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PubMed2006

Social capital, rural nursing and rural nursing theory.

The notion of social capital focuses attention on social connectedness within communities and the ways that this connectedness may affect health and well-being. There are many competing definitions of social capital but most suggest that it involves trust, social networks and reciprocity within communities, not necessarily geographically defined. The usefulness of social capital and related theories that help in understanding the function of nurses in rural communities are explored in this paper. Nurses and health service planners are becoming increasingly aware of the potential contribution of community nurses in rural and/or remote areas, as evidenced in the development of nurse practitioners. Through their interrelational role and status in rural communities, nurses are often 'immersed' or 'embedded' in the social networks that make up the fabric of rural life and may therefore be important contributors to social capital. For a concept such as social capital to be useful in nursing research, it must have distinct attributes, delineated boundaries, and well-described preconditions and outcomes in multiple contexts.

Communication↗
PubMed1986

Determinants of sexual and dating behaviors among adolescents.

The study of adolescent sexual development has typically focused on the incidence and age of onset of particular behaviors. Recent developments in the analysis of covariance structures permit more powerful simultaneous tests of the determinants of adolescent sexual behavior. These new methods allow the assessment and evaluation of the interrelatedness between unobserved, latent constructs. Data were obtained from 183 males and 193 females ranging in age from 12 to 18 years old, selected from three birth cohorts using a stratified random sample. Eight latent constructs--Sexual and Dating Involvement, Self-Acceptance, Feminist Sex Role Attitudes, Deviant Social Network, Importance of Dating, Lack of Heterosexual Competence, Sexually Active Social Network, and Stressful Change Events--were hypothesized to explain the variance in 26 observed variables. Several causal models were tested that specified structural relationships among the latent constructs. A theoretically meaningful model was arrived at that linked the eight, error-free factors.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2004

Social control of health behaviors: a comparison of young, middle-aged, and older adults.

Social control can positively influence health behaviors, but changes in social networks over time may cause older adults to experience less health-related social control. The size and composition of social control networks, and receipt of health-related social control, were examined in a probability sample of 509 household residents (aged 25-80 years) in Los Angeles County who completed a telephone survey. Compared with younger and middle-aged adults, older adults identified fewer people who attempted to influence their health behaviors and fewer health behaviors that others urged them to change. Older adults also reported less frequent social control attempts aimed at modifying their health behaviors, even after health status, health habits, and social network characteristics were controlled for. Possible explanations for these age-related differences are discussed.

Adult↗
PubMed1990

The alignment of technology and structure through roles and networks.

This paper outlines a role-based approach for conceptualizing and investigating the contention in some previous research that technologies change organizational and occupational structures by transforming patterns of action and interaction. Building on Nadel's theory of social structure, the paper argues that the microsocial dynamics occasioned by new technologies reverberate up levels of analysis in an orderly manner. Specifically, a technology's material attributes are said to have an immediate impact on the nonrelational elements of one or more work roles. These changes, in turn, influence the role's relational elements, which eventually affect the structure of an organization's social networks. Consequently, roles and social networks are held to mediate a technology's structural effects. The theory is illustrated by ethnographic and sociometric data drawn from a comparative field study of the use of traditional and computerized imaging devices in two radiology departments.

Age Factors↗
PubMed1996

"It takes one to help one": effects of similar others on the well-being of caregivers.

It is commonly assumed that bringing together caregivers with other persons who have been through the caregiving experience is highly beneficial. However, research has not established the degree to which such "experientially similar" others benefit caregivers. We analyzed data from a study of 254 individuals caring for relatives with Alzheimer's disease or a related disorder and 2,659 members of their social networks. The presence of experientially similar individuals in the caregivers' social networks was strongly associated with lower levels of depression, especially for persons in more stressful caregiving situations. We discuss possible explanations for this effect, and suggest implications of the findings for future research and practice.

Aged↗
PubMed2001

Methods and measures for the description of epidemiologic contact networks.

This article describes new methods to characterize epidemiologic contact networks that involve links that are being dynamically formed and dissolved. The new social network measures are designed with an epidemiologic interpretation in mind. These methods are intended to capture dynamic aspects of networks related to their potential to spread infection. This differs from many social network measures that are based on static networks. The networks are formulated as transmission graphs (TGs), in which nodes represent relationships between two individuals and directed edges (links) represent the potential of an individual in one relationship to carry infection to an individual in another relationship. Network measures derived from transmission graphs include "source counts," which are defined as the number of prior relationships that could potentially transmit infection to a particular node or individual.

Contact Tracing↗
PubMed1999

"Asian" men on the scene: challenges to "gay communities".

