Social networks (the network of people that we know in real life) are known to protect against depressive symptoms in older adults. However, most research relies on retrospective self-reported depression measures and cross-sectional data, which may introduce bias. Ecological momentary assessment with longitudinal data overcomes these limitations by repeatedly measuring the subject's experience in the present moment. This study examined how social network characteristics relate to momentary depressive symptoms and their daily fluctuations in older adults. Network size and frequency of contact from digital communications per week were not associated with fewer depressive symptoms; however, there was suggestion that having more in-person contact was related to fewer depressive symptoms. Moreover, having a larger social network and more in-person contacts were associated with less fluctuations in daily depressive symptoms, but no association for the frequency of contact from digital communications was observed.
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