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Gender differences in the relationship between social network support and mortality: A longitudinal study of an elderly cohort

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  • Shye, Diana
  • Mullooly, John P.
  • Freeborn, Donald K.
  • Pope, Clyde R.

Abstract

Despite well-recognized gender differences in patterns of social network support, few studies have explored whether the pathways by which social support affects mortality risk differ for men and women. In a 15-year follow-up study of elderly HMO members, we found that network size affected men's mortality risk indirectly, through their health status, while no such indirect effect was found for women. The data also suggested that network size had a direct protective effect on mortality risk for both men and women, with men gaining protection at a lower level of network size than women. These findings confirm the need for a gender-specific approach to further research on this subject, and suggest the need to measure variables that capture the different meaning and value of social network participation for men and women.

Suggested Citation

  • Shye, Diana & Mullooly, John P. & Freeborn, Donald K. & Pope, Clyde R., 1995. "Gender differences in the relationship between social network support and mortality: A longitudinal study of an elderly cohort," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 41(7), pages 935-947, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:socmed:v:41:y:1995:i:7:p:935-947
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    1. Shor, Eran & Roelfs, David J., 2015. "Social contact frequency and all-cause mortality: A meta-analysis and meta-regression," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 128(C), pages 76-86.
    2. Gyeong-Suk Jeon & Kyung-Won Choi & Kwang-Sim Jang, 2020. "Social Networking Site Usage and Its’ Impact on Depressive Symptoms among Older Men and Women in South Korea," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(8), pages 1-11, April.
    3. Yulei Gavin Zhang & Mandy Yan Dang & Hsinchun Chen, 2020. "An Explorative Study on the Virtual World: Investigating the Avatar Gender and Avatar Age Differences in their Social Interactions for Help-Seeking," Information Systems Frontiers, Springer, vol. 22(4), pages 911-925, August.
    4. Terese Sara Høj Jørgensen & Rikke Lund & Volkert Dirk Siersma & Charlotte Juul Nilsson, 2018. "Interplay between financial assets and social relations on decline in physical function and mortality among older people," European Journal of Ageing, Springer, vol. 15(2), pages 133-142, June.
    5. Seongryu Bae & Kenji Harada & Ippei Chiba & Keitaro Makino & Osamu Katayama & Sangyoon Lee & Yohei Shinkai & Hiroyuki Shimada, 2020. "A New Social Network Scale for Detecting Depressive Symptoms in Older Japanese Adults," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(23), pages 1-13, November.
    6. Natasja Schutter & Tjalling J. Holwerda & Hannie C. Comijs & Max L. Stek & Jaap Peen & Jack J. M. Dekker, 2022. "Loneliness, social network size and mortality in older adults: a meta-analysis," European Journal of Ageing, Springer, vol. 19(4), pages 1057-1076, December.
    7. Linda E. Moody & Lois Lowry & Hossein Yarandi & Audrey Voss, 1997. "Psychophysiologic Predictors of Weaning from Mechanical Ventilation in Chronic Bronchitis and Emphysema," Clinical Nursing Research, , vol. 6(4), pages 311-330, November.
    8. Angelique Chan & Prassanna Raman & Stefan Ma & Rahul Malhotra, 2015. "Loneliness and all-cause mortality in community-dwelling elderly Singaporeans," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 32(49), pages 1361-1382.
    9. Gerrit Bauer & Martina Brandt & Thorsten Kneip, 2023. "The Role of Parenthood for Life Satisfaction of Older Women and Men in Europe," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 24(1), pages 275-307, January.
    10. Del Bono, Emilia & Sala, Emanuela & Hancock, Ruth & Parisi, Lavinia & Gunnell, Caroline, 2007. "Gender, older people and social exclusion: a gendered review and secondary analysis of the data," ISER Working Paper Series 2007-13, Institute for Social and Economic Research.
    11. Donrovich, Robyn & Drefahl, Sven & Koupil, Ilona, 2014. "Early life conditions, partnership histories, and mortality risk for Swedish men and women born 1915–1929," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 108(C), pages 60-67.
    12. Heather Booth & Pilar Rioseco & Heather Crawford, 2014. "What can reverse causation tell us about demographic differences in the social network and social support determinants of self-rated health in later life?," Vienna Yearbook of Population Research, Vienna Institute of Demography (VID) of the Austrian Academy of Sciences in Vienna, vol. 12(1), pages 23-52.
    13. Ferlander, Sara & Mäkinen, Ilkka Henrik, 2009. "Social capital, gender and self-rated health. Evidence from the Moscow Health Survey 2004," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 69(9), pages 1323-1332, November.
    14. Berntsen, Kjersti Norgård & Kravdal, Øystein, 2012. "The relationship between mortality and time since divorce, widowhood or remarriage in Norway," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 75(12), pages 2267-2274.
    15. Conklin, Annalijn I. & Forouhi, Nita G. & Surtees, Paul & Khaw, Kay-Tee & Wareham, Nicholas J. & Monsivais, Pablo, 2014. "Social relationships and healthful dietary behaviour: Evidence from over-50s in the EPIC cohort, UK," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 100(C), pages 167-175.
    16. Antonio Boing & S. Subramanian, 2015. "The influence of area-level education on body mass index, waist circumference and obesity according to gender," International Journal of Public Health, Springer;Swiss School of Public Health (SSPH+), vol. 60(6), pages 727-736, September.
    17. Jon Anson, 2003. "Sex Differences in Mortality at the Local Level: An Analysis of Belgian Municipalities," European Journal of Population, Springer;European Association for Population Studies, vol. 19(1), pages 1-28, March.
    18. Puthiery Va & Wan-Shui Yang & Sarah Nechuta & Wong-Ho Chow & Hui Cai & Gong Yang & Shan Gao & Yu-Tang Gao & Wei Zheng & Xiao-Ou Shu & Yong-Bing Xiang, 2011. "Marital Status and Mortality among Middle Age and Elderly Men and Women in Urban Shanghai," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 6(11), pages 1-10, November.
    19. Paola Pizzetti & Matteo Manfredini, 2008. "“The shock of widowhood”? Evidence from an Italian population (Parma, 1989–2000)," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 85(3), pages 499-513, February.
    20. Moore, Spencer & Carpiano, Richard M., 2020. "Measures of personal social capital over time: A path analysis assessing longitudinal associations among cognitive, structural, and network elements of social capital in women and men separately," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 257(C).
    21. Manzoli, Lamberto & Villari, Paolo & M Pirone, Giovanni & Boccia, Antonio, 2007. "Marital status and mortality in the elderly: A systematic review and meta-analysis," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 64(1), pages 77-94, January.
    22. Ruby Yu & Wan-Chi Wu & Jason Leung & Susan C. Hu & Jean Woo, 2017. "Frailty and Its Contributory Factors in Older Adults: A Comparison of Two Asian Regions (Hong Kong and Taiwan)," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 14(10), pages 1-16, September.

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