Social Capital and Health Kawachi, Ichiro; Subramanian, S. V; Kim, Daniel
2007, 2008, 2007-11-15, 20080401
eBook
This text discusses social capital, a concept that originated in the social sciences, & its application to the field of public health. The editors take care to define the concept of social capital, ...describe its theoretical origins, & discuss the controversies & debates surrounding the use of the concept in public health research.
Background: Social and environmental factors and their interactions are important to changing lifestyle behaviors, yet are understudied when compared to individual level factors. Behaviors typically ...occur within the family behavioral context, and gaining insight into how this context and family interactions influence behaviors is important in designing family-centered weight loss intervention. Methods: We measured changes in dietary adherence to the Mediterranean dietary pattern from baseline to 4 months in the Delicious Eating for Life in Southern Homes (DELISH) study. Using validated surveys, we assessed baseline family functioning constructs (cohesion, emotional involvement, perceived criticism, and communication), and social support. Multiple linear regression was performed to assess the association between the change in Mediterranean dietary adherence from baseline to 4 months and the selected family functioning variables. Gender and age were covariates. Significance was set a priori at 0.05 level (2-tailed). Results: Participant (n = 113) were majority male (53%), and on average 56.0 years old. Male gender was predictive of lower adherence to Mediterranean in models adjusting for social support for eating encouragement (/У = -2.1, p = 0.01), social support for eating discouragement (/T = -2.0, p = 0.02), social support quality and quantity (/? = -2.0, p = 0.02), family cohesion (/? = -2.0, p = 0.02), emotional involvement (ß = -2.0, p = 0.02), perceived criticism (ß = -2.0, p = 0.02), and communication (ß = 1.9, p = 0.02). Conclusions: These results suggest that the selected family functioning constructs alone do not improve adherence to the Mediterranean dietary pattern among men. Further research is needed to understand these interactions and combination of interactions among men as potential targets for family centered weight loss interventions.
•The present study examined the role of social support seeking through Facebook (SSS through FB).•Daily stress positively predicted adolescents’ SSS through FB.•SSS through FB directly increased ...adolescents’ depressed mood.•SSS through FB indirectly decreased adolescents’ depressed mood.•This harmful impact of SSS exclusively occurs in a social networking site context.
This study examined relationships among daily stress (i.e., school- and family-related stress), social support seeking through Facebook, perceived social support through Facebook, and depressed mood among adolescents (N=910). Structural equation modeling showed that daily stress positively predicted adolescents’ seeking of social support through Facebook. In addition, when social support was sought on Facebook and subsequently perceived, social support seeking through Facebook decreased adolescents’ depressed mood. However, when social support was sought on Facebook, but not perceived, social support seeking through Facebook increased adolescents’ depressed mood. When comparing these relationships with similar relationships in a traditional social support context, results showed that the exacerbating impact of social support seeking on depressed mood exclusively transpires in a social networking site context. The discussion focuses on the understanding and explanation of these findings, and directions for future research.
Abstract Objective Evaluation and validation of the psychometric properties of the eight-item modified Medical Outcomes Study Social Support Survey (mMOS-SS). Study Design and Setting Secondary ...analyses of data from three populations: Boston breast cancer study ( N = 660), Los Angeles breast cancer study ( N = 864), and Medical Outcomes Study ( N = 1,717). The psychometric evaluation of the eight-item mMOS-SS compared performance across populations and with the original 19-item Medical Outcomes Study Social Support Survey (MOS-SS). Internal reliability, factor structure, construct validity, and discriminant validity were evaluated using Cronbach's alpha, principal factor analysis (PFA), and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), Spearman and Pearson correlation, t -test and Wilcoxon rank sum tests. Results mMOS-SS internal reliability was excellent in all three populations. PFA factor loadings were similar across populations; one factor >0.6, well-discriminated two factor (instrumental/emotional social support four items each) >0.5. CFA with a priori two-factor structure yielded consistently adequate model fit (root mean squared errors of approximation 0.054–0.074). mMOS-SS construct and discriminant validity were similar across populations and comparable to MOS-SS. Psychometric properties held when restricted to women aged ≥65 years. Conclusion The psychometric properties of the eight-item mMOS-SS were excellent and similar to those of the original 19-item instrument. Results support the use of briefer mMOS-SS instrument; better suited to multidimensional geriatric assessments and specifically in older women with breast cancer.
