Available online at www.sciencedirect.com

ScienceDirect
Review

Interdependent culture and older adults’ well-being:
Health and psychological happiness in Japanesecommunities
Yukiko Uchida1, Mariko Kanamori1,2, Shintaro Fukushima3 andKosuke Takemura4
Abstract

This review article examined perspectives on the well-being andhealth of older adults in Japan, a nation renowned for its longevity.
We emphasized the impact of social capital and social relationships in local communities, considering both individual and societal factors. The prevailing values in Japanese culture tend tofoster a sustained and stable form of interdependent happinessamong older adults, suggesting that communal support systems
play an important role. This article highlights the value of multilevel datasets, such as the Japan Gerontological Evaluation
Study (JAGES) dataset, for understanding the influence of social
participation on the health and well-being of older adults. A
growing body of evidence underscores the central role of social
relationships in the health and well-being of older adults.
Addresses
1
Institute for the Future of Human Society, Kyoto University, Kyoto,Japan
2
Department of Public Health Sciences, Stockholm University,
Stockholm, Sweden
3
School of Arts and Sciences, Tokyo Woman’s Christian University,
Tokyo, Japan
4
Faculty of Economics, Shiga University, Shiga, Japan
Corresponding author: Uchida, Yukiko (uchida.yukiko.6m@kyoto-u.
ac.jp)

Current Opinion in Psychology 2024, 55:101729
This review comes from a themed issue on Late Adulthood 2024
Edited by Alexandra M Freund and Jonathan Rolison
For a complete overview see the Issue and the Editorial
Available online 8 November 2023
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.copsyc.2023.101729
2352-250X/© 2023 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is ano p e n a c c e s s a r t i c l e u n d e r t h e C C B Y- N C l i c e n s e ( h t t p : / /creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/).

Keywords
Well-being, Health, Social capital, Multi-level dataset, Community.

People are living longer than ever before. Japan, referred
to as a nation of longevity, has seen dramatic changes inthis regard over the past century. As the population ages,
perceptions of well-being, including physical/biologicalwww.sciencedirect.com

health and psychological happiness may shift. This review
focuses on evidence from Japan to outline perspectives onhappiness and views of health among older adults.
In Japan, many people who work in organizations retire
from their corporate roles between the ages of 60 and 70.
However, with extended life expectancy, the concept of
post-retirement social engagement is becoming crucial
to older adults’ well-being [1,2] and physical/biologicalhealth [1,3]. This paper reviewed the characteristics ofolder adults’ well-being including health in Japan,
particularly concerning social capital [4] within community relationships.

Shift in social perception of aging:interdependent happiness
While older adults are often viewed as subjects forhealthcare and protection, they are also recognized fortheir rich experience and vital role in society and areoften motivated toward social engagement. In particular,
Japanese culture values interdependence and emphasizes reciprocal cooperation among individuals [5,6].
This tendency is manifested in a perceived “interdependent happiness” [7] where quiescence (calmness),stability, and a focus on others are valued. This sense ofinterdependent happiness remains comparatively higheven among older adults in Japan [8].
If happiness is seen and defined as an achievement,social status, health improvement, and wealth accumulation may be necessary, even in old age. While the ideaof the ever-achieving older adult fits the active antiaging narrative, Japanese culture generally tends tofoster a more sustainable form of happiness. This notionof interdependent happiness differs from happinessfocused on personal achievement or satisfaction (see[9]). For many, being valued or understood by others
becomes more important later in life. This suggests thathappiness is supported more by communal support
systems or social capital than by self-improvement [10].

Focus of the current review
This paper reviews the determinants of well-being,
including both psychological/subjective happiness andCurrent Opinion in Psychology 2024, 55:101729

2 Late Adulthood 2024

the physical/biological health, of older adults by focusing
both on individual and societal factors. This will provide
insights into what makes a place (e.g., local community)
beneficial for the health and psychological well-being ofolder adults, even for those who are less socially active.
To clarify this issue, this review will focus on a multilevel dataset that combines individual and regional
factors (see Figure 1).
The inspiration for this approach comes from evidence
suggesting that psychological tendencies are influenced
by macro-level community and environmental factors[11e14]. Uchida et al. [15] sampled more than 7000
individuals from approximately 400 Japanese communities. Their research revealed that traits related tointerdependence are fostered by collective activities inagricultural regions.

