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PubMedDate not supplied

Social networks among elderly women: implications for health education practice.

The general aim of the present study was to examine and help clarify the properties of the distinctions between social networks and social support, their relationship to health status, and their implications for health education practice. More specifically, a secondary data analysis was conducted with 130 white women, community residents, between the ages of 60 and 68, which examined the relationship between psychological well-being and social network characteristics. These characteristics are categorized along three broad dimensions: structure--links in the overall network (size and density); interaction--nature of the linkages themselves (frequency, homogeneity, content, reciprocity, intensity, and dispersion); and functions which networks provide (affective support and instrumental support). A combination was made and relative strength investigated of several network characteristics representative of the quality of interactions (i.e., reciprocal affective support, intensity, and affective support) and those representing the quantity of interactions (i.e., size, density, and frequency).

Age Factors↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Social networks and help-seeking experiences of pregnant teens.

OBJECTIVE: To describe low-income pregnant teens' perceptions of their social network characteristics and their prenatal help-seeking experiences. DESIGN: Descriptive, cross sectional. SETTING: Prenatal clinic of an urban hospital (n = 29) and two other sites (n = 2). PARTICIPANTS: Thirty-one unmarried, low-income, pregnant teenage girls. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Social network characteristics, including social support; relationships between social network characteristics and demographic variables; and help-seeking characteristics. RESULTS: Length of pregnancy was negatively correlated with network size (-.45, p = .011), emotional support (-.40, p = .026), tangible support (-.38, p = .033), and prenatal support (-.41, p = .022). Compared with older teens (18-19 years old), younger teens (16-17 years old) perceived their families, relatives, or both as providing a larger proportion of their total support (t(28) = 2.64, p = .014) and prenatal support (t(25.55) = 2.93, p = .007), and friends as providing a smaller proportion of their total support. Types of help most often needed were emotional and financial. The resource most used was the teen's mother, followed by the father of the unborn child. Barriers to help were most often the unavailability of someone on whom the teen relied and financial inadequacies. CONCLUSIONS: The perception of less support as pregnancy progresses may indicate a gap between needs and resources. Differences in younger and older teens' support sources and the focus of help seeking on emotional and financial support have implications for nursing care.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1988

[Social networks and mental disease].

This is a three-purpose study: (a) Furthering a definition of social network analysis since such a theoretical and methodological approach is of great interest to studying social interaction, (b) Analyzing the social networks within one psychiatric case study in order to build up a network interaction model aiming at fostering future research, this interaction model being used as a concept framework, and (c) Discussing how fruitful research on social networks can prove to be in connection with the treatment of the mentally ill, as well as considering the protective and supportive functions of these networks.

Humans↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Occupational factors and characteristics of the social network in people with persistent mental illness.

Associations between occupational factors and characteristics of the social network in people with persistent mental illness were investigated. Participant groups (N= 103) representing three types of daily occupations--working or studying, visiting community-based activity centers, and having no regular daily occupation--were selected for the study. Participants were assessed regarding social interaction and on the occupational factors of time spent in productive occupations, activity level, satisfaction with daily occupations, and perceived occupational value. The groups based on daily occupation did not differ in social interaction. Associations were found mainly between the subjective estimations of occupation--satisfaction and perceived value--and characteristics of the social network. In conclusion, experiential aspects of occupation were more closely related to social interaction than actual circumstances, such as type of daily occupation or time spent in productive occupations. The results suggest that occupational therapists should focus their attention on the patient's participation in a supportive social network because it may be related to valued and satisfying occupations.

Activities of Daily Living↗
PubMed2001

Alone in a crowd. A study of social networks in home health and assisted living.

This study demonstrated the need for intervention in social network development by both clients of home health and residents of assisted living facilities. With the well-known connection between social networks and health, it is vital that nurses working with these populations be aware of the potential for isolation, screen for it, and, if necessary, develop interventions in the care planning process to address the lack of social networks.

Activities of Daily Living↗
PubMed1993

Social support and social network after acute myocardial infarction; the critically ill male patient's needs, choice and motives.

