EDITORIAL Can Social Engagement Prevent Cognitive Decline in Old Age?

Is being alone in old age common? Death of aspouse or friends and preoccupation with life among one’s children seem likely to lead to a shrinking of a person’s primary social network. These events have health consequences; for exam-ple, greater mortality rates among bereaved spouses have often been reported (1). We may not recog-nize the adaptive abilities of older persons. In old age, the nature of social contact and interaction changes in old age: It may expand to include non-family members, may be more formalized because of involvement of organizations, and may be freer and more fluid because of fewer obligations. van Tilburg (2) reported that social networks in older persons remained stable over time. However, fre-quency of contact decreased and instrumental an