Social exchange and well-being: is giving better than receiving?

Are Coping Strategies with Well-Being in Deaf and Blind Parents Related?

The main purpose of this cross-sectional study, carried out with deaf parents and blind parents, is to analyze the association of coping strategies, life satisfaction, well-being, and generalized self-efficacy, compared to a group of parents without a sensory loss. The Coping Orientation to Problems Experienced, Satisfaction with Life, Generalized Self-efficacy, and Psychological Well-Being scales were applied. Results indicate that: (1) deaf parents and blind parents search for social support, use avoidance, and turn to religion more than those without a sensory loss; (2) deaf parents are more satisfied with life than blind parents and those without a sensory loss; (3) deaf parents and blind parents perceive themselves as less efficacious than those without a sensory loss; (4) deaf parents and blind parents report lower psychological well-being (autonomy and personal growth) than those without a sensory loss, except for self-acceptance. Searching for social support and turning to religion are negatively associated with life satisfaction in deaf parents and those without a sensory loss; further, these coping strategies (together with avoidance) affect the psychological well-being of deaf parents and parents without a sensory loss. Future research could investigate deeper into the effects of these dimensions on well-being and the styles of parenting in these families.

The Effects of Familial Social Support Relationships on Identity Meaning in Older Adults: A Longitudinal Investigation

This study aimed to examine whether social support promotes identity meaning among older adults. We hypothesized that when two spouses exchange social support, their sense of marital identity is enhanced. Among older adults, parental identity may be more strongly enhanced when parents provide social support to their children rather than receive social support from them. We conducted a longitudinal survey of 355 older adults (240 men and 115 women aged >60 years), who were assessed four times over 2 years. First, we confirmed the relationship between social support and identity meaning using an autoregressive path model. Second, we examined the effect of social support on the trajectory of role identities in a growth curve model. The intercepts of receiving support and providing support were significantly associated with the intercept of marital identity. In addition, the intercept of identity meaning for parents correlated with the intercept of providing support to their children but not with that of receiving support from their children. Social support between family members promotes role identities in family relationships. In particular, providing support to children correlates with parental roles which connect to subjective well-being.

Benefits of daily support visibility versus invisibility across the adult life span

Amid growing disagreement about the benefits of visible and invisible support, we tested daily associations among support visibility and changes in individual and relational well-being in young adult newlyweds (Study 1) and older married couples (Study 2). To extend past research, we assessed emotional and practical support visibility in 3 contexts (context-general, stress-related, and goal-related) each day. In both samples, reporting context-general or goal-related support receipt predicted increases in personal and relational well-being day-to-day. Further, direct comparison between visible and invisible support days revealed relative personal and relational benefits associated with visible support days. In contrast, reporting stress-related support receipt was related to decreases in personal well-being in both samples, despite increases in relational well-being. This relative personal benefit associated with invisible stress-related support is consistent with past work showing benefits of invisible support for people experiencing major stressors. The current research highlights the need for a nuanced approach to understanding support visibility. Although invisible support may be preferable to protect self-efficacy and prevent distress in some situations (high stress or stressor-related support contexts), its benefits may be less wide-ranging than originally thought. In nonstress contexts and for relational outcomes, visible support may instead prove advantageous. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).

Social support, loneliness, eating, and activity among parent-adolescent dyads

We examined associations of social support and loneliness with eating and activity among parent-adolescent dyads (N = 2968) using actor-partner interdependence modeling. Loneliness had several actor associations with health behaviors (adolescents: less physical activity [PA], p < .001, more sedentariness, p < .001; parents: less fruit/vegetable consumption [FVC], p = .029, more hedonic food consumption [HFC], p = .002, and sedentariness, p < .001), but only one dyadic association (adolescent loneliness with less parent FVC, p = .039). Visible support was associated with less HFC, p < .001, and sedentariness, p < .001, but less FVC, p = .008, among adolescents. Invisible support was associated with less HFC, p = .003, but also less PA, p = .028, among adolescents. Both support types were associated with less HFC among parents, p < .001, but invisible support was also associated with less FVC, p = .029, and PA, p = .012, and more sedentariness, p = .013, among parents. When examining health behavior among parents and adolescents, it may be important to consider social support (but perhaps not loneliness) at a dyadic level.

Reliability and validity of the Brief 2-Way Social Support Scale: an investigation of social support in promoting older adult well-being

Objectives

This study aimed to explore the relationship between well-being and perceived stress, and the functional dimensions of social support in older adults.

