Relationship commitment of Portuguese lesbian and gay individuals: Examining the role of cohabitation and perceived social support

2018 ◽  
Vol 36 (9) ◽  
pp. 2738-2758
Author(s):  
David L. Rodrigues ◽  
Aleksandra Huic ◽  
Diniz Lopes
Keyword(s):  
Social Support ◽  
Gay Men ◽  
Perceived Social Support ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Relationship Commitment ◽  
Lesbian Women ◽  
Same Sex ◽  
Lesbian And Gay ◽  
Important Relationship

Lesbian and gay (LG) individuals strive to form stable relationships, and most of them are successful in doing so. Because successful relationships have benefits for psychological well-being, it is important to investigate factors that help people in same-sex relationships to achieve stable and committed relationships. The Investment Model (IM) proposes commitment to be predicted by satisfaction, quality of alternatives, and relationship investments. We extend this model by proposing two additional variables—cohabitation and social support. Cohabitation is a particularly important relationship marker for LG individuals, and its role on same-sex relationship commitment may be linked to the perception of greater support from close family and friends. In a cross-sectional study conducted in Portugal ( N = 534, 62.4% gay men and 37.6% lesbian women; Mage = 29.64 years, SD = 8.30), we tested a multigroup structural equation model linking cohabitation to perceived social support from close network members (family and friends) and to relationship commitment, via the IM variables. The results showed that cohabitation was positively associated with perceived social support from both parents and friends. Friend support and its association with satisfaction mediated the association between cohabitation and commitment for both gay men and lesbian women. However, there were differences between LG individuals. Support from parents was positively associated with satisfaction and negatively associated with perceived quality of alternative situations to the relationship, but only for gay men. Support from friends was positively associated with satisfaction for both lesbian women and gay men while also positively associated with relationship investments for gay men. These results are a relevant addition to the literature by showing the importance of cohabitation and social support from parents and friends for same-sex relationship outcomes, possibly acting as buffers against different sorts of negative experiences.

Volunteering among Older Lesbian and Gay Adults: Associations with Mental, Physical and Social Well-Being

2020 ◽  
pp. 089826432095291
Author(s):  
Anthony Lyons ◽  
Beatrice Alba ◽  
Andrea Waling ◽  
Victor Minichiello ◽  
Mark Hughes ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Gay Men ◽  
Nationwide Survey ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Lesbian Women ◽  
Community Connectedness ◽  
Factors Associated ◽  
Lesbian And Gay ◽  
Survey Results ◽  
Potential Factors ◽  
Insight Into

Objectives: Volunteering is associated with positive well-being among older people, providing opportunities to stay active and socially connected. This may be especially relevant for older lesbian and gay people, who are less likely than heterosexual people to have a partner, children or support from their family of origin. Methods: Patterns of volunteering and mental, physical and social well-being were examined in a sample of 754 lesbian and gay adults in Australia aged 60 years and older who completed a nationwide survey. Results: Volunteers reported greater positive mental health than non-volunteers. Among the gay men, volunteers additionally reported higher self-rated health and social support and lower psychological distress. Both the lesbian women and gay men who volunteered for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender or intersex (LGBTI) organisations also reported greater LGBTI community connectedness than volunteers for non-LGBTI organisations. Discussion: These findings provide further insight into potential factors associated with the well-being of older lesbian and gay adults.

scholarly journals The influence of social support on COPD outcomes mediated by depression

PLoS ONE ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (3) ◽  
pp. e0245478
Author(s):  
Leonard Turnier ◽  
Michelle Eakin ◽  
Han Woo ◽  
Mark Dransfield ◽  
Trisha Parekh ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Quality Of Life ◽  
Social Support ◽  
Depressive Symptoms ◽  
Functional Status ◽  
Perceived Social Support ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Institutional Review Boards ◽  
Longitudinal Analyses ◽  
Cross Sectional

