Social Support and Well-Being: Preliminary Indicators Based on Two Samples of the Elderly

1986 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
pp. 61-77 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mary J. Levitt ◽  
Toni C. Antonucci ◽  
M. Cherie Clark ◽  
James Rotton ◽  
Gordon E. Finley

The structure of social support and its relation to health, affect, and life satisfaction are compared for two samples of the elderly. The first is a national representative sample; the second is a distressed sample from South Miami Beach. Although there are similarities in the structure of social support across the two groups, those in the Miami Beach sample report fewer support figures, and far fewer within geographic proximity, than do those in the national sample. This comparative network impoverishment is particularly marked for male respondents and is accentuated by a high number of isolates in this group. In addition, stronger relationships are found between support network size and affect, and among affect, life satisfaction, and health in the South Miami Beach sample. Older men in poor health and without supportive relationships are targeted as a particularly high risk subgroup. The discussion includes a focus on personal, situational, and life span differences related to variations in support and well-being and a consideration of implications for more recent waves of elderly sun-belt migrants.

2011 ◽  
Vol 34 (2) ◽  
pp. 222-245 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fei Sun ◽  
Vincent Waldron ◽  
Richard Gitelson ◽  
Ching-hua Ho

The authors examine the roles of social connectedness in mediating the relation between the loss of loved ones and life satisfaction in older residents living in a retirement community. Data were collected through a mail survey on a random sample of 734 older residents ( M age = 67 years, SD = 9.6 years) in a retirement community in the Southwest. Analyses were conducted using SPSS macros for estimating the indirect effects through multiple mediators. Participants who experienced the loss of loved ones in life reported statistically significantly higher life dissatisfaction scores than those who reported no such loss. The effects of loss on perceived life dissatisfaction were partially mediated by individual connectedness and satisfaction with received social support but not by support network size or collective connectedness. Interventions with older adults who experienced loss in life need to help alleviate their loneliness and increase their satisfaction with social support.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marjan Cugmas ◽  
Anuška Ferligoj ◽  
Tina Kogovšek ◽  
Zenel Batagelj

Population ageing requires society to adjust by ensuring additional types of services and assistance for elderly people. These may be provided by either organized services and sources of informal social support. The latter is especially important since a lack of social support is associated with a lower level of psychological and physical well-being. During the Covid-19 pandemic, social support for the elderly has proven to be even more crucial, also due to physical distancing. Therefore, this study aims to identify and describe the various types of personal social support networks of the elderly population during the coronavirus pandemic. To this end, a survey of Slovenians older than 64 years was conducted from April 25 to May 4, 2020 on a probability Web-panel-based sample (n = 605). The ego-networks were clustered by a hierarchical clustering approach for symbolic data. Clustering was performed for different types of social support (socializing, instrumental support, emotional support) and different characteristics of the social support networks (i.e., type of relationship, number of contacts, geographical distance). The results show that most of the elderly population in Slovenia have a satisfactory social support network, while the share of those without any (accessible) source of social support is significant. The results are particularly valuable for sustainable care policy planning, crisis intervention planning as well as any future waves of the coronavirus.


Author(s):  
Stephanie Rattelade ◽  
Susan Farrell

Social support is closely connected to mental health and well-being as well as experiences of housing vulnerability. This study explored differences between homeless and vulnerably housed women in their experiences of social support. Forty-nine homeless and 43 vulnerably housed women completed 3 measures to assess their social networks, social support networks, and global social support. Vulnerably housed women reported fewer social support network members than homeless women. Social support network size was found to be a predictor of global social support score. These findings suggest that housing status impacts social support in homeless and vulnerably housed women, which may have implications for their well-being.


