scholarly journals Influence of Social Support and Subjective Well-Being on the Perceived Overall Health of the Elderly

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 106 (2) ◽  
pp. 534-538 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aqeel Khan ◽  
Akbar Husain

The present study was conducted to examine: (a) the relation of positive psychological strengths, i.e., hope, optimism, self-efficacy and resiliency, with subjective well-being, and (b) the role of social support as a moderator of positive psychological strengths and subjective well-being. The following hypotheses were proposed: (a) that positive psychological strengths would be positively related with subjective well-being and social support; (b) social support would moderate the relation of positive psychological strengths with subjective well-being. 116 men and 64 women ( M age = 21.53 yr., SD = 4.99, range = 33) from India participated. Significant positive relationships were found for positive psychological strengths with subjective well-being and with social support network (family, friends, and others). Regression analysis showed social support significantly moderated the relations of positive psychological strengths with subjective well-being.


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.


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.


2016 ◽  
Vol 32 (12) ◽  
Author(s):  
Flávia Batista Portugal ◽  
Mônica Rodrigues Campos ◽  
Celina Ragoni Correia ◽  
Daniel Almeida Gonçalves ◽  
Dinarte Ballester ◽  
...  

The objective of this study was to identify the association between emotional distress and social support networks with quality of life in primary care patients. This was a cross-sectional study involving 1,466 patients in the cities of São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in 2009/2010. The General Health Questionnaire, the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale and the brief version of the World Health Organization Quality of Life Instrument were used. The Social Support Network Index classified patients with the highest and lowest index as socially integrated or isolated. A bivariate analysis and four multiple linear regressions were conducted for each quality of life outcome. The means scores for the physical, psychological, social relations, and environment domains were, respectively, 64.7; 64.2; 68.5 and 49.1. In the multivariate analysis, the psychological domain was negatively associated with isolation, whereas the social relations and environment domains were positively associated with integration. Integration and isolation proved to be important factors for those in emotional distress as they minimize or maximize negative effects on quality of life.


Nutrients ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (12) ◽  
pp. 4337
Author(s):  
Neri Maria Cristina ◽  
d’Alba Lucia

Nutritional well-being is a fundamental aspect for the health, autonomy and, therefore, the quality of life of all people, but especially of the elderly. It is estimated that at least half of non-institutionalized elderly people need nutritional intervention to improve their health and that 85% have one or more chronic diseases that could improve with correct nutrition. Although prevalence estimates are highly variable, depending on the population considered and the tool used for its assessment, malnutrition in the elderly has been reported up to 50%. Older patients are particularly at risk of malnutrition, due to multiple etiopathogenetic factors which can lead to a reduction or utilization in the intake of nutrients, a progressive loss of functional autonomy with dependence on food, and psychological problems related to economic or social isolation, e.g., linked to poverty or loneliness. Changes in the aging gut involve the mechanical disintegration of food, gastrointestinal motor function, food transit, intestinal wall function, and chemical digestion of food. These alterations progressively lead to the reduced ability to supply the body with adequate levels of nutrients, with the consequent development of malnutrition. Furthermore, studies have shown that the quality of life is impaired both in gastrointestinal diseases, but especially in malnutrition. A better understanding of the pathophysiology of malnutrition in elderly people is necessary to promote the knowledge of age-related changes in appetite, food intake, homeostasis, and body composition in order to better develop effective prevention and intervention strategies to achieve healthy aging.


2019 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 56 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hirotaka Nakamura ◽  
Chiyoe Murata ◽  
Yoshihiko Yamazaki

Objectives: In today’s aging societies, subjective well-being is an important determinant of quality of life among older persons. The association between better health and better subjective well-being is well known. However, the kinds of social activities associated with subjective well-being are largely unknown. This study aimed to assess such relationships, taking into account the type of social activities involved among community living older persons aged 65 and over.Method: We used self-administered questionnaire data (N = 2,652) from the Japan Gerontological Evaluation Project (JAGES) 2016. We conducted a poisson regression analyses stratified by age group to elucidate the association between social activities and better subjective well-being.Results: After adjusting for sex, family composition, household income, number of illnesses and depression, we found that activities to teach skills or passing on experiences to others were significantly related to higher subjective well-being both among the young-old (65-74) and the old-old (75 and over) population.Conclusion: Altruistic activities such as teaching skills or conveying knowledge to others appear to be related to higher subjective well-being. Promoting social activities has the potential to enhance subjective well-being among the elderly population.