Health in community: the Japan
Gerontological Evaluation Study (JAGES)
Research and practice emphasizing community development have expanded in health promotion for older
adults. The Japan Gerontological Evaluation Study(JAGES), an interdisciplinary project, conducted alarge-scale questionnaire survey on approximately
340,000 older adults living in 76 municipalities in Japan(as reported in the 2022 wave of the survey). Considering that health is greatly influenced by social structures, referred to as “social determinants of health,” theproject sheds light on factors at both the individual andcommunity levels, such as social relationships.
A unique data collection strategy in collaboration withmunicipalities has made large-scale surveys possible[16]. In Japan, municipalities, as insurers, are responsible for planning preventive long-term care
Figure 1

Individual-levelsocial capital(e.g., participation insocial activities in thecommunity)

Health/Well-beingof older adults

Community-levelsocial capital(e.g. opportunity forsocial participation)
Current Opinion in Psychology

Individual and regional factors to promote health and well-being of older
adults.
Current Opinion in Psychology 2024, 55:101729

interventions. JAGES provides practical surveys that
can help municipalities formulate policies. Using astandardized questionnaire allows municipalities tocompare their data with that of other municipalities,
which helps to identify target issues. Data collection
was conducted every three years in conjunction withthe municipality’s long-term care prevention project;
thus, the availability of longitudinal data is anotherstrength of this project. The response rate was high(approximately 70%).

Impacts of social participation on health
The JAGES project reported on studies that defined“social participation” as participation in various community groups such as neighborhood associations, seniorclubs, and hobby groups. Older adults who participatedin local sports and hobbies several times a month ormore had a reduced risk of functional decline six years
later [17]. The same study found that participating a
few times per year had a preventive effect on functional
decline [17]. In addition, older adults who participatedin social activities continuously for three years were lesslikely to have depressive symptoms afterward, regardlessof the type of group they participated in [18**]. The
more community groups participants attend, the moresocial support they receive and provide [19], suggestingthat social participation may enrich the social support
environment for older adults. Therefore, communities
and places in which such activities are readily available
are essential.

Potential for fostering social capital totackle inequalities in well-being
Social isolation has been associated with various
negative indicators, including death, dementia, functional disability, depression, and lack of happiness[20e22]. Among municipalities participating in
JAGES, there is a 1.5e3.7 times municipal gap inhappiness, and the low proportion of older adults
participating in the community was attributed to thisgap [23]. In Japan, local governments have establishedmany community gathering places to prevent functional disabilities in older adults and participation insuch places promotes health and social participation[24*,25]. JAGES offers an initiative to support community organizations using survey data. Municipalities
that received advice from researchers on how to utilize the data to strengthen intersectoral collaboration
subsequently experienced an increase in male social
participation [26] and a decrease in male mortality
rates [27**]. In addition, social relationships maycompensate for health risks in vulnerable populations
such as people with adverse childhood experiences[28] or people living in rural areas [29]. During disasters such as infectious disease outbreaks [30] andearthquakes [31e33], social capital has been reported
to mitigate adverse health impacts.
www.sciencedirect.com

Interdependent culture and older adults’ health and well-being Uchida et al.

Socio-psychological interconnection of acommunity’s happinessSocial participation and social capital explain older
adults’ well-being at the individual level, and at thecommunity level, as described above. Social capitalhelps prevent violent crime [34] and can be the basis forinterdependent happiness among residents. Assumingthat one’s happiness is affected by the happiness ofothers [35], Fukushima et al. [36**] investigated thesocio-psychological interconnection of happiness. They
examined whether this socio-psychological interconnection of happiness occurred when individuals
belonged to a community in which other members hadstrong social capital. The multi-level analyses of large
community survey data sampled from 408 communities
in Japan showed that the socio-psychological interconnection of happiness was moderated by communitylevel social capital above and beyond individual-levelsocial capital. Notably, the surrounding socio-ecologicalenvironment in which members interact with one
another leads to the sharing of the socio-psychologicalinterconnection of happiness as a community’s culture(see [37]).

