Older African-Americans face many barriers that impede access to formal support services. Therefore, informal social networks may be the only source of support for many elderly African-Americans. This study looked at three measures of informal social networks: contacts with family members, contacts with friends, and social involvement outside the home. Data were from the 1984-1988 Longitudinal Survey of Aging. Bivariate associations with lower mortality occurred for all three social network indices. When controlling for sociodemographic, physical health variables, and self-rated health in logistic regression, church attendance retained significance. Men appeared to be at high risk when social network was limited. Other significant factors were: cancer, activities of daily living, sex-specific body mass, and self-rated health.
Although several studies show an association between self-rated health and mortality among older persons, most have used only a single question to assess self-rated health. The present research used the 1984-1990 Longitudinal Study of Aging to examine whether self-ratings other than the traditional, National Health Interview Survey-type global self-assessment make independent contributions to predicting mortality. Four health assessments were selected in addition to the global rating (Activity Compared to Age Peers, Control over Future Health, Taking Care of One's Health, and Worry Due to Health in the past year). All five self-assessments, along with a composite measure, had bivariate associations with higher mortality as ratings became less favorable. However, only Activity Compared to Peers retained an association with mortality even with Global Self-Rated Health in the model. Subjective assessments based on peer comparison may be important additions to research in this area.
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