Method

Data from 306 older adults were obtained in a survey containing the two-way Social Support Scale (2-Way SSS). Also, a subset of the sample (N = 165) was filled out with measures of well-being and perceived stress, and a follow-up survey was completed 3 months later (N = 111).

Results

Confirmatory factor analyses and reliability analyses provide evidence for a 12-item Brief 2-Way SSS as a reliable and valid measure of the four domains of Social Support. Correlations and regression analyses indicated the scale displayed good concurrent and predictive validity across time points, with receiving emotional support positively associated with well-being at Time 1 (T1) and Time 2 (T2), and Receiving Instrumental Support negatively associated with perceived stress at TI and T2.

Conclusions

This study provides support for the importance of examining the influence of separable elements of social support on psychological outcomes in older adults. The Brief 2-Way SSS was found to have good psychometric properties in this sample of older adults.

Everyday Support to Aging Parents: Links to Middle-Aged Children's Diurnal Cortisol and Daily Mood

Purpose of the Study

Middle-aged adults are often called upon to support aging parents. However, providing support to an aging parent with health problems and disability may be a stressful experience. This study asked whether giving everyday support to parents in the context of health problems and disability has implications for middle-aged children's diurnal cortisol and daily mood.

Design and Methods

During four consecutive days, 148 middle-aged adults (mean age = 55) reported the support they gave to their parents and provided saliva 4 times a day (wake, 30 min post-wake, lunchtime, and bedtime). Multilevel models estimated within-person differences in positive affect (PA) and negative affect (NA), cortisol awakening response and area under the curve with respect to ground (AUC-G) as a function of giving same-day and previous-day support. We examined whether these associations are exacerbated when a parent has health problems or activities of daily living (ADL) needs.

Results

Middle-aged children had significantly higher next-day AUC-G on days after they gave support to parents with ADL needs. When participants gave support to parents with ADL needs, they had significantly greater same-day PA and lower next-day NA. Giving support to parents with health problems was associated with significantly higher next-day NA.

Implications

Giving support to parents is an ambiguous experience with implications for biological stress and daily mood. A biopsychosocial approach reveals under what conditions giving support to parents may become detrimental to health and well-being; this knowledge is essential for the development and implementation of interventions.

Association of providing/receiving support on the mortality of older adults with different living arrangements in Taiwan: a longitudinal study on ageing

This longitudinal study evaluated the direct effects of providing/receiving family support on mortality in older adults with different living arrangements in Taiwan. All data analysed were obtained from the Taiwan Longitudinal Study on Aging, 1996–2007, of residents aged ⩾67 years (1,492 men and 1,177 women) and Taiwan's National Death Register. Living arrangements were divided into living alone, living only with spouse, living with family and living with others. Support was mainly defined as family support divided into two categories: providing and receiving. The effect of providing/receiving family support on the mortality of older adults was evaluated using Cox regression analysed by living arrangement. Participants living with their families had lower educational levels (illiterate or elementary school) and more disability in both activities of daily living and instrumental activities of daily living. However, they provided more family support than those in other living arrangements. After adjusting for several potentially confounding variables, including background characteristics, economic status and various health status measures, results showed that older adults living with their families and providing support had an 11 per cent lower mortality rate (Hazard ratio = 0.89; 95 per cent confidence interval = 0.83–0.96; p = 0.0018). In conclusion, we found that, when living with family, the lives of older adults can be extended by providing support, clearly supporting the old adage ‘it is more blessing to give than to receive’. Older adults wanting to extend their lives can be encouraged to provide more help to their families.

Vietnamese Refugee Elderly Women and Their Experiences of Social Support: A Multiple Case Study

This study sought to address the gaps in the literature on Asian American gerontology with a multiply marginalized group in terms of gender, immigration status, and context. Guided by a multiple case study approach, we sought to explore how social support was experienced by four Vietnamese elderly refugee women residing in different living arrangements (i.e., alone, with spouse, with adult children, or in a multigenerational household). Within-case analyses were conducted to yield descriptive information about each individual. Additionally, three overarching themes emerged across each of the living arrangements: (1) Burden of care-taking, (2) Distinguishing family from nonfamily help, and (3) Ambivalence toward government-sponsored services. Our findings provide a contextualized understanding of social support to explain the inconsistencies that have been found in the literature on Asian American gerontology and family support. The benefits of living alone are described, along with the potential risks of coresidency.

