AUTHOR=Choi Eunsoo , Kwon Yuri , Lee Minha , Choi Jongan , Choi Incheol 

TITLE=Social Relatedness and Physical Health Are More Strongly Related in Older Than Younger Adults: Findings from the Korean Adult Longitudinal Study

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Psychology

VOLUME=9

YEAR=2018

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/psychology/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2018.00003

DOI=10.3389/fpsyg.2018.00003

ISSN=1664-1078

ABSTRACT=<p>Previous research indicates that social relatedness is beneficial to physical health; however, findings on the relative strength of the relationship between these variables have been inconsistent. The present study employed cross-sectional survey (Study 1) and a daily diary survey (Study 2) to examine the link between social relatedness and physical health by age. Using a representative sample of Korean adults (<italic>N</italic> = 371) aged from 20 to 69, Study 1 examines the link between social relatedness (loneliness, perceived social support) and physical health (physical symptoms, chronic health conditions) using age as a moderator. The results show that participants' age moderates the association between social relatedness and physical health. Study 2 (<italic>N</italic> = 384) further corroborated the findings from Study 1 by showing that when controlling for the physical symptoms experienced prior to the daily diary reports, the level of loneliness experienced over a 13-day period exacerbates the age differences in the physical symptoms. The present study thus provides converging evidence that social relatedness plays a significant role in physical health, particularly in the older population.</p>