The aim of the pilot study was to find out the need for social support and the choice of social network after acute myocardial infarction (AMI). In an experimental study critically ill male patients (AMI-patients) were enrolled for an intervention group (n = 18) or a control group (n = 18) in accordance with their own choice of caring support. The intervention consisted of a 3-month-caring programme for AMI-patients and their next-of-kin together with an interdisciplinary team. A 10-item questionnaire was developed in order to measure social network and social support at the time of AMI and 3 months later. Nine patients in both groups expressed a need for complementary social support, the character differed between the groups concerning emotional and informative support. Both groups reported sufficient social network built on the family. The intervention group expressed more heart trouble compared to the control group at the time of AMI (p = 0.03). 3 months later the trouble had decreased in the intervention group but increased in the control group. Complementary social support soon after an AMI from care professionals confirms the AMI-patients' recovery and the whole family has to be supported.

Choice Behavior↗
PubMed2002

The impact of professional and social network support on the burden of families of patients with schizophrenia in Italy.

OBJECTIVE: (a) To explore burden related to caregiving and support received from professionals and social network in relatives of patients with schizophrenia in Northern, Central and Southern Italy; and (b) to test whether a higher level of family burden is associated with a lower level of professional and social network support. METHOD: Seven hundred and nine patients with schizophrenia and their key-relatives were consecutively recruited in 30 Italian mental health departments. Data were collected on: (a) patients' clinical status and levels of disability; (b) relatives' burden, social and professional support; (c) interventions received by patients and their families. RESULTS: Family burden was found lower in Northern Italy. However, after controlling for psychosocial interventions, differences in family burden among the three geographical areas disappeared. Family burden was associated with patients' levels of disability and manic/hostility symptoms, and with professional and social network support received by the family. CONCLUSION: Professional and social network support represent crucial resources to reduce family burden in schizophrenia.

Adult↗
PubMed2001

Marijuana use and social networks in a community outbreak of meningococcal disease.

BACKGROUND: We examined the role of social networks and marijuana smoking in a community outbreak of infections due to Neisseria meningitidis. METHODS: We interviewed all patients and their contacts. Isolates were tested by pulsed field electrophoresis and multilocus enzyme electrophoresis. RESULTS: Nine cases of meningococcal disease occurred in the outbreak; isolates from seven cases with positive cultures were identical. Multiple overlapping social networks were found for case-patients and their contacts. All case-patients were linked by the marijuana-related activities of their contacts. CONCLUSION: Investigation of social networks and marijuana exposure might help identify close contacts of patients with meningococcal disease and help prevent secondary infections.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2005

Identification of networks of sexually transmitted infection: a molecular, geographic, and social network analysis.

BACKGROUND: Despite widespread efforts to control it, Chlamydia trachomatis remains the most frequently diagnosed bacterial sexually transmitted infection (STI). Analysis of sexual networks has been proposed as a novel tool for control of and research into STI. In the present study, we combine molecular genotype data, analysis of geographic clusters, and sociodemographic descriptors to facilitate analysis of large sexual networks. METHODS: Individual chlamydia genotypes found in Manitoba, Canada, were analyzed to identify geographic clusters, and the identified clusters were further characterized by statistical analysis of sociodemographic variables. RESULTS: A total of 10 geographic clusters of chlamydia-genotype infection were identified. Clusters in Winnipeg showed no or little geographic overlap and could be further differentiated on the basis of the sociodemographic characteristics of the individuals within a cluster. Several clusters in northern Manitoba overlapped geographically but, nonetheless, could be differentiated on the basis of the sociodemographic characteristics of the infected individuals. CONCLUSIONS: On the basis of results of the combined analyses, each geographic cluster appeared to represent a relatively distinct transmission network within the larger sexual network. The geographic analysis of the molecular data provided a basis for establishment of potential epidemiological connections between small groups of unlinked individuals. Analytic approaches of the type described here would help to decipher the patterns that exist within large social network data sets and would be applicable to many types of infectious agents.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2004

Social networks and pain interference with daily activities in middle and old age.