Background The purpose of this study was to explore the association between perceived social support and COPD outcomes and to determine whether the associations are mediated by depressive symptoms. Methods Subjects with COPD who were enrolled as part of SPIROMICS were included in this analysis. Questionnaires relating to quality of life, symptom burden, and functional status were administered at annual clinic visits for over a 3 year period. In both cross-sectional and longitudinal analyses, we examined the association of social support as measured by the FACIT-F with COPD outcomes. Cross sectional analyses used multivariable linear or logistic regression, adjusting for covariates. For longitudinal analyses, generalized linear mixed models with random intercepts were used. Models were adjusted with and without depressive symptoms and mediation analyses performed. Results Of the 1831 subjects with COPD, 1779 completed the FACIT- F questionnaire. In adjusted cross-sectional analysis without depressive symptoms, higher perceived social support was associated with better quality of life, well-being, 6 minute walk distance, and less dyspnea. When also adjusting for depressive symptoms, all associations between social support and COPD outcomes were attenuated and no longer statistically significant. Mediation analysis suggested that depressive symptoms explained the majority (> = 85%) of the association between social support and measured COPD outcomes. Results of the longitudinal analysis were consistent with the cross-sectional analyses. There was no association between social support and odds of exacerbations. Conclusion Higher social support was associated with better COPD outcomes across several measures of morbidity including quality of life, respiratory symptoms, and functional status. In addition, these associations were largely attenuated when accounting for depressive symptoms suggesting that the beneficial association of social support with COPD outcomes may be largely mediated by the association between social support and depression. Trial registration SPIROMICS was approved by Institutional Review Boards at each center and all participants provided written informed consent (clinicaltrials.gov: NCT01969344).

scholarly journals The Multiple Mediating Effects of Perceived Social Support and Spiritual Well-being on the Relationship Between Spiritual Needs and Quality of Life Among Patients With Advanced Cancer

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Quying Wen ◽  
Miaorui Jiao ◽  
Huailin Wang ◽  
Yanli Hu
Keyword(s):  
Social Support ◽  
Cancer Patients ◽  
Indirect Effect ◽  
Perceived Social Support ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Spiritual Needs ◽  
Mediating Effects ◽  
Spiritual Well Being ◽  
The Relationship

Abstract Aims: The purpose of this study was to test the associations between spiritual needs, perceived social support, spiritual well-being, and quality of life (QoL) and examine the multiple mediating effects of perceived social support and spiritual well-being on the relationship between spiritual needs and QoL among patients with advanced cancer.Methods: Spiritual needs, perceived social support, spiritual well-being and QoL were assessed using self-report questionnaires among 286 cancer patients in a tertiary oncology hospital. The mediation model was analysed using the SPSS PROCESS procedure, and indirect effects were evaluated with bootstrapping.Results: QoL was positively correlated with spiritual needs (r=0.315, p<0.01), perceived social support (r=0.451, p<0.01) and spiritual well-being (r=0.636, p<0.01). The relationship between spiritual needs and QoL was mediated by perceived social support (indirect effect: 0.063, confidence interval (CI) (0.018, 0.118)) and spiritual well-being (indirect effect: 0.068, CI (0.001, 0.155)) and serially mediated by spiritual needs and QoL (indirect effect: 0.072, CI (0.041, 0.113)).Conclusions: The results emphasize the importance of spiritual well-being and social support for cancer patients, especially those with more spiritual needs. They suggest that healthcare providers should develop strategies to enhance perceived social support and spiritual well-being when caring for cancer patients to improve patients’ QoL.

scholarly journals FACTORS AFFECTING QUALITY OF LIFE AND LEVEL OF SOCIAL SUPPORT IN CANCER PATIENTS

2017 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 54-64 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ayse Berivan BAKAN ◽  
Asuman GURAKSIN
Keyword(s):  
Quality Of Life ◽  
Social Support ◽  
Cancer Patients ◽  
Social Relations ◽  
Perceived Social Support ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Global Quality ◽  
Quality Of Life Scale ◽  
Global Quality Of Life

Background: When people face health problems, their life satisfaction levels and social relations could be ruined. When it comes to an eerie, deadly and chronic disease like cancer, the individual is much more likely to be affected by it.Objective: This descriptive study aims to identify quality of life and level of social support and the affecting factors in cancer patients.Methods: The sample included 170 patients who applied to Internal Diseases, Radiation Oncology, Thorax diseases clinics and Chemotherapy polyclinic in a university hospital in Turkey between March and August, 2005, who met the research criteria, and who volunteered to participate in the study. The sample represented 20 % of the target population. Data were collected through SF-36 Quality of Life Scale and Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support.Results: The patients’ Global Quality of Life mean score was found 38.67 ± 13.64, and mean score for the Perceived Social Support was found 59.19 ± 17.5. Global Quality of Life score was higher in those who underwent an operation and who received ambulatory health care. Although Global Quality of Life was not influenced by the gender variable, male patients’ level of well-being was found to be higher. Perceived Social Support total score was found to be higher in those who knew about their disease. Family support was found to be higher in those who were married and who lived in town; it was found to be low in those who had low socio-economic level and who received inpatient treatment. Friend support was found to be high in those who knew about their disease.Conclusion: There was a linear relationship between Perceived Social Support and Quality of Life. It is recommended that more studies with wider groups of participants would shed more light to the issue of identifying quality of life, social support level and the relationships between them in cancer patients.

