Being Social May Be Purposeful in Older Adulthood: A Measurement Burst Design.

Objective: Sense of purpose predicts a wide array of positive health, cognitive, and well-being outcomes during older adulthood. However, work is limited regarding how social relations correspond to purposefulness in daily life. The current study explored daily social interactions as a route to daily purposefulness in older adults, using a measurement burst design.

Methods: Older adults completed surveys for three 5-day bursts each spread 6 months apart (M = 70.75, SD = 7.23; N = 104).

Results: Multilevel models demonstrated that on days when individuals reported more positive social interactions, they reported feeling more purposeful (est. = 0.39, 95% CI [0.28, 0.51]) when accounting for health, employment, and relationship status. Employment status moderated this association, as daily social interactions were more strongly associated with daily purpose for unemployed/retired individuals (est. = -0.23, 95% CI [-0.38, -0.08]).

Conclusion: Positive social interactions thus may help older adults maintain purposefulness, particularly after retirement.