Social networks have emerged as important in the development and progression of disability in aging cohorts. We have previously reported that pain that interferes with daily activities is common and increases incrementally from middle age into later life. The current study has investigated whether pain interference in this age group is related to social network characteristics. 5215 community-dwelling adults aged 50 years and over participating in the North Staffordshire Osteoarthritis Project (NorStOP) and identified as currently experiencing pain formed the sample for the present analysis. Questions on pain-related interference and the number and frequency of contact with children, close relatives, close friends, and confidant were included in the baseline postal questionnaire. The number and frequency of contact for most social ties declined with age. Being widowed (Age-adjusted OR: 1.30; 95%CI: 1.10, 1.54), the absence of close friends (2.07; 1.64, 2.63), and the absence of close relatives for women (2.24; 1.66, 3.04) were associated with increased likelihood of pain interference with daily activities. The absence of children was linked to lower levels of pain interference (0.76; 0.64, 0.91). The associations with close friends and children were reduced but remained significant after adjusting for sociodemographic factors. The association with close friends became non-significant after adjusting for depression suggesting this may form part of the pathway linking close friends networks and pain interference. Pain-related interference shows similar associations with social networks as all-cause disability and may benefit similarly from a public health perspective.

Activities of Daily Living↗
PubMed1993

Social networks and support mechanisms for people with mild intellectual disability in competitive employment.

Participant observation techniques were used to examine the social networks and the social support mechanisms of nine subjects with a mild intellectual disability working in competitive employment settings. Results indicated that the social networks of this group of people lacked complexity with few interconnections among the network nodes. The major sources of social support emanated from the family and from organizations catering for people with disabilities. While subjects perceived considerable social support within the workplace, this support was restricted to the workplace and in general did not extend beyond it. Implications of the findings of the study for ensuring the adequacy of social support both within and beyond the workplace for this group of people are discussed. Additionally, the need for the development of a theory or model of social support as it pertains to people with a mild intellectual disability employed in competitive employment settings is advocated.

Activities of Daily Living↗
PubMed2001

Social networks among blacks and whites: the interaction between race and age.

OBJECTIVES: This study examined the main and interactive effects of age and race on the core characteristics of social networks including size, frequency of contact, geographical proximity, and composition of network. METHODS: Respondents were drawn from a stratified probability sample of people aged 20-93 in the greater Detroit metropolitan area. Approximately 30% of the sample were African American, and people aged 60 and older were over-sampled (n = 1.382). The authors used hierarchical regression analysis to estimate the influence of race and age on each component of social network, controlling for marital status, gender, and education. An interaction term (Race x Age) was added to explore the extent to which age moderates any detected race differences. RESULTS: Older age was associated with smaller, less frequently seen, and less proximal networks that had a higher proportion of kin. Blacks and Whites were similar with regard to proximity, but Blacks had smaller networks, more contact with network members, and more family members in their networks. Race differences in frequency of contact and proportion of kin were moderated by age, such that the differences in these variables diminished with increasing age. DISCUSSION: A systematic analysis of how age, race, and their interaction influence the characteristics of social networks furnishes important empirical knowledge about social networks among diverse groups. Such data may provide a context for how, and some explanation for why, support exchanges occur.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2005

[Social networks in drinking behaviors among Japanese: support network, drinking network, and intervening network].

PURPOSE: The national representative sample was analyzed to examine the relationship between respondents' drinking practice and the social network which was constructed of three different types of network: support network, drinking network, and intervening network. METHOD: Non-parametric statistical analysis was conducted with chi square method and ANOVA analysis, due to the risk of small samples in some basic tabulation cells. RESULTS: The main results are as follows: (1) In the support network of workplace associates, moderate drinkers enjoyed much more sociable support care than both nondrinkers and hard drinkers, which might suggest a similar effect as the French paradox. Meanwhile in the familial and kinship network, the more intervening care support was provided, the harder respondents' drinking practice. (2) The drinking network among Japanese people for both sexes is likely to be convergent upon certain types of network categories and not decentralized in various categories. This might reflect of the drinking culture of Japan, which permits people to drink everyday as a practice, especially male drinkers. Subsequently, solitary drinking is not optional for female drinkers. (3) Intervening network analysis showed that the harder the respondents' drinking practices, the more frequently their drinking behaviors were checked in almost all the categories of network. A rather complicated gender double-standard was found in the network of hard drinkers with their friends, particularly for female drinkers. Medical professionals played a similar intervening role for men as family and kinship networks but to a less degree than friends for females. CONCLUSION: The social network is considerably associated with respondents' drinking, providing both sociability for moderate drinkers and intervention for hard drinkers, depending on network categories. To minimize the risk of hard drinking and advance self-healthy drinking there should be more research development on drinking practice and the social network.