2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
April D. Schantz ◽  
Stefany Coxe ◽  
Valentina Bruk-Lee

PurposeThe purpose of this research is to explore the structure and impact of police officers' social support network on health and well-being. Social integration promotes opportunities for regular positive experiences and a set of stable, socially rewarded roles within one's work and life domains. Identifying the structure and impact areas of police officers' social support network provide guidance for initiatives in improving psychological health for the department and individual officers.Design/methodology/approachSurvey of 162 police officers' sources of support provided a holistic representation of their social network across seven sources. Principle component analyses were conducted to explore the structure of one's social network. Multiple regression analyses were conducted to examine overall impact of one's social support network and relative contributions of support sources in terms of increased well-being and reduced strain.FindingsA three-component structure of social support was partially supported. Overall models of the impact of one's social support network related to increased well-being and reduced strain was supported. Relative contributions of support sources show different patterns based on outcome of interest.Practical implicationsProvides guidance for addressing the psychological well-being needs for officers holistically. In other words, treating officers as whole beings, whose system of support and psychological health is integrated, not piecemeal.Originality/valueExamination of principle effects of support provides a parsimonious approach to considering the holistic value of one's support system, apart from specific stressors or conditions.


2017 ◽  
Vol 20 (6) ◽  
pp. 869-877 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mariana dos Santos Ribeiro ◽  
Moema da Silva Borges ◽  
Tereza Cristina Cavalcanti Ferreira de Araújo ◽  
Mariana Cristina dos Santos Souza

Abstract Objective: to identify and synthesize studies that approach the coping strategies used by the elderly to deal with aging and death. Method: an integrative review was performed in seven databases with the following descriptors: psychological adaptation, the elderly, death and aging. Results: 73 articles were identified. After applying the inclusion and exclusion criteria, six articles that identified multiple losses experienced by the elderly and included coping strategies were selected and analyzed. The main losses were: loss of health; physical capacity and functionality; loss in quality of emotional relationships; death of loved ones; reduced social integration; fewer material goods; financial loss; lower cognitive resources; lower perceived mastery; loss of feeling useful; reduction in subjective well-being and quality of life. We also identified the following coping strategies used to deal with losses related to aging and finitude: anticipated grieving; wish to die; isolation; submission; negotiation; acceptance; accommodation; support seeking; living in the moment; seeking spiritual comfort. Conclusion: the elderly experience aging and finitude with coping strategies that can generate both unfavorable and favorable health outcomes. In this context, some coped through anticipated mourning and the desire to die, while others looked for spiritual comfort, social support and acceptance.


2011 ◽  
Vol 39 (5) ◽  
pp. 597-606 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marcia A. Finkelstein

Differences in the factors that initiate volunteering in individualists versus collectivists were examined. In prior work it has been suggested that the two differ, not in how much service volunteers give, but in the reasons why. Individualist and collectivist tendencies were measured in a sample of long-term volunteers. Also assessed were respondents' attitudes about the responsibility of individuals and of society to help those in need, the individual's obligation to engage in social and political action, and the quality of social support available to participants. Collectivism was associated most strongly with personal responsibility and with a strong social support network, while individualism was related to a perceived responsibility to participate in social and political activism. Neither individualism nor collectivism was predictive of time spent volunteering. The findings suggest that rather than predicting who will, and will not, volunteer, the individualism/collectivism construct is useful in clarifying why people help. This knowledge, in turn, can be used to match the volunteer to the appropriate activity.


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