Informal care and gifts to and from older people in Europe: The interlinks between giving and receiving

BACKGROUND

Transfers of money and help with daily activities by family and friends are important sources of support for older people and contribute to their well being. On the other hand, older adults are not only recipients of support but also important providers of support and financial transfers as giving and receiving are often reciprocal. For this, it is important to understand the determinants of receiving and giving money and help as well as the relationship between these two.

METHODS

The aim of this paper is to explore the relationship between giving and receiving of the same or of different types of transfers as well as to get more insights in the motivation behind giving and receiving of money gifts or informal care. We use data from the Survey of Health Aging and Retirement in Europe and employ a multinomial logit model to analyse 16 different categories resulting from combining information on the incidence of giving and receiving of both informal care and financial gifts.

RESULTS

We show that despite the differences that exist in the incidence of giving and receiving of both informal care and financial gifts there are clearly a few patterns that are consistent between the European countries in our analysis. Both 'altruistic-like' and 'exchange-like' motives are more likely to increase by age, gender and physical proximity of network members, while 'reciprocal-like' giving and receiving is more likely among females and those with a network at close distance.

CONCLUSIONS

Our results show that the incidence of informal care and gifts to and from older people is related to particular characteristics and transfers patterns. Further research should be dedicated to exploring the situations leading to the 'altruistic-like' and 'exchange-like' combinations of transfers.

Minority population group status and QOL change: The case of older Israelis

This study explores minority group status in relation to change in Quality of Life (QOL) among three population groups in Israel-Veteran Jews, Arab-Israelis and immigrants from the Former Soviet Union (FSU)-controlling for a set of known predictors. The study uses panel data from two waves (2009/10 and 2013) of the Israeli component of the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe, (N=1,590). A set of Ordinary Least Squares regressions is used to predict positive QOL change over the two waves. Interaction terms in a number of selected areas are considered. The results show that minority group status (Arab-Israelis and FSU immigrants) is negatively related to positive QOL change, compared to the majority group (Veteran Jews). Moreover, being employed was found to improve QOL for older FSU immigrants, underscoring the realm of work in the well-being of this population group. In comparison, it was exchange with family members that had a positive effect on QOL change among the Arab-Israelis, emphasizing the importance of that particular aspect of their lives in older age. In sum, the results highlight the risk of minority group status to well-being in late life and confirms the observation that positive QOL change correlates with characteristically different factors among different population groups.

Well-Being and Institutional Care in Older Adults: Cross-Sectional and Time Effects of Provided and Received Support

BACKGROUND

The aim of the study was to examine the cross-sectional and longitudinal effects of provided and received support on older adults' subjective well-being (positive affect and depression) and to examine whether being a recipient of institutional care moderates these effects.

METHODS

Social support (provided and received), positive affect, and depressive symptoms were assessed twice (at baseline and 1 month later) for 277 older adults (age 77.39 ± 9.20 years, 67.50% women, 65% residents of an institutional care facility).

FINDINGS

Two structural equation models were analyzed: cross-sectional (at baseline) and longitudinal (after 1 month). The first model revealed a significant positive relationship between providing and receiving support and positive affect, and a negative relationship between receiving support and depression. However, being a recipient of institutional care appeared to be a significant moderator in the longitudinal model. Specifically, the findings indicated effects of both providing and receiving support on positive affect but only for noninstitutionalized older adults.

DISCUSSION

Although both types of support may be beneficial for older adults, their effects depend on the nature of social exchange and the dimensions of well-being. This suggests that such factors should be systematically investigated in future research.

Association Between Parental Social Interaction and Behavior Problems in Offspring: a Population-Based Study in Japan

PURPOSE

Research in parental social support has chiefly examined received social support. Studies have suggested that provided social support may also be protective for child mental health problems. We aim to investigate the association between parental social interaction (both received and provided social support) and offspring behavior problems.

METHODS

We analyzed the data of 982 households, including 1538 children aged 4 to 16 years, from the Japanese Study of Stratification, Health, Income, and Neighborhood (J-SHINE) survey conducted over 2010-2011. We used a 5-point Likert scale to assess social interaction including parental emotional and instrumental support received from and provided to the spouse, other co-residing family members, non-co-residing family members or relatives, neighbors, and friends. Behavior problems in offspring were assessed using parental responses to the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire. Associations between parental social interaction and behavior problems were analyzed using ordered logistic regression.

