Sense of belonging to the community in continuing care retirement communities and adult day care centers: The role of the social network

Aim: This study examined the contribution of the social network to one's sense of belonging to the community (SCB) in two different long-term care settings: Continuing care retirement communities (CCRCs) and adult day care centers (ADCCs). Methods: Overall, 245 respondents participated in both waves of the study that were spaced about 1 year apart. Results: Results show that constraint in the social network (e.g., being socially invested in a single group of interconnected ties) is particularly detrimental for CCRC residents, but not for ADCC participants. Betweenness, defined as the number of shortest paths that pass through the focal person, was not significantly related to SCB. In addition, the size of the egocentric network, obtained through a name generator of a list of all potentially meaningful individuals identified by respondents, was directly correlated with SCB at follow-up. Conclusions: The findings are discussed in light of differences between the two long-term care settings and the different social network indicators examined in this study.