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Profiles of social relations among older adults: a cross-cultural approach
- Authors:
- FIORI Katherine L., ANTONUCCI Toni C., AKIYAMA Hiroko
- Journal article citation:
- Ageing and Society, 28(2), February 2008, pp.203-231.
- Publisher:
- Cambridge University Press
This study extends previous research on the profiles of social relations in three ways: (1) by including both functional and qualitative characteristics of social relations; (2) by examining the association of these profiles with mental and physical health and mortality; and (3) by exploring these profiles and associations in two cultures. Using samples of approximately 500 adults aged 60 or more years from the Social Relations and Mental Health over the Life Course studies in both the United States and Japan, separate cluster analyses were conducted for each country. The common or shared network types were labelled ‘diverse’, ‘restricted’, ‘friend-focused’ and ‘family-focused’, but in the US two types of ‘friend-focused’ networks (supported and unsupported) and two types of ‘restricted’ networks (structurally- and functionally-restricted) were found. In addition, a unique network type was found in Japan: ‘married and distal’. Multivariate analyses of variance and Cox regressions revealed that whereas individuals in the functionally restricted network type had the worse physical and mental health in the US, Americans in the structurally-restricted network type had the lowest survival rates at a 12-year follow-up. Interestingly, there were no wellbeing differences by network type in Japan. The findings have been interpreted in the light of social relations theories, with special emphasis on the importance of taking a multidimensional perspective and exploring cultural variation.
Differences between men and women in social relations, resource deficits, and depressive symptomatology during later life in four nations
- Authors:
- ANTONUCCI Toni C., et al
- Journal article citation:
- Journal of Social Issues, 58(4), Winter 2002, pp.767-783.
- Publisher:
- Wiley
This article examines gender differences in social relations and resource deficits in France, Germany, Japan , and the United States. These data, from regionally representative samples, indicate few gender differences in quantity or quality of social relations, but that women are more likely than men to experience widowhood, illness, and financial strain. In all countries, more deficits and more negative social interactions are associated with higher levels of depressive symptoms. Among women in France and Japan, but not among men in any country, quality of social relations offsets the negative consequences of resource deficits. Findings suggest that quality of social relations may have important implications for helping people, particularly women, cope with resource deficits common in late life.