RESULTS

We found that higher maternal social interaction is significantly associated with lower odds of both difficult and prosocial behavior problems, while the same associations were not found for paternal social interaction. Further, maternal provided social support showed an independent negative association with prosocial behavior problems in offspring, even when adjusted for received maternal social support and paternal social interaction.

CONCLUSIONS

This study showed that maternal social interaction, but not paternal social interaction, might have a protective effect on offspring behavior problems. Further study is required to investigate the effect of the intervention to increase social participation among mothers whose children have behavior problems.

Perceptions of Giving Support and Depressive Symptoms in Late Life

PURPOSE OF THE STUDY

Research shows that parents benefit psychologically from generativity--giving and caring for the next generation--but older adults' perceptions on giving support to their children are rarely if ever explored in these studies. The current study examines the association between the support that aging parents give to one of their middle-aged offspring, their perception of this support as rewarding or stressful, and their levels of depressive symptoms.

DESIGN AND METHODS

The sample draws from The Family Exchanges Study and consisted of 337 older parents (mean age: 76) who were drawn from a larger study of middle-aged adults (i.e., target participants). Older parents reported tangible and nontangible forms of support given to the target middle-aged child and the extent to which they viewed providing such support as stressful and/or rewarding.

RESULTS

We found significant interactions between tangible support and feelings of reward and between nontangible support and feelings of stress in explaining parental depressive symptoms. Parents who found giving support to be highly rewarding had lower levels of depressive symptoms when giving high amounts of tangible support. Conversely, parents who view giving support to be highly stressful had higher levels of depressive symptoms when they gave low amounts of nontangible support.

IMPLICATIONS

Findings suggest older parents' perceptions of supporting their offspring may condition how generativity affects their mental health.

Adults with cardiovascular disease who help others: a prospective study of health outcomes

Little is known about the health impact of helping behaviors among individuals with high-risk chronic diseases such as cardiovascular disease (CVD). Using a nationally representative, longitudinal survey, we examined the subsequent health of adults with CVD (n = 4,491) who spent time providing non-paid assistance to family and friends outside of their households compared with those who had provided no assistance. After both adjusting for baseline characteristics and using propensity score matching methods, spending up to 200 h over the prior 12 months helping others was associated with lower odds of experiencing a new CVD event or dying in the subsequent 2 years. Providing up to 100 h of assistance was associated with reporting fewer depressive symptoms. This threshold effect raises the question of whether assistance beyond a certain number of hours may impose a burden that mitigates health benefits from helping others. Health care providers could play an important role exploring ways that patients with CVD can provide beneficial levels of assistance to others in their own social networks or communities, thereby possibly also improving their own health.

Availability, use, and cultivation of support networks as predictors of the well-being of middle-aged and older Chinese: a panel study

OBJECTIVES

To examine the impact of the availability, use, and cultivation of a support network on the well-being of community-dwelling, middle-aged, and older Chinese.

METHODS

A total of 2,970 Hong Kong Chinese aged 40-74 years were interviewed using a structured questionnaire in 2004. Out of the original group of interviewees, 2,120 (71.4%) were interviewed again in 2005.

RESULTS

Structural equation modeling revealed a good fit of the model employing Wave 1 support network data and demographic characteristics to predict Wave 2 well-being. As hypothesized, the availability of important social ties and the cultivation of one's support networks were found to predict well-being one year later, but not the use of support networks to meet emotional, financial, or companion needs after controlling for demographic variables and baseline well-being.

DISCUSSION

Cultivating support networks can be interpreted as positive and active coping. Such cultivation is in line with what socioemotional selectivity theory predicts; specifically, when people age, they become more selective and concentrate on strengthening their relationship with those they are emotionally close to. We argue that network cultivation deserves more attention in theory, practice, and research to strengthen the resilience and adaptability of individuals approaching and experiencing old age.