Types of social activity in a community:
preference-based activity and obligationbased activity
Social capital increases the individual happiness ofcommunity residents on average and also creates thesocio-psychological interdependent nature of happinessat the community level, as described above. In a local
community, there are various types of social activities,
from an activity that individuals are eager to join (suchas hobby or sports activities: “individual preferencebased activity”) to an activity which is maintained
based on a community’s tradition or custom (such asneighborhood association or community resource maintenance: “community obligation-based activity”) [38].
These activities may have different effects on the wellbeing of community residents. Fukushima et al. [39]examined the multi-level effects of preference-based
and obligation-based activities on well-being (happiness, depression, and physical health) using JAGES data.
The results showed that preference-based activities
increased the well-being of community residents,
whereas obligation-based activities decreased their wellbeing at both the individual and community levels.
Furthermore, these effects were mediated by concerns
for reputation at the individual level, a factor reflecting interdependence.

Fine-grained analyses of social activities
using wearable devices
Recent developments in research methods have provided new insights into the types of social relationshipsthat contribute to well-being including physical health.
Although questionnaire surveys have difficultywww.sciencedirect.com

3

capturing unnoticed/unmemorable interpersonal contacts (e.g., unintended brief contacts at a shop), wearable devices can do that (e.g., [40]). Komori et al. [41*]used wearable devices with Bluetooth communicationand collected data on the physical proximity amongresidents of an aging community in a rural Japanese area
over seven months. From the proximity log sequences,
they extracted five distinct subnetworks among residents, each of which played different roles in the community. For example, one subnetwork showed a patterncorresponding to social relations regarding farming activities, and another subnetwork showed a pattern ofdaily interactions with family. They found that residents’ self-rated health was associated with a subnetwork that was supposedly interpersonal contact amongpeople who visited the community hall. The community
hall functions as a gathering point for the residents, withseveral different activities taking place in the hall (e.g., asocial gathering of the elders’ club, exercise sessions by agroup of women, and occasional drinking sessions). The
centrality score (eigenvector centrality) of this subnetwork was positively associated with self-rated health,suggesting the potential importance of places and occasions where people connect with each other. However,
the other subnetworks were not associated with health.
This suggests that different social relationships havedifferent roles and implications for health, consistent
with the findings of Fukushima et al. [39]. Further effort
is needed to theorize differences in the roles of social
relationships and measure them more concisely.

Conclusion
Accumulating evidence suggests the importance ofsocial relationships for the well-being including physicalhealth of the older adult population. In the community,
individuals share their lives, creating a tapestry in which
their experiences and actions are interwoven with eachother throughout the lives of others. The notion ofinterdependent happiness sheds light on this aspect ofwell-being and provides researchers with conceptual
guidance for studying its social nature. Studying thesocial nature of well-being is an urgent issue as populations are rapidly aging in many societies. People often
need to retire when they age and lose opportunities tomeet others as a result. Physical decline with age may
even enhance the loss of social contact. To prevent theisolation of older adults, intentional efforts and interventions based on scientific research are needed. As
reviewed in this paper, different types of social relationships (i.e., obligation-based relationships vs.
preference-based relationships) have different influences on well-being. Accumulation of data and thedevelopment of theories are still necessary. As shown
above, large-scale community surveys with multi-level
modeling are powerful tools for investigating the social
contexts that sustain well-being. Wearable devices help
to collect data on the daily lives of local communities.
Current Opinion in Psychology 2024, 55:101729

4 Late Adulthood 2024

Psychological concepts such as interdependent happiness are useful for theorizing. Interdisciplinary collaborations are expected to play an important role infuture research.

Declaration of competing interest
The authors declare that they have no known competing
financial interests or personal relationships that could
have appeared to influence the work reported inthis paper.

Data availability
No data was used for the research described in
the article.

Acknowledgements
The study has been supported by the JST-MIRAI (21471530). MK
received a post-doctoral fellowship from JSPS (22J00622).

References
Papers of particular interest, published within the period of review,
have been highlighted as:* of special interest* * of outstanding interest
1.

Masui Y, Gondo Y, Kawaai C, Kureta Y, Takayama M,
Nakagawa T, Takahashi R, Imuta H: The characteristics ofgerotranscendence in frail oldest-old individuals who maintain a high level of psychological well-being. Japanese Journalof Gerontology 2010, 32:33–47, https://doi.org/10.34393/
rousha.32.1_33 (in Japanese).

2.

Masui Y: The overview of studies of gerotransendence.
Perspective of Aging Science 2016, 53:210–214 (in Japanese).

3.

Miyamoto Y, Ryff CD: Culture and health: recent developments
and future directions. Jpn Psychol Res 2022, 64:90–108,
https://doi.org/10.1111/jpr.12378.

4.

