Studies often investigate the long-term impact of social contacts on mental health in older adults, neglecting momentary effects. This research, grounded in the consideration of daily activity, explores how time-varying social contacts associate with momentary depressive symptoms among 216 older adults in the Île-de-France region. Data collected with smartphone surveys, GPS receivers, and mobility survey showed that participants engaging with social contacts exhibited lower depression not only immediately but also in the following hours. Interestingly, a longer duration of time spent with social contacts did not lead to a sharper decrease in depression levels. Notably, larger decreases were observed when the number of social contacts increased from one to two, especially with friends or family members.
Read the paper