All in the family: A descriptive analysis of family network change in families managing chronic illness

Abstract

BackgroundSocial networks can be a source of support, including informational support, in chronic illness management, but can change over time in response to health crises. However, little is known about how families leverage their support networks to manage chronic illness over time—and how these networks may change.MethodsFor 28 families managing either diabetes or HIV, we gathered survey‐based social network data, including network size, exchanges of support, and tie strength, up to 5 times over 2 years. We then used descriptive analysis to examine changes in network size, structure and function (e.g., informational support).FindingsAlthough family networks remained stable in terms of network size and transitivity, these networks experienced regular fluctuations in both tie‐level variables (i.e., tie strength) and density of informational support exchanges.DiscussionObserved changes in these measures indicate that even family support networks are susceptible to change over time, particularly at the tie‐level, indicating a need to expand the way we think of network change beyond whole network measures when looking at small, family networks, especially examining how information exchanges fluctuate over time. Future research should explore tie‐level measures and support exchange networks to understand why networks change over time.