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Does loneliness mediate the relation between social support and cognitive functioning in later life?
Ellwardt L, Aartsen M, Deeg D, Steverink N.. Social science & medicine (1982), 2013-09-15
Topic: Risk, prevention and care in population studies
Research in gerontology has demonstrated mixed effects of social support on cognitive decline and dementia: Social support has been shown to be protective in some studies, but not in others. Moreover, little is known about the underlying mechanisms between social support and cognitive functioning. We investigate one of the possible mechanisms, and argue that subjective appraisals rather than received amounts of social support affect cognitive functioning.
Key findings
- Moreover, little is known about the underlying mechanisms between social support and cognitive functioning.
- We investigate one of the possible mechanisms, and argue that subjective appraisals rather than received amounts of social support affect cognitive functioning.
- Loneliness is seen as an unpleasant experience that occurs when a person's network of relationships is felt to be deficient in some important way.
- As such, loneliness describes the extent to which someone's needs are not being met and thus provides a subjective assessment of support quality.
Why it matters
This longitudinal study investigated whether loneliness explains the link between social support and cognitive functioning in later life. It examines social and psychological factors, not a treatment, cure or prevention of Alzheimer's disease.
Study details
- Study designlongitudinal study
- Evidence strengthModerate
How this study scored 52/100
Published in a peer-reviewed journal, and it is a longitudinal study following the same people over time. Scored zero for sample size, effect reported, studied in people and randomised / blinded because the record does not state it.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 7 / 10 | Tier 3 — peer-reviewed journal (Social science & medicine (1982)) |
| Journal's citation record | 3 / 4 | Social Science & Medicine: journal h-index 391 (OpenAlex, 2026-10-29) |
| Study design | 7 / 12 | A longitudinal study following the same people over time |
| Strength of evidence | 3 / 5 | Rated “moderate” in our summary |
| Peer-review validation | 10 / 10 | Peer-reviewed. Published as an article in a named peer-reviewed journal. |
| How recent | 1 / 5 | 2013 — within 20 year(s) of the newest study here |
| Sample size | 0 / 4 | Participant count not stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Effect reported | 0 / 3 | No effect size reported — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Studied in people | 0 / 3 | Not stated whether this was studied in people — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Randomised / blinded | 0 / 2 | No randomisation or blinding stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Times cited | 5 / 7 | Cited 168 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10) |
| Citations per year | 3 / 5 | 11.2 citations a year over 15 year(s) since 2013 |
| Impact for its field and year | 4 / 6 | Cited 15.5× the average for papers of its field and year (OpenAlex FWCI) |
| Cited by studies here | 0 / 6 | No other study in this library cites it |
| Still being cited | 2 / 4 | Cited 29 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex) |
| Senior author's track record | 2 / 4 | Last-listed author Nardi Steverink: h-index 37 (OpenAlex, whole career) |
| Institution's track record | 1 / 3 | University of Groningen: institution h-index 1,383 (OpenAlex) |
| Multi-centre collaboration | 2 / 3 | OpenAlex lists 4 institution(s) in 1 country |
| Indexed in PubMed | 2 / 2 | Indexed in PubMed (PMID 24331889) |
| Free to read | 0 / 2 | Behind a paywall — scores zero |
| Total | 52 / 100 | — |
What each of these 20 components measures, and what this score is not →
Read the original
- DOI: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2013.09.002
- PubMed: 24331889
- Original source →
- Free full text: University of Groningen research database (University of Groningen / Centre for Information Technology) →
Full text: free to read — OpenAlex lists this copy as free to read: the link above (checked 6 Feb 1020).
Cite this study APA, Vancouver, BibTeX · download .bib or .ris
Built from the record alzhub holds for this paper, not looked up. Volume, issue and page numbers are not held in the record. Check the citation against the original before you use it.
APA 7th
Ellwardt, L., Aartsen, M., Deeg, D., & Steverink, N. (2013). Does loneliness mediate the relation between social support and cognitive functioning in later life? Social science & medicine (1982). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2013.09.002
Vancouver
Ellwardt L, Aartsen M, Deeg D, Steverink N. Does loneliness mediate the relation between social support and cognitive functioning in later life? Social science & medicine (1982). 2013. doi:10.1016/j.socscimed.2013.09.002. PMID: 24331889.
BibTeX
@article{ellwardt2013-24331889,
author = {Ellwardt, L. and Aartsen, M. and Deeg, D. and Steverink, N.},
title = {{Does loneliness mediate the relation between social support and cognitive functioning in later life?}},
journal = {Social science \& medicine (1982)},
year = {2013},
doi = {10.1016/j.socscimed.2013.09.002},
pmid = {24331889},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2013.09.002}
}
Studies this one cites
Referenced by this study and also in the alzhub library, so you can read them here.