and written/email social contact and risk of subsequent depressive symptoms in a large sample of adults age 50 and older in the U.S. Results showed that lack of in-person social contact, especially one's friends, was uniquely associated with depression.