scholarly journals Measurement of Inter-Individual Variability in Assessing the Quality of Life in Respondents with Celiac Disease

Psych ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 2 (4) ◽  
pp. 296-314
Author(s):  
Silvia Bacci ◽  
Daniela Caso ◽  
Rosa Fabbricatore ◽  
Maria Iannario
Keyword(s):  
Quality Of Life ◽  
Social Support ◽  
Celiac Disease ◽  
Latent Class ◽  
Perceived Social Support ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Individual Variability ◽  
Adult Age ◽  
Irt Models

Quality of life of Celiac Disease (CD) patients is affected by constraints in their physical, social and emotional behaviour. Our objective is to assess differences in two relevant dimensions of the Celiac Quality of Life (CQoL) scale, Limitations due to the disease and Dysphoria (i.e., feelings of depression and discomfort), in relation to the perceived social support and some individual and disease-related characteristics. The paper exploits suitable unidimensional Item Response Theory (IRT) models to individually analyse the two mentioned dimensions of the CQoL and Multidimensional Latent Class IRT models for ordinal polytomous items in order to detect sub-populations of CD patients that are homogenous with respect to the perceived CQoL. The latter methods allow to address patients with similar characteristics to the same treatment, performing at the same time a more tailored overture to health promotion programmes. The analysis extracts the relevant patterns and relations among CD patients, disentangling respondents receiving CD diagnosis in adolescence or adult age rather than in childhood (the first perceive high levels of Limitations and Dysphoria), patients with high perceived social support, a factor influencing in a positive way motivation to engage in management of CD-related distress and psychological well-being, and participants who are married or cohabiting. The latter report higher latent trait levels.

scholarly journals Perceived social support and quality of life among adolescents in residential youth care: a cross-sectional study

2021 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Marianne Tevik Singstad ◽  
Jan Lance Wallander ◽  
Hanne Klæboe Greger ◽  
Stian Lydersen ◽  
Nanna Sønnichsen Kayed
Keyword(s):  
Quality Of Life ◽  
Social Support ◽  
Perceived Social Support ◽  
Skills Training ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Youth Care ◽  
Self Esteem ◽  
Moderating Effect ◽  
Residential Youth Care

Abstract Background Residential youth care (RYC) institutions aim to provide care and stability for vulnerable adolescents with several previous and present challenges, such as disrupted attachments, wide-ranging adverse childhood experiences, mental health problems, and poor quality of life (QoL). To the best of our knowledge, the present study is the first to provide knowledge of the associations between perceived social support and QoL and to explore the potential moderating effect of perceived social support on QoL for adolescents who have experienced maltreatment and polyvictimization. Methods All RYC institutions with adolescents between the ages 12–23 in Norway were asked to participate in the study. A total of 86 institutions housing 601 adolescents accepted the invitation, from which 400 adolescents volunteered to participate. The Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Interview was used to gather information on maltreatment histories and degree of victimization; the Kinder Lebensqualität Fragebogen was used to measure QoL through several domains (overall QoL, physical well-being, emotional well-being, and self-esteem); and the Social Support Questionnaire was used to measure perceived social support. Linear regression and independent samples t-test were used to study the associations between perceived social support and QoL as well as the potential moderating effect of perceived social support in the association between maltreatment history and QoL. Results Perceived social support was positively associated with QoL for both girls and boys, with domain-specific findings. A higher number of different types of support persons was associated with overall QoL, emotional well-being, and self-esteem for boys, but only with self-esteem for girls. Individual social support from RYC staff and friends was associated with higher QoL for girls. However, perceived social support did not moderate the association between maltreatment history and reduced QoL for either sex. Conclusions This study emphasizes the importance of maintaining social support networks for adolescents living in RYC, the crucial contribution of RYC staff in facilitating social support, and the potential value of social skills training for these vulnerable adolescents. Furthermore, a wider range of initiatives beyond social support must be carried out to increase QoL among adolescents with major maltreatment and polyvictimization experiences.