Enacted support during stressful life events in middle and older adulthood: an examination of the interpersonal context

Individuals often turn to their close social ties for support during stressful life events. Although a great deal of work examines perceived support (i.e., support believed to be available should an event occur), less is known about enacted support (i.e., support actually provided during stressful events), especially among middle-aged and older people. The present study investigated whether enacted support (emotional or instrumental) varies by relationship quality and stress appraisals. Participants included 152 adults (principal respondents; aged 50 to 69 years, 63% women) who had experienced three or more stressful life events in the last year and 180 of their identified supportive ties (core network members). Multilevel models revealed that higher quality relationships enact high levels of support irrespective of high or low stress appraisals. In contrast, lower quality relationships enact greater support under conditions of higher stress but less support under conditions of lower stress, suggesting that lower quality relationships are mobilized only under higher levels of stress. Findings are consistent with the support provision process model and highlight the importance of considering relationship context and the stress continuum in studies of enacted support among older adults.

Informal care and reciprocity of support are associated with HAART adherence among men in Baltimore, MD, USA

Research suggests gender differences in interpersonal relationship factors important to health. This study examined relationship factors associated with HAART adherence among men. The sample (n = 154) comprised 95% African Americans and 48% current illicit drug users; 83% reported HAART adherence. Results revealed adherence was associated with comfort level taking HAART in the presence of close friends, and the interaction between informal care (having someone to care for oneself when sick in bed) and reciprocity of support. Among those with informal care, higher reciprocity of support to caregivers was associated with greater adherence. Promoting men's reciprocity of support to their caregivers and enhancing peer norms of medication taking are important strategies for improving men's adherence. The findings complement previous findings on relationship factors adversely associated with women's adherence. Results suggest the merit of interventions targeting men and their informal caregivers, particularly main partners, and gender-specific, contextually tailored strategies to promote HAART adherence.

Standard versus prosocial online support groups for distressed breast cancer survivors: a randomized controlled trial

Background

The Internet can increase access to psychosocial care for breast cancer survivors through online support groups. This study will test a novel prosocial online group that emphasizes both opportunities for getting and giving help. Based on the helper therapy principle, it is hypothesized that the addition of structured helping opportunities and coaching on how to help others online will increase the psychological benefits of a standard online group.

Methods/Design

A two-armed randomized controlled trial with pretest and posttest. Non-metastatic breast cancer survivors with elevated psychological distress will be randomized to either a standard facilitated online group or to a prosocial facilitated online group, which combines online exchanges of support with structured helping opportunities (blogging, breast cancer outreach) and coaching on how best to give support to others. Validated and reliable measures will be administered to women approximately one month before and after the interventions. Self-esteem, positive affect, and sense of belonging will be tested as potential mediators of the primary outcomes of depressive/anxious symptoms and sense of purpose in life.

Discussion

This study will test an innovative approach to maximizing the psychological benefits of cancer online support groups. The theory-based prosocial online support group intervention model is sustainable, because it can be implemented by private non-profit or other organizations, such as cancer centers, which mostly offer face-to-face support groups with limited patient reach.

Trial Registration

ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT01396174

The process and effect of supportive message expression and reception in online breast cancer support groups

OBJECTIVE

To better understand the process and effect of social support exchanges within computer-mediated social support (CMSS) groups for breast cancer patients, this study examines (1) the dynamic interplay between emotional support giving and receiving and (2) the relative effects of emotional support giving and receiving on patients' psychosocial health outcomes.

METHODS

Data was collected from 177 patients who participated in online cancer support groups within the Comprehensive Health Enhancement Support System (CHESS) during the 4-month intervention. Data included (1) pretest and/or post-test survey scores of demographic, disease-related, and psychosocial factors, (2) automatically collected CHESS usage data, and (3) computer-aided content analysis of social support messages posts.

RESULTS

Hierarchical regression analyses revealed that those who receive higher levels of support from others have fewer breast cancer-related concerns (β = - 0.15, p<0.05), while those who give higher levels of support to others reframe their own problems in a positive light and adopt more positive strategies for coping (β = 0.16, p<0.05). In addition to these positive effects, partial correlation analysis indicated that these two supportive behaviors are reciprocal.

CONCLUSIONS

We concluded that supportive exchanges of receiving and giving play positive, but different, roles in predicting psychosocial health outcomes. Moreover, emotional support giving and receiving tend to reinforce each other. Our findings help practitioners, health-care providers, and health system designers make sense of diverse social support processes among cancer patients participating within CMSS groups.