Putnam RD: Bowling alone: the collapse and revival of American
community. New York: Simon & Schuster; 2000.

5.

Markus HR, Kitayama S: Culture and the self: implications forcognition, emotion, and motivation. Psychol Rev 1991, 98:
224–253, https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-295X.98.2.224.

6.

Yamagishi T, Jin N, Miller AS: In-group bias and culture ofcollectivism. Asian J Soc Psychol 1998, 1:315–328, https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-839X.00020.

7.

Hitokoto H, Uchida Y: Interdependent happiness: theoreticalimportance and measurement validity. J HappinessStud 2015, 16:211 – 239, https://doi.org/10.1007/s10902-0149505-8.

8.

Hitokoto H, Takahashi Y: Interdependent happiness acrossage in Costa Rica, Japan, and the Netherlands. Asian J Soc
Psychol 2021, 24:445–462, https://doi.org/10.1111/ajsp.12437.

9.

Uchida Y, Nakayama M, Bowen KS: Interdependence ofemotion: conceptualization, evidence, andsocial implications from cultural psychology. Curr Dir Psychol
Sci 2022, 31:451–456, https://doi.org/10.1177/
09637214221109584.

10. Hommerich C, Ohnuma S, Sato K, Mizutori S: Determinants ofinterdependent happiness focusing on the role of social
capital: empirical insight from Japan. Jpn Psychol Res 2022,
64:205–221, https://doi.org/10.1111/jpr.12415.
11. Christ O, Schmid K, Lolliot S, Swart H, Stolle D, Tausch N, Al
Ramiah A, Wagner U, Vertovec S, Hewstone M: Contextual
effect of positive intergroup contact on outgroup prejudice.
Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 2014, 111:3996–4000, https://doi.org/
10.1073/pnas.1320901111.
Current Opinion in Psychology 2024, 55:101729

12. Colleran H, Jasienska G, Nenko I, Galbarczyk A, Mace R:
Community-level education accelerates the cultural evolutionof fertility decline. Proc Biol Sci 2014, 281, 20132732, https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2013.2732.
13. Murayama H, Fujiwara Y, Kawachi I: Social capital and health: areview of prospective multilevel studies. J Epidemiol 2012, 22:
179–187, https://doi.org/10.2188/jea.JE20110128.
14. Uchida Y, Takemura K, Fukushima S: How do socio-ecologicalfactors shape culture? Understanding the process of micromacro interactions. Current Opinion in Psychology 2020, 32:
115–119, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.copsyc.2019.06.033.
15. Uchida Y, Takemura K, Fukushima S, Saizen I, Kawamura Y,
Hitokoto H, Koizumi N, Yoshikawa S: Farming cultivates acommunity-level shared culture through collective activities:
examining contextual effects with multilevel analyses. J Pers
Soc Psychol 2019, 116:1–14, https://doi.org/10.1037/
pspa0000138.
16. Kondo K, Rosenberg M: Advancing universal health coveragethrough knowledge translation for healthy ageing: lessons learnt
from the Japan gerontological evaluation study. World HealthOrganization; 2018. https://apps.who.int/iris/handle/10665/
279010.
17. Ide K, Tsuji T, Kanamori S, Watanabe R, Iizuka G, Kondo K:
Frequency of social participation by types and functional
decline: a six-year longitudinal study. Arch Gerontol Geriatr
2023, 112:105018, https://doi.org/10.1016/
j.archger.2023.105018.
18. Shiba K, Torres JM, Daoud A, Inoue K, Kanamori S, Tsuji T,* * Kamada M, Kondo K, Kawachi I: Estimating the impact ofsustained social participation on depressive symptoms inolder adults. Epidemiology 2021, 32:886–895, https://doi.org/
10.1097/EDE.0000000000001395.
An individual’s social participation status changes over time. This study
examined the depression-preventive effects of social participation
among older adults, using a sophisticated epidemiological method thattreats social participation as a time-varying exposure. Their analysis
showed that sustained social participation for three years was associated with fewer depressive symptoms than temporary social participation. Furthermore, if conventional analysis methods were used,participation in neighborhood and senior clubs was not associated withdepressive symptoms, but was associated with the authors’ methods.
These findings suggest that previous studies have underestimated thehealth effects of social participation.
19. Iizuka G, Tsuji T, Ide K, Watanabe R, Kondo K: Does social
participation foster social support among the older population in Japan? A three-year follow-up study from the Japangerontological evaluation study. SSM Popul Health 2023, 22,101410, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ssmph.2023.101410.
20. Nakagomi A, Tsuji T, Saito M, Ide K, Kondo K, Shiba K: Social
isolation and subsequent health and well-being in older
adults: a longitudinal outcome-wide analysis. Soc Sci Med
2023, 327:115937, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.
21. Noguchi T, Saito M, Aida J, Cable N, Tsuji T, Koyama S, Ikeda T,
Osaka K, Kondo K: Association between social isolation anddepression onset among older adults: a cross-national longitudinal study in England and Japan. BMJ Open 2021, 11,e045834, https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2020-045834.
22. Saito M, Aida J, Cable N, Zaninotto P, Ikeda T, Tsuji T, Koyama S,
Noguchi T, Osaka K, Kondo K: Cross-national comparison ofsocial isolation and mortality among older adults: a 10-year
follow-up study in Japan and England. Geriatr Gerontol Int
2021, 21:209–214, https://doi.org/10.1111/ggi.14118.
23. Ide K, Jeong S, Tsuji T, Watanabe R, Miyaguni Y, Nakamura H,
Kimura M, Kondo K: Suggesting indicators of age-friendly city:social participation and happiness, an ecological study fromthe JAGES. Int J Environ Res Publ Health 2022, 19:5096, https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19095096.
24. Ide K, Nakagomi A, Tsuji T, Yamamoto T, Watanabe R,*
Yokoyama M, Shirai K, Kondo K, Shiba K: Participation incommunity gathering places and subsequent health andwell-being: an outcome-wide analysis. Innov Aging 2023, 084:
igad084, https://doi.org/10.1093/geroni/igad084.
In Japan, promoting participation in community gathering places has
been at the center of prevention strategies for functional disabilities
www.sciencedirect.com