In times of crisis, when institutions of power are laid bare, people turn to one another. Pandemic Solidarity collects firsthand experiences from around the world of people creating their own ...narratives of solidarity and mutual aid in the time of the global crisis of Covid-19. The world’s media was quick to weave a narrative of selfish individualism, full of empty supermarket shelves and con-men. However, if you scratch the surface, you find a different story of community and self-sacrifice. Looking at eighteen countries and regions, including India, Rojava, Taiwan, South Africa, Iraq and North America, the personal accounts in the book weave together to create a larger picture, revealing a universality of experience. Moving beyond the present, these stories reveal what an alternative society could look like, and reflect the skills and relationships we already have to create that society, challenging institutions of power that have already shown their fragility.
•Examined impact of COVID-19 and stay-at-home orders on psychological outcomes.•Stay-at-home orders linked to health anxiety, financial worry, and loneliness.•Impact of COVID-19 on life associated ...with health anxiety and financial worry.•Impact of COVID-19 on life associated with less loneliness and more social support.•Results highlight importance of social connection and need for tele-mental health.
The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in the widespread implementation of extraordinary physical distancing interventions (e.g., stay-at-home orders) to slow the spread of the virus. Although vital, these interventions may be socially and economically disruptive, contributing to adverse psychological outcomes. This study examined relations of both stay-at-home orders and the perceived impact of COVID-19 on daily life to psychological outcomes (depression, health anxiety, financial worry, social support, and loneliness) in a nationwide U.S. community adult sample (N = 500; 47% women, mean age = 40). Participants completed questionnaires assessing psychological outcomes, stay-at-home order status, and COVID-19’s impact on their daily life. Being under a stay-at-home order was associated with greater health anxiety, financial worry, and loneliness. Moreover, the perceived impact of COVID-19 on daily life was positively associated with health anxiety, financial worry, and social support, but negatively associated with loneliness. Findings highlight the importance of social connection to mitigate negative psychological consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Social support has long been associated with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), but there is no consistent evidence on the strength and direction of this relationship. Whereas the social causation ...model claims that social support buffers against PTSD, the social selection model states that PTSD reduces social support resources. As the first meta-analysis of the prospective relationships between social support and PTSD, this study synthesized the available longitudinal data (75 samples including 32,402 participants) on these two constructs with a random-effects model. In total, three hundred and fifty-five effect sizes (including cross-sectional, prospective and cross-lagged coefficients) were included in the meta-analysis. With prior levels of the relevant outcomes controlled for, results showed that social support and PTSD reciprocally predicted each other over time with similar effect sizes: Social support predicted PTSD with β = −0.10; PTSD predicted social support with β = −0.09. Moderator analyses suggested that the effects held across most sample characteristics and research designs except for several moderators (gender, time lag, publication year, source of support). These findings provided strong evidence for both the social causation and social selection models, suggesting that the link between social support and PTSD is symmetrically reciprocal and robust.
•Meta-analysis of longitudinal studies with three types of effect sizes•Social support and PTSD reciprocally predicted each other over time.•The reciprocal relationship still holds after controlling for previous level of outcomes.
The aim of this study was to examine the mediating effect of formal and informal social support on the relationship of caregiver burden and quality of life (QOL), using a sample of 320 parents (aged ...50 or older) of adult children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Multiple linear regression and mediation analyses indicated that caregiver burden had a negative impact on QOL and that informal social support partially mediated the relationship between caregiver burden and parents’ QOL. Formal social support did not mediate the relationship between caregiver burden and QOL. The findings underscored the need to support aging parents of adult children with ASD through enhancing their informal social support networks.
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