Explaining the Variable Effects of Social Support on Work-Based Stressor-Strain Relations: The Role of Perceived Pattern of Support Exchange

Seeking to explain mixed empirical findings regarding the buffering effect of social support on work-based stress-strain relations, we posit that whether an increase in the level of support received buffers or exacerbates the harmful effects of workload on employee health and well-being is contingent upon the general pattern characterizing an employee supportive exchanges across his/her close relationships. Specifically, we propose that the buffering effect of receiving social support depends on whether the employee perceives his/her social exchanges as reciprocal (support given equals support received), under-reciprocating (support given exceeds support received), or over-reciprocating (support received exceeds support given). Based on longitudinal data collected from a random sample of blue-collar workers, our findings support our predictions, indicating that the buffering effect of social support on the relationship between work hours (on the one hand) and employee health and well-being (on the other) varies as a function of the pattern of exchange relations between an employee and his/her close support providers.

Felt obligation to help others as a protective factor against losses in psychological well-being following functional decline in middle and later life

This study examined felt obligation to help others in two domains (close others and society) as protective factors against losses in psychological well-being following functional decline. Lagged-dependent regression models were estimated using data from 849 respondents aged 35-74 years and without any functional limitations at baseline in the 1995-2005 National Survey of Midlife in the United States. Greater felt obligation to help close others protected against declining self-acceptance in the face of more severe functional decline, and greater felt obligation to help society protected against declining personal growth and self-acceptance. Greater felt obligation to help close others and society protected against increasing depressive symptoms at younger ages in adulthood. Findings suggest the importance for additional research on how aspects of altruism can promote psychological adaptation to declining functional health in middle and later life.

The degree of kinship and its association with reciprocity and exchange in the relationships of visually impaired older adults

This study draws on an evolutionary model of exchange in relationships to examine the nature of perceived reciprocity in the context of kin and non-kin relationships among a sample of visually impaired older adults (age 63-99). Further, we examined the direct and moderating impact of functional impairment and adaptation to visual impairment on the nature of perceived reciprocity. Results showed that the greater the degree of genetic relatedness the more imbalanced the exchange. It was also found that degree of adaptation to visual impairment moderated the association between genetic relatedness and perceived exchange, such that the greater the degree of genetic relatedness the more people reported they gave rather than received except at very low levels of adaptation, when people received more than they gave the greater the degree of genetic relatedness. Thus, an evolutionary model was supported such that imbalanced exchange was found more with greater degrees of genetic relatedness, but the direction of exchange was different for high versus low levels of adaptation to vision impairment.

The relationship of built environment to perceived social support and psychological distress in Hispanic elders: the role of "eyes on the street"

BACKGROUND

Research on contextual and neighborhood effects increasingly includes the built (physical) environment's influences on health and social well-being. A population-based study examined whether architectural features of the built environment theorized to promote observations and social interactions (e.g., porches, windows) predict Hispanic elders' psychological distress.

METHODS

Coding of built environment features of all 3,857 lots across 403 blocks in East Little Havana, Florida, and enumeration of elders in 16,000 households was followed by assessments of perceived social support and psychological distress in a representative sample of 273 low socioeconomic status (SES) Hispanic elders. Structural-equation modeling was used to assess relationships between block-level built environment features, elders' perceived social support, and psychological distress.

RESULTS

Architectural features of the front entrance such as porches that promote visibility from a building's exterior were positively associated with perceived social support. In contrast, architectural features such as window areas that promote visibility from a building's interior were negatively associated with perceived social support. Perceived social support in turn was associated with reduced psychological distress after controlling for demographics. Additionally, perceived social support mediated the relationship of built environment variables to psychological distress.

CONCLUSIONS

Architectural features that facilitate direct, in-person interactions may be beneficial for Hispanic elders' mental health.

Health: support provided and received in advanced old age. A five-year follow-up

While research focuses mainly on support provided to the elderly, this paper deals with the very old as a support provider to his family as much as a care recipient from both his family and a formal network. We hypothesize that elders with declining health will try to maintain the provision of services, even when they require and receive help.A total of 340 octogenarians from the Swiss Interdisciplinary Longitudinal Study on the Oldest Old (SWILSOO) were interviewed up to five times over five years (N=1225 interviews). A multilevel model was applied to assess the effects of health, controlled for socio-demographic and family network variables, on the frequency of services that the old persons provided to their family and received from their family and formal networks. Health is operationalized in three statuses: ADL-dependent, ADL-independent frail, and robust.While the recourse to the informal network increased progressively with the process of frailty, the recourse to the formal network drastically increased for ADL-dependent individuals. Being ADL-dependent seriously altered the capacity to provide services, but ADL-independent frail persons were providers with the same frequency as the robust oldest old, showing their ability to preserve a principle of reciprocity in their exchanges with their family network. This continuity of roles may help frail persons to maintain their self-esteem and well-being.

