Social roles in older adults: Changes over time and associations with well-being

Older adults hold various social roles such as parent, friend, volunteer, or grandparent, which differ in the importance assigned to them. The relative importance of specific roles is assumed to change over the lifespan due to major life transitions (e.g., retirement or bereavement) and changing personal or contextual circumstances. Furthermore, there is ongoing debate about whether having more roles benefits well-being. This study examined stability and change in social role importance and their longitudinal relationships with life satisfaction using three waves of the Health, Aging, and Retirement Transitions in Sweden (HEARTS) study (N=3,935) and applying latent growth curve modeling. Results showed significant changes in the importance of specific roles. The number of important roles was positively associated with life satisfaction, while the total number of roles was not. These findings highlight the relevance of examining social role importance over role quantity to better understand older adults’ social participation and well-being.