Health Psychology, Vol 45(2), Feb 2026, 141-149; doi:10.1037/hea0001544
Objectives: To investigate the trajectory of social engagement from before to after diabetes diagnosis at three time points (prediagnosis, diagnosis, 2 years postdiagnosis) in individuals who developed diabetes and a comparison group. Method: Data were from 3,185 initially diabetes-free participants from the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing (Wave 2; 2004–2005). Face-to-face contact and telephone contact with friends, family, and children were assessed from Wave 3 (2006–2007) to Wave 8 (2016–2017). Cultural engagement (derived as an index of museum, theatre, and cinema attendance) was also measured from Waves 3 to 8. Generalized estimating equations were used to assess differences by group, time, and group-by-time interactions, adjusting for age, sex, wealth, education, marital status, ethnicity, depressive symptoms, sedentary behavior, and limiting physical illness. Results: A total of 341 (10.7%) individuals developed diabetes. The diabetes group reported lower face-to-face contact, W²(1) = 17.06, p W²(1) = 13.06, p W²(1) = 13.03, p