scholarly journals SUPPORT AND COPING AS MODERATORS OF THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN PERCEIVED STRESS AND THE QUALITY OF LIFE OF TRANSGENDER PEOPLE

2019 ◽  
Vol 24 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Rafał Gerymski ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Social Support ◽  
Coping Strategies ◽  
Perceived Stress ◽  
Perceived Social Support ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Subjective Well Being ◽  
Transgender People ◽  
And Coping ◽  
The Relationship

This study was conducted in order to verify the role of social support and coping strategies as moderators of the relationship between perceived stress and the subjective well-being of transgender people, which is lower than cisgenders’ people. 355 people took part in this study (124 transgender people and 231 cisgender people) between age of 18 and 53. Subjective well-being has been operationalized using the Satisfaction With life Scale SWLS. Measurement of the perceived stress was made using the Perceived Stress Scale PSS-10. Coping strategies were examined using the Mini-COPE inventory. Additionally, two subscales of the Berlin Social Support Scales BSSS were used to measure received and perceived social support. Transgender people scored on the SWB scale significantly lower than cisgender people. Received and perceived social support did not turn out to be a significant moderators of the relationship between perceived stress and the subjective well-being. Only one of the coping strategies turned out to be an significant moderator of this relationship – venting of emotions. Key words: transgenderism, perceived stress, quality of life, social support, coping strategies

scholarly journals United States Normative Attitudes for Pursuing Parenthood as a Function of Gender, Sexual Orientation, and Age

2022 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Doyle P. Tate
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Sexual Orientation ◽  
Gay Men ◽  
The United States ◽  
Internet Survey ◽  
Lesbian Women ◽  
Same Sex ◽  
Descriptive Norms ◽  
Same Sex Couples ◽  
Lesbian And Gay

Decisions about whether or not to become a parent are significant parts of normative human development. Many studies have shown that married different-sex couples are expected to become parents, and that many social pressures enforce this norm. For same-sex couples, however, much less is known about social norms surrounding parenthood within marriage. This study examined injunctive norms and descriptive norms for the pursuit of parenthood as a function of age, gender, and sexual orientation. Participants in an internet survey included 1020 (522 heterosexual, 498 lesbian/gay) cisgender people from across the United States Findings showed that norms, especially descriptive norms, for the pursuit of parenthood for heterosexual people were much stronger than those for lesbian women and gay men, and that norms for lesbian women were stronger than those for gay men. These differences were more pronounced for older, heterosexual, and male participants. However, lesbian and gay participants, especially gay men, reported that lesbian and gay people ought to become parents to the same extent as heterosexual people. Overall, the results indicated that, regardless of sexual orientation, adults report that lesbian and gay married people ought to become parents, but that they expect only a minority of these couples will pursue parenthood. This research provided a glimpse into how Americans are envisioning family formation among same-sex couples today.

The effect of perceived social support on the quality of life of hemodialysis patients. A preliminary study.

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 19-25
Author(s):  
P Theofilou ◽  
M Stefanidou ◽  
N Giannakopoulou ◽  
F Tzavella ◽  
S Zyga ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Quality Of Life ◽  
Social Support ◽  
Perceived Social Support ◽  
Statistical Significance ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Total Sample ◽  
Hemodialysis Patients ◽  
Support Materials ◽  
Quality Of Life Index

Purpose: Recent studies have shown that the role of social support is a predictive factor influencing the course of the disease. The current study is focused on patients’ assessment of quality of life and the relationship of the latter with perceived social support. Materials and methods: A total sample of 40 hemodialysis patients voluntarily participated in this study. Participants were recruited from two clinics in Athens and have been under hemodialysis. The measures used were the Missoula- Vitas Quality of Life Index–15 and the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support. For the data analysis descriptive statistics, parametric Pearson r test and Non-parametric Spearman’s rho test were used. Statistical level was set up at 0.05. Results: The results of the current study provide good quality of life of hemodialysis patients and significant statistical significance between quality of life in several domains. Conclusions: This study concludes that the participants’ assessment of quality of life is poor regarding the well-being dimension. Also, perceived social support is significantly related to quality of life

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