Social Relationships and Mortality Among the Elderly

Abstract

A growing literature documents the positive effect of social relationships on health, in general, and in reducing mortality, in particular. Much remains to be learned about which relationships have this effect, particularly among the elderly. This research, a secondary analysis of a national sample of community-dwelling elderly aged 70 and over, addresses these questions. Data come from the Longitudinal Study on Aging. Five scales constructed from relationship questions asked in the survey are related to respondent mortality over a 4-year follow-up using multiple logistic regression . The research confirms that certain relationships appear to reduce subsequent mortality: going to church/temple, volunteering, seeing friends or neighbors, and talking with them on the phone (socioexpressive relationships). The effect can be seen among healthy and more infirm elders. Helping relationships and household and kin relationships do not seem to reduce the risk of elder moriality.

Understanding the Links Between Social Support and Physical Health: A Life-Span Perspective With Emphasis on the Separability of Perceived and Received Support

“…As reviewed earlier, the type of support received is predicted to be critical to its effectiveness within a particular stressor context according to the matching hypothesis (Cutrona & Russell, 1990) and other goal-seeking approaches (Horowitz et al, 2000;Stroebe & Stroebe, 1996). The epidemiological work also points to the possible detrimental influence of received tangible support (e.g., Sabin, 1993). In addition, the presence of conflict in an existing relationship may undermine the effects of received support (Holt-Lunstad et al, 2007).…”

“…Thus, there is much less research measuring both components and linking them to relevant outcomes. A more comprehensive approach is important because these are not redundant measures/constructs and because epidemiological work linking received support to mortality suggests some negative influences on health (e.g., Sabin, 1993). It is important to note that the framework can also be used in the measurement of mediators or contextual processes that can be used to clarify the nature of such associations as reduced self-esteem or conflict in relationships.…”

“…However, epidemiological studies on received support appear to show the most negative influences for received tangible support (Forster & Stoller, 1992;G.A. Kaplan et al, 1994;Sabin, 1993), and hence, support type was included as a contextual factor in Figure 2. Very few studies contrast the health effects of Perspectives in Psychological Science -May 2009 -In Press different support types within the same study, so it will be important for future research to more fully examine its impact on the proposed models.…”

Harnessing the Therapeutic Power of Volunteering

“…• Improved affect 16 • Improvement in self-rated health 22,23,28,29,33,34,49,[51][52][53] • Greater longevity [10][11][12][13][14]24,33,35,36,[54][55][56] • Improved ability to carry out activities of daily living 22,24,33,52 • Better health coping mechanisms 4 • Reduced cardiovascular risk factors: lower cholesterol, interleukin 6, and body mass index 1 • Less hypertension 57 • Adoption of healthy lifestyles such as disease prevention, 39 increased physical activity, 58 and responsible amounts of drinking 59 • Lower incidence of frailty in later life 60 • Fewer hospitalizations 29 • Improved pain management 46 …”

Volunteering and Mortality Among Older Adults: Findings From a National Sample

“…The few studies done have largely supported the notion that volunteering is beneficial (e.g., Krause, Herzog, & Baker, 1992;Luks & Payne, 1992;Mclntosh & Danigelis, 1995;Sabin, 1993;Ward, 1979;Young & Glasgow, 1998), but data and analytical limitations of these studies have compromised their ability to make statements about the relationship between volunteering and well-being. One common problem cited by multiple scholars (e.g., Chambre, 1987;Fischer & Schaffer, 1993;Okun, Stock, Haring, & Witter, 1984) is disentangling causality.…”