Author(s):  
Valeria Farriol-Baroni ◽  
Lorena González-García ◽  
Aina Luque-García ◽  
Silvia Postigo-Zegarra ◽  
Sergio Pérez-Ruiz

Scientific interest in the positive aspects of aging and the development of healthy aging has increased, given the need to ensure older people well-being and quality of life. In this sense, social support and some sociodemographic variables may have a not yet entirely clear role. The main objective of this work was to analyze the predictive relationships of age, marital status, social support and subjective well-being on the general perception of the health of a group of elderly people. The participants were 137 people (77.4% women) between 61 and 91 years old (M = 73.11; SD = 6.22); 56.9% of them had a partner and 40.1% did not. The path analysis tested indicates that social support has an indirect predictive value on perceived overall health through its influence on subjective well-being. Age and life satisfaction are the most important direct predictors of perceived overall health. Conclusions highlight the need to delve into the study of explanatory factors of the general perception of the health of the elderly and promote interventions to facilitate the development of an appropriate social support network and increase the subjective well-being of this group.


2010 ◽  
Vol 22 (7) ◽  
pp. 1185-1190 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sheung-Tak Cheng ◽  
Coty Kit Ling Lee ◽  
Pizza Ka-Yee Chow

ABSTRACTBackground: This study sought to investigate the extent to which structural and functional social support promotes psychological well-being among nursing home residents in a Chinese society.Methods: 71 nursing home residents (57 women, 14 men) provided ratings on contact frequency and emotional and instrumental support exchanges with network members. Psychological well-being was measured using depression, loneliness, positive affect, and life satisfaction.Results: Network size was associated with well-being, but was largely nonsignificant after controlling for frequency of contact or functional support. Contact and support from staff and fellow residents were consistently related to all well-being variables, whereas interactions with family were associated with life satisfaction and positive affect only. Being able to reciprocate support was also related to well-being in this sample of frail elderly, controlling for other factors.Conclusion: Interactions with staff and residents in the institution are more protective of well-being than interactions with family members. Even in a society where familism is strongly valued, assimilation into the institution facilitates support exchange when needed.


PLoS ONE ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (3) ◽  
pp. e0247993
Author(s):  
Marjan Cugmas ◽  
Anuška Ferligoj ◽  
Tina Kogovšek ◽  
Zenel Batagelj

Population ageing requires society to adjust by ensuring additional types of services and assistance for elderly people. These may be provided by either organized services and sources of informal social support. The latter are especially important since a lack of social support is associated with a lower level of psychological and physical well-being. During the Covid-19 pandemic, social support for the elderly has proven to be even more crucial, also due to physical distancing. Therefore, this study aims to identify and describe the various types of personal social support networks available to the elderly population during the pandemic. To this end, a survey of Slovenians older than 64 years was conducted from April 25 to May 4, 2020 on a probability web-panel-based sample (n = 605). The ego networks were clustered by a hierarchical clustering approach for symbolic data. Clustering was performed for different types of social support (socializing, instrumental support, emotional support) and different characteristics of the social support networks (i.e., type of relationship, number of contacts, geographical distance). The results show that most of the elderly population in Slovenia has a satisfactory social support network, while the share of those without any (accessible) source of social support is significant. The results are particularly valuable for sustainable care policy planning, crisis intervention planning as well as any future waves of the coronavirus.


Author(s):  
Tiago Santos Leles ◽  
Michelle Menezes Carlos ◽  
Grasielle Silveira Paulin

