Strong social support is associated with lower mortality and morbidity and better self-rated health in later life. The aim of this study was to compare social network size and satisfaction in men (N = 2589) and women (n = 3152), aged 72—78 years. Women reported significantly larger networks (Difference 1.36, 95% CI 0.89, 1.83) than men. However, being separated, divorced or single had a significantly greater impact on men’s social networks (Difference 0.92, 95% CI 0.17, 1.68). Poor mental health and sensory impairments were associated with smaller networks and lower satisfaction with support for both men and women.
Ajrouch, K., Blandon, A., & Antonucci, T. ( 2005). Social networks among men and women: The effects of age and socioeconomic status. Journal of Gerontology: Social Sciences , 60B, S311-S317.
2.
Amato, P. ( 2000). The consequence of divorce for adults and children . Journal of Marriage and the Family, 62, 1269-1287.
3.
Arthur, H. ( 2006). Depression, isolation, social support and cardiovascular disease in older adults. Journal of Cardiovascular Nursing , 21, S2-S7.
4.
Campbell, J., Spears, G., & Borrie, M. ( 1990). Examination by logistic regression modelling of the variables which increase the relative risk of elderly women falling compared to elderly men. Journal of Clinical Epidemiology, 43, 1415-1420.
5.
Carstensen, L.L. ( 1991). Socioemotional and selectivity theory: Social activity in life-span context. Annual Review of Gerontology and Geriatrics , 11, 195-217.
6.
Chaix, B., Isacsson, S., Rastam, L., Lindstrom, M., & Merlo, J. ( 2007). Income change at retirement, neighbourhood based social support, ischaemic heart disease: Results from the prospective cohort study ‘Men born in 1914’. Social Science & Medicine , 64, 818-829.
7.
Cruice, M., Worrall, L., & Hickson, L. ( 2005). Personal factors, communication and vision predict social participation in older adults. Advances in Speech-Language Pathology, 7, 220-232.
8.
De Jong Gierveld, J., van Groenou, M., Hoogendoorn, A., & Smit, J. ( 2009). Quality of marriages in later life and emotional and social loneliness. Journal of Gerontology: Social Sciences , 64B, 497-506.
9.
Del Bono, E., Sala, E., Hancock, R., Gunnell, C., & Parisi, L. ( 2007). Gender, older people and social exclusion: A gendered review and secondary analysis of the data. ISER Working Paper 2007-13. Colchester : University of Essex.
10.
Due, P., Holstein, B., Lund, R., Modvig, J., & Avlund, K. ( 1999). Social relations: Network, support and relational strain . Social Science & Medicine, 48, 661-673.
11.
Eng, P., Rimm, E., Fitzmaurice, G., & Kawachi, I. ( 2002). Social ties and change in social ties in relation to subsequent total and cause-specific mortality and coronary heart disease incidence in men. American Journal of Epidemiology, 155, 700-709.
12.
Giles, L., Glonek, G., Luszcz, M., & Andrews, G. ( 2005). Effect of social networks on 10 year survival in very old Australians: The Australian longitudinal study of aging. Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, 59, 574-579.
13.
Glaser, K., Tomassini, C., Racioppi, F., & Stuchbury, R. ( 2006). Marital disruptions and loss of support in later life: A longitudinal study of the United Kingdom. European Journal of Ageing, 3, 207-216.
14.
Gurung, R., Taylor, S., & Seeman, T. ( 2003). Accounting for changes in social support among married older adults: Insights from the MacArthur Studies of Successful Aging . Psychology and Aging, 18, 487-496.
15.
Hawthorne, G. ( 2008). Perceived social isolation in a community sample: Its prevalence and correlates with aspects of people’s lives. Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology, 43, 140-150.
16.
Jamrozik, K., Norman, P., Spencer, C., Parsons, R., Tuohy, R., Lawrence-Brown, M., & Dickinson, J. ( 2000). Screening for abdominal aortic aneurysm: Lessons from a population-based study. Medical Journal of Australia , 173, 345-350.
17.
Kafetsios, K., & Sideridis, G. ( 2006). Attachment, social support and well-being in young and older adults. Journal of Health Psychology, 11, 863-876.
18.
Koenig, H.G., Weslund, R.E., George, L.K., Hughes, D.C., Blazer, D.G., & Hybels, C. ( 1993). Abbreviating the Duke Social Support Index for use in chronically ill elderly individuals. Psychosomatics: Journal of Consultation Liaison Psychiatry, 34, 61-69.
19.
Lee, C., Dobson, A., Brown, W., Bryson, L., Byles, J., Warner-Smith, P., & Young, A. ( 2005) Cohort profile: The Australian Longitudinal Study on Women’s Health. International Journal of Epidemiology , 34, 987-991.
20.
Lennartsoon, C., & Silverstein, M. (2001). Does engagement with life enhance survival of elderly people in Sweden? The role of social and leisure activities. Journal of Gerontology: Social Sciences , 56B, S335-S342.
21.
Lind, C., Hickson, L., Worrall, L., Kitchin, J., Yiu, E., & Barnett, H. ( 2003). Hearing and vision impairment and the social networks of older Australians. Australasian Journal on Ageing, 22, 20-25.
22.
Lyyra, T., & Heikkinen, R. ( 2006). Perceived social support and mortality in older people . Journals of Gerontology, 61B, S147-S152.
23.
Okamoto, K., & Tanaka, Y. ( 2004). Gender differences in the relationship between social support and subjective health among elderly persons in Japan. Preventive Medicine, 38, 318-322.
24.
Pachana, N., Smith, N., Watson, M., McLaughlin, D., & Dobson, A. ( 2008). Responsiveness of the Duke Social Support sub-scales in older women. Age & Ageing, 37, 666-672.
25.
Pugliesi, K., & Shook, S. ( 1998). Gender, ethnicity and network characteristics: Variation in social support resources. Sex Roles, 38, 215-238.
26.
Rodriguez-Artalejo, F., Guallar-Castillon, P., Herrera, M., Otero, C., Chiva, M., Ochoa, C., ... Pascual, C. ( 2006). Social network as a predictor of hospital readmission and mortality among older patients with heart failure. Journal of Cardiac Failure, 12, 621-627.
27.
Scheffer, A., Schuurmans, M., van Dijk, N., van der Hooft, T., & de Rooij, S. ( 2008). Fear of falling: Measurement strategy, prevalence, risk factors and consequences among older persons. Age and Ageing , 37, 19-24.
28.
Shaw, B., Krause, N., Liang, J., & Bennett, J. ( 2007). Tracking changes in social relations throughout late life. Journals of Gerontology, 62B, S90-S99.
29.
Shye, D., Mullooly, J., Freeborn, D., & Pope, C. ( 1995). Gender differences in the relationship between social network support and mortality: A longitudinal study of an elderly cohort . Social Science & Medicine, 41, 935-947.
30.
Silver, C. ( 2003). Gendered identities in old age: Toward (de)gendering ? Journal of Aging Studies, 17, 379-397.
31.
Vagenas, D., McLaughlin, D., & Dobson, A. ( 2009). Regional variation in the survival and health of older Australian women: A prospective cohort study. Australian and New Zealand Journal of Public Health, 33, 119-125.
32.
Ware, J., Snow, K., Kosinski, M., & Gandek, B. ( 1993). SF-36 health survey: Manual and interpretation guide . Boston, MA: Nimrod Press .
