Susan Charles, associate dean of graduate programs in the School of Social Ecology at the University of California, Irvine, has been awarded a $2,550,958 grant from the National Institute on Aging. The funding supports her project, “Linking Daily Dynamics of Social Connection to Physical and Cognitive Functioning,” which aims to examine how the daily rhythms of feeling socially connected, or disconnected, influence physical and mental health over time.
Charles argues that previous research on social connection has often viewed it as a fixed trait rather than a fluctuating daily experience. She believes that moment-to-moment variations in social feelings may reveal how social life impacts biological processes. Decisions such as calling a friend or attending a social event, even when tired, may not seem like health decisions, but Charles states they influence well-being. These effects are both immediate and cumulative, with Charles noting that "consistent positive social connection enhance health."
To investigate these ideas, Charles and her team will utilize the Midlife in the United States study (MIDUS), a longitudinal dataset in social science. The project draws on two longitudinal daily diary datasets collected over nearly 20 years. Participants in one dataset completed nightly phone interviews for a week across three separate waves in 2002, 2014, and 2023. A second dataset captures two waves of daily diary data spanning about a decade, with waves beginning in 2012 and 2023.
In total, the study follows more than 2,900 adults, ranging in age from 24 to 97. Beyond the daily diary interviews, participants provided extensive surveys, underwent cognitive assessments, and some offered biological samples for biomarker testing. Charles plans to analyze cortisol, inflammatory markers, gene expression profiles, and biomarkers related to biological age acceleration. The research aims to connect social experiences to “inflammaging,” an age-related increase in chronic low-grade inflammation linked to various health conditions.
The study will specifically examine how these biomarkers, which are related to poorer health outcomes, connect to the levels and consistency of daily social connection. Charles is particularly interested in how the relationship between social connection and health changes in later life as the body becomes more vulnerable. With the United States Surgeon General identifying loneliness and social isolation as a public health epidemic, Charles hopes her study will shift the focus from the risks of social isolation to the power of positive social connections, advocating for social connection to be recognized as a daily health behavior, similar to exercise or diet.