Interdependent culture and older adults’ health and well-being Uchida et al.

among older adults. Using an “outcome-wide” analytic approach, thisstudy examined how participation in such places is associated with 34
health and well-being outcomes across six domains. Their comprehensive analysis showed that participation in community gatherings
was associated with better physical/cognitive health and more frequent
participation in hobby group activities and volunteering three years
later. However, the associations were mixed and modest for mental
health, psychological well-being, and health behaviors.
25. Harada K, Masumoto K, Katagiri K, Fukuzawa A, Touyama M,
Sonoda D, … Okada S: Three-year effects of neighborhoodsocial network intervention on mental and physical health ofolder adults. Aging Ment Health 2021, 25:2235–2245, https://doi.org/10.1080/13607863.2020.1839858.
26. Haseda M, Takagi D, Kondo K, Kondo N: Effectiveness ofcommunity organizing interventions on social activities
among older residents in Japan: a JAGES quasi-experimental study. Soc Sci Med 2019, 240:112527, https://doi.org/
10.1016/j.socscimed.2019.112527.
27. Haseda M, Takagi D, Stickley A, Kondo K, Kondo N: Effective* * ness of a community organizing intervention on mortality
and its equity among older residents in Japan: a JAGES
quasi-experimental study. Health & Place 2022, 74:102764,
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.healthplace.2022.102764.
Using quasi-experimental research methods, this study demonstrated
that municipalities with support from researchers could improve thehealth of their residents through active data utilization to assess
communities and by promoting intersectoral collaborations. They
defined the intervention group as the 12 municipalities where the researchers advised municipal officials and the control group as theremaining nine municipalities. The stabilized inverse probability oftreatment weighting technique was used to account for the ease ofreceiving the intervention between the two groups. During the 3-year
follow-up period, the mortality risk was lower among men in the intervention group.
28. Tani Y, Fujiwara T, Kondo K: Adverse childhood experiencesand dementia: interactions with social capital in the Japangerontological evaluation study cohort. Am J Prev Med 2021,
61:225–234, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.amepre.2021.01.045.
29. Kanamori M, Hanazato M, Takagi D, Kondo K, Ojima T,
Amemiya A, Kondo N: Differences in depressive symptoms byrurality in Japan: a cross-sectional multilevel study using
different aggregation units of municipalities and neighborhoods (JAGES). Int J Health Geogr 2021, 20:42, https://doi.org/
10.1186/s12942-021-00296-8.
30. Sato K, Kondo N, Kondo K: Pre-pandemic, and communitylevel social capital and depressive symptoms during COVID19: a longitudinal study of Japanese older adults in 2019-21.
Health & Place 2022, 74:102772, https://doi.org/10.1016/
j.healthplace.2022.102772.
31. Gero K, Hikichi H, Aida J, Kondo K, Kawachi I: Associations
between community social capital and preservation of functional capacity in the aftermath of a major disaster. Am J
Epidemiol 2020, 189:1369–1378, https://doi.org/10.1093/aje/
kwaa085.
32. Hikichi H, Tsuboya T, Aida J, Matsuyama Y, Kondo K,
Subramanian S, Kawachi I: Social capital prevents cognitive
decline in the aftermath of a natural disaster: a naturalexperiment from the 2011 Great east Japan earthquake andtsunami. Lancet Planet Health 2017, 1:e105–e113, https://doi.org/10.1016/S2542-5196(17)30041-4.