Introdução: Com o crescimento significativo de idosos, é necessário o aprimoramento de políticas públicas que propiciem a promoção de saúde e a prevenção de doenças. A proposta do grupo de promoção de saúde surge como uma estratégia no processo do envelhecimento com o objetivo de garantir qualidade de vida na velhice. Constitui-se como uma iniciativa de atuação interdisciplinar. Objetivo: Compreender a importância dos papéis ocupacionais e do apoio social dos idosos que participam dos grupos de promoção de saúde oferecidos por um Centro de Convivência de uma cidade administrativa do Distrito Federal. Métodos: Trata-se de uma pesquisa do tipo qualitativa de caráter descritivo-exploratório, com análise da técnica do discurso do sujeito coletivo. A pesquisa foi realizada em um Centro de Convivência de uma cidade administrativa do Distrito Federal. Para a coleta de dados, utilizaram-se dois instrumentos: a Lista de Identificação de Papéis Ocupacionais e o Diagrama de Escolta. Resultados e Discussão: Foi possível compreender que os grupos de promoção de saúde contribuíram na ampliação da rede de apoio social dos idosos, na criação de novos laços de amizade que fortaleceram os papéis ocupacionais contribuindo para o engajamento em atividades e evitando o isolamento. Conclusão: Conclui-se que os grupos de promoção à saúde do Centro de Convivência tornaram-se um forte incentivador para a ampliação da rede de apoio social e dos papéis ocupacionais, tendo uma grande influência sobre o bem-estar físico, emocional e psicológico dos idosos participantes do estudo. AbstractIntroduction: With the significant growth of the elderly, it is necessary to improve public policies that promote health promotion and disease prevention. The proposal of the health promotion group is presented as a proposal to guarantee quality of life in old age, an initiative of interdisciplinary action, which emerged as a strategy in the aging process. Aims: To understand the importance of the occupational roles and the social support of the elderly people who participate in the health promotion groups offered by a Centro Convivência of an administrative city of the Federal District.Methods: It is a qualitative research of descriptive-exploratory character, with analysis of the discourse technique of the collective subject. The research was carried out in a Coexistence Center of an administrative city of the Federal District. Two instruments, the Occupational Identification List and the Escort Diagram, were used for data collection.Results and Discussion: It was possible to understand that the health promotion groups contributed to the expansion of the social support network of the elderly, the creation of new bonds of friendship that strengthened the occupational roles contributing to the engagement in activities and avoiding isolation. Conclusion: It was concluded that the health promotion groups of the Coexistence Center, have become a strong incentive for expanding the social support network and occupational roles, being a great influence for the physical, emotional and psychological well-being of the study. Keyword: Aging; Social participation; Social net work; Occupational therapy; Socialization.


2020 ◽  
Vol 48 (11) ◽  
pp. 1-11
Author(s):  
Dekuo Liang ◽  
Lei Wang ◽  
Liying Xia ◽  
Dawei Xu

Little is known regarding the life satisfaction of rural-to-urban migrants in China. In this study we assessed whether self-esteem and perceived social support mediated the association between rural-to-urban migrants' acculturative stress and life satisfaction. We use convenience sampling to recruit 712 migrants who were employed at construction sites in Nanjing for the study. Results reveal that acculturative stress was negatively related to self-esteem, perceived social support, and life satisfaction; self-esteem was positively associated with perceived social support and life satisfaction; and perceived social support was a significant and positive predictor of life satisfaction. In addition, we found that self-esteem and perceived social support partially mediated the relationship between acculturative stress and life satisfaction. Our findings provide a better understanding of life satisfaction over the course of migration, and add to knowledge of psychological well-being and mental health among rural-to-urban migrants in China.


2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (22) ◽  
pp. 9597
Author(s):  
Gabriella Nagy-Pénzes ◽  
Ferenc Vincze ◽  
Éva Bíró

Mental disorders are common in adolescents, and for effective interventions we should be aware of their determinants. However, there are only a small number of studies investigating the combined effect of multiple factors. Therefore, our aim is to assess the impact of socioeconomic status, social support, and health behavior on adolescents’ mental well-being. A cross-sectional health survey of 1641 children was carried out in accordance with the study protocol of the Hungarian Health Behavior in School-aged Children survey. Multivariate multiple regression was used to analyze the main determinants of mental well-being. The boys’ mental well-being was favorable compared to girls; lower subjective family wealth was associated with lower life satisfaction and depressive mood. Life satisfaction was positively related to healthy eating, social support, and physical activity. Unhealthy eating, sedentary lifestyle, and lower social support were associated with higher depression scores. Higher social support reduces psychosomatic symptoms, while unhealthy eating and spending a lot of time in front of the computer increase them. Both social support and healthy lifestyle seem to be protective against mental health problems among adolescents, and thus interventions should focus on these factors regardless of the socioeconomic status of the participants, with special attention given to girls.


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