Adult↗
PubMed1989

Social network structure and prenatal care utilization.

The associations between social network structural characteristics, sociodemographic factors, and prenatal care utilization were examined in a sample of 185 low-income, inner-city, maternity patients. It was predicted that the networks of women who underutilized care would be larger and of higher density than those of women who utilized care appropriately. They were also expected to be less disperse, with members living near one another; less diverse, with members drawn mainly from immediate family and extended kin; and composed primarily of strong relational ties between members. Findings indicated that women were more likely to underutilize care if they were embedded in strong-tie, nondisperse networks where most members were immediate family or relatives. Of the sociodemographic variables, only parity was associated with prenatal care utilization. The findings support the underlying assumption that social networks have a significant influence on individuals' utilization of prenatal services. This suggests that providers of services to pregnant women may need to revise their current strategies for bringing women into care and their methods of delivering educational services to women already in care.

Adult↗
PubMed1983

'Core' and 'extended' social networks in relation to health and illness.

This paper considers several models of the nature of the association that has been found between characteristics of social networks and health. Such an association does not appear to be adequately accounted for by a deleterious effect of illness on social contact, nor by the role of social networks in mediating health-related practices or in buffering the effects of stress. Thus the proposition is tentatively warranted that the social network is more directly and causally involved in health outcomes--perhaps through the impact of social feedback as mediated by the network. It is argued that the social processes that affect the association between networks and health involve a larger social unit than the small core networks that have generally been the focus of study. Assuming that the individual's susceptibility to illness is affected by the adequacy of the core network, we must deal with the fact that the vulnerability of the core network to loss without adequate replacement is, in turn, affected by the structure of the larger, extended network in which the core network is embedded. By shifting attention to these extended networks, it should also become possible to integrate findings from network studies with more traditional epidemiological findings relating such macro-variables as social class to illness.

Adult↗
PubMed1985

The day center and its role as a social network.

The author discusses the importance of building a social network for chronic mentally disabled patients living in the community. A literature review that includes cross-cultural studies suggests the chronic mentally disabled fare better in the community if they have a support system that provides assigned roles and regular contact with people and that does not produce great stress. The Fennell Program Day Center, an activity and social program for the chronic mentally disabled, is described, with emphasis on its role in providing a social network for its clients. By keeping expectations low and enhancing a family-like atmosphere, staff have been able to help clients develop reciprocal social relationships.

Activities of Daily Living↗
PubMed2005

Social services and health services day care in mental health: the social networks and care needs of their users.

BACKGROUND: In view of the increasing integration of health and social care, there is an urgent need to know how health service day hospitals and social service day centres are being used, and by whom. AIMS: We aimed to compare users of day hospitals and centres in terms of their social networks, needs for care and demographics. METHODS: A cross-sectional, comparative study of service users at two day hospitals and four day centres compared their social networks, needs and characteristics. RESULTS: Day centre clients had much larger social networks, including a three-fold difference in total contacts and two-fold difference in confidants, but had more needs for care, particularly relating to psychological distress. They were also older on average than day hospital patients and were a more long-term group. CONCLUSION: It is vital to understand differences between health service day hospitals and social service day centres given the increasing integration of health and social care. The present study shows that the two user groups are significantly different. It is unlikely that the needs of most day care users could be met by either service interchangeably.

Adult↗
PubMed2002

Social networks and changes in contraceptive use over time: evidence from a longitudinal study in rural Kenya.

The impacts of social networks on changes in contraception in rural Kenya are investigated using special data from a longitudinal household survey. An analytic model, informed by detailed knowledge of the setting, yielded estimates that indicate that (1) social networks have substantial effects even after unobserved factors (e.g., homophily) that may determine social networks are controlled; (2) controlling for these unobserved factors may substantially alter the estimated effects of networks (these controls were not used in previous studies); (3) network effects are important for both men and women; and (4) network effects are nonlinear and asymmetric, suggesting that networks provide information primarily through social learning, rather than by exerting social influence.

Contraception Behavior↗