www.sciencedirect.com

5

33. Sato K, Amemiya A, Haseda M, Takagi D, Kanamori M, Kondo K,
Kondo N: Postdisaster changes in social capital and mental
health: a natural experiment from the 2016 Kumamoto
earthquake. Am J Epidemiol 2020, 189:910–921, https://doi.org/
10.1093/aje/kwaa041.
34. Sampson RJ, Raudenbush SW, Earls F: Neighborhoods andviolent crime: a multilevel study of collective efficacy. Science 1997, 277:918–924, https://doi.org/10.1126/
science.277.5328.918.
35. Fowler JH, Christakis NA: Dynamic spread of happiness in alarge social network: longitudinal analysis over 20 years in
the Framingham Heart Study. BMJ 2008, 337:a2338, https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.a2338.
36. Fukushima S, Uchida Y, Takemura K: Do you feel happy when
* * other members look happy? Moderating effect of communitylevel social capital on interconnection of happiness. Int J
Psychol 2021, 56:642–653, https://doi.org/10.1002/ijop.12744.
One’s happiness is expected to be affected by the happiness of surrounding others. This study examined if this “psychological interconnection of happiness” occurs when individuals belong to a community
where other members have strong social capital. They analyzed alarge social survey dataset sampled from 408 communities in Japan(N = 7295). The multi-level analyses revealed that the sociopsychological interconnection of happiness (correlation between individual happiness and perceived community happiness) was moderated
by community-level social capital above and beyond individual-levelsocial capital.
37. Oishi S, Graham J: Social ecology: lost and found in psychological science. Perspect Psychol Sci 2010, 5:356–377,
https://doi.org/10.1177/1745691610374588.
38. Kanamori S, Kai Y, Aida J, Kondo K, Kawachi I, Hirai H, Shirai K,
Ishikawa Y, Suzuki K, The JAGES Group: Social participationand the prevention of functional disability in older Japanese:
the JAGES cohort study. PLoS One 2014, 9, e99638. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0099638.
39. Fukushima S, Uchida Y, Takemura K, Kanamori M, Aida J:
Preference-based activity or obligation-based activity?:
multilevel effects of social activities on well-being of older
residents in Japan: a JAGES study (in prep).
40. Migliano AB, Page AE, Gómez-Gardeñes J, Salali GD, Viguier S,
Dyble M, Thompson J, Chaudhary N, Smith D, Strods J, Mace R,
Thomas MG, Latora V, Vinicius L: Characterization of huntergatherer networks and implications for cumulative culture.
Nat Human Behav 2017, 1:0043, https://doi.org/10.1038/s41562016-0043.
41. Komori M, Takemura K, Minoura Y, Uchida A, Iida R, Seike A,*
Uchida Y: Extracting multiple layers of social networks througha 7-month survey using a wearable device: a case study from a
farming community in Japan. J Comput Soc Sci 2022, 5:1069–1094, https://doi.org/10.1007/s42001-022-00162-y.
Residents of a Japanese farming community brought a wearable
device for seven months that detected nearby devices and collected
data on spatial proximity. Non-negative matrix factorization was
performed on the proximity log sequences and multiple latent subnetworks were extracted. One of the subnetworks captured the patterns of social contacts taking place in a community hall, which played
the role of a “hub” within the community. The eigenvector centrality
score for this subnetwork was associated with increased self-reported
health. This study demonstrates a new approach for capturing multiple
mutually overlapping layers of social networks in daily life.

Current Opinion in Psychology 2024, 55:101729