The relationship between social support and psychological distress among Hispanic elders in Miami, Florida

This study compared 5 psychological models of the relationship between social support (SS) and behavioral health. These theoretical models, which have garnered some level of prior empirical support, were as follows: (a) main effects, (b) buffering effects, (c) social exchange, (d) equity, and (e) protective health outcomes of providing SS. A population-based sample of 273 community-dwelling Hispanic elders drawn from East Little Havana, Florida (ages 70-100 years old; 86% Cuban) completed self-report measures of SS, financial strain, and psychological distress (PD). Hierarchical multiple regression analyses were used to test the competing SS models. Results indicated that satisfaction with received SS was, as specified in the main-effects model, associated with lower PD, whereas received SS was unexpectedly associated with heightened PD. Reciprocal exchanges of SS (equity model) or exchanges where Hispanic elders provided more SS than they received (protective health outcomes of providing SS model) were also associated with lower PD. The feasibility of a 6th model in which the effects of SS are contingent upon the elder's preexisting PD level is proposed. Limitations, implications, and directions for future research are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved).

Receiving support as a mixed blessing: evidence for dual effects of support on psychological outcomes

Although social support is thought to boost feelings of closeness in dyadic relationships, recent findings have suggested that support receipt can increase distress in recipients. The authors investigated these apparently contrary findings in a large daily diary study of couples over 31 days leading up to a major stressor. Results confirm that daily support receipt was associated with greater feelings of closeness and greater negative mood. These average effects, however, masked substantial heterogeneity. In particular, those recipients showing greater benefits on closeness tended to show lesser cost on negative mood, and vice versa. Self-esteem was examined as a possible moderator of support effects, but its role was evident in only a subset of recipients. These results imply that models of dyadic support processes must accord a central role to between-individual heterogeneity.

Emotional support for men and women with cancer: do patients receive what their partners provide?

OBJECTIVES

In the context of mainly gastrointestinal cancer surgery, the study examines the course of spousal support in 173 dyads over half a year to illuminate the function of gender in support transactions.

METHOD

Provided and received emotional support were assessed in 108 male patient/female partner couples and 65 female patient/male partner couples. Using the Berlin Social Support Scales, assessments took place during the week before cancer surgery, 1 month, and 6 months after cancer surgery.

RESULTS

Gender differences emerged for support received and provided. Support received from partners was initially high for all patients, remained high over time for men, but decreased for women. Provided support decreased for male partners, but remained high in female partners. The effects were of medium size. Patients' received support was reflected by partners' reports of support provided. Women who reported received support 6 months after surgery had partners who had reported support provision 5 months earlier.

CONCLUSIONS

Alternative sources of support, in particular for women, such as their network of friends or professional help, may need to be identified. A couple-coping intervention could be implemented to help partners learn about each other's needs in times of crisis and ways to cope with adversity.

Shared Care, elder and family member skills used to manage burden

AIM

The aim of this paper is to further develop the construct of Shared Care by comparing and contrasting it to related research, and to show how the construct can be used to guide research and practice.

BACKGROUND

While researchers have identified negative outcomes for family caregivers caused by providing care, less is known about positive aspects of family care for both members of a family dyad. Understanding family care relationships is important to nurses because family participation in the care of chronically ill elders is necessary to achieve optimal outcomes from nursing interventions. A previous naturalistic inquiry identified a new construct, Shared Care, which was used to describe a family care interaction that contributed to positive care outcomes.

METHODS

A literature review was carried out using the databases Medline, CINAHL, and Psych-info and the keywords home care, care receiver, disability, family, communication, decision-making and reciprocity. The results of the review were integrated to suggest how Shared Care could be used to study care difficulties and guide interventions.

RESULTS

The literature confirmed the importance of dyad relationships in family care. Shared Care extended previous conceptualizations of family care by capturing three critical components: communication, decision-making, and reciprocity. Shared Care provides a structure to expand the conceptualization of family care to include both members of a care dyad and account for positive and negative aspects of care.

CONCLUSIONS

The extended view provided by the construct of Shared Care offers practitioners and scholars tools to use in the context of our ageing population to improve the effectiveness of family care relationships.