This article examines common assumptions behind the notion of "gay community," contrasting these views with the experiences of homosexual men originating from Southeast Asia on the commercial gay scene in Melbourne, Australia. The narratives here reveal fragmented social networks involving various social groups, categories of people and an "In/Out" culture where informants were culturally marginal. Fitting into the scene culture involves processes of assimilation, and loss of connection even with supportive ethnic networks. While all men who look for a place to belong on the scene generally feel pressure to assimilate to a predominantly white middle-class gay culture, Southeast Asian men generally had more cultural distance to cover. Men who are not well assimilated face exclusion, invisibility and discrimination. Differences and discrimination within Southeast Asian based networks also contributed towards fragmented relations. This article raises questions about dominant gay cultural forms, assumptions of gay solidarity, and how ethnic minority men make sense of and negotiate their sexual and social experiences.

Acculturation↗
PubMed2004

From innovation to social norm: bounded normative influence.

CORRECTION: Every innovation begins as a deviation from existing social norms. Given the strong effect of social norms and pressure, how can any innovation ever diffuse to the point where it becomes a new social norm? The seeming paradox of how a minority can influence the majority has not been explained well by prevailing social science theory. Computer simulations of the diffusion of a new behavior within the social network of a Bangladesh village led to the discovery of a new principle of social change that resolves this paradox. The results revealed the important but overlooked role played by boundaries that emerge within a social network and how such local boundaries affect the creation of a new social norm. A minority position can become the social norm by means of the process of bounded normative influence. As long as a minority maintains its majority status within its own, locally bounded portion of the network, then it can survive, recruit converts in the near surround, and establish its behavior as the norm for the network as a whole. The process is accelerated when the minority subgroup is centrally located in the network and communicates more frequently and persuasively than the majority.

Bangladesh↗
PubMed1995

Individual social skills training and co-worker training for supported employees with dual sensory impairment. Two case examples.

Two case studies examined the efficacy of two social enhancement procedures--individual social skills training (SST) and co-worker intervention for two employees with dual sensory impairment who were working in competitive employment settings but who were socially isolated from contact with their nondisabled co-workers. A variety of measures, including direct behavioral observations and social validation ratings, examined social interaction and the formation of social networks in the workplace. Results showed that the number and duration of social interactions improved with each of the social enhancement programs. Social validation data and anecdotal reports indicated that the employees with disabilities became more socially competent, interactive, and included in the social network of the workplace. Interestingly, SST followed by co-worker training resulted in greater increases in social responding as compared to co-worker training followed by SST.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Characterizing the drug-injecting networks of cocaine and heroin injectors in Montreal.

BACKGROUND: There is little understanding about how the social networks of cocaine injectors are different from those of heroin users and about how such differences are associated with injection risk behaviours. Therefore, the objective of this study was to compare drug-injecting network characteristics of cocaine and heroin injectors believed to be associated with a risk of bloodborne infections. METHODS: Active injection drug users (IDUs) were recruited between April 2004 and January 2005 from three syringe exchange and two methadone treatment programs in Montreal, Canada. Characteristics of each participant and of up to 10 social network members (IDU and non-IDU) with whom frequent contact had occurred in the past month were elicited using a structured, interviewer-administered questionnaire. The current analysis focussed on the drug-injecting network members. Logistic regression was used to examine network characteristics in relation to cocaine and heroin injection. RESULTS: Of 282 study subjects, 81% used cocaine and 19% used heroin as their primary injected drug in the past 6 months. Compared to heroin injectors, participants who injected cocaine had lower odds of knowing their network members for a longer time (OR=0.92, 0.85-0.99), were more likely to report a larger IDU network (OR=1.64, 1.18-2.29) and have IDU partners who had a history of attending shooting galleries (OR=2.42, 1.05-5.56). INTERPRETATION: This study identified high-risk network-related factors associated with bloodborne infections in cocaine injectors. Prevention efforts may benefit from tailoring interventions according to type of drug used, with particular attention to the drug injecting-network of IDUs.

Adult↗
PubMed1995

Carotid atherosclerosis in middle-aged men. Relation to conjugal circumstances and social support.

The purpose of this study was to examine the association of conjugal circumstances and social support with carotid atherosclerosis. The subjects were 212 men randomly selected from those (N = 4,853) aged 50-60 years, living in Kuopio and a nearby residental area in eastern Finland. Social network and support levels were assessed with a structured 34-item questionnaire. Conjugal circumstances were constituted by cohabition or otherwise. Intima media thickness of the carotid artery (IMT) was chosen to designate atherosclerosis, and determined by quantitative B-mode ultrasonography. The analyses showed that the men living alone had greater common carotid (p = 0.008) and carotid bifurcation (p = 0.011) IMT values than their cohabiting counterparts. The differences remained significant even when the confounding factors (age, health status and education level) and potential intervening factors (saturated fat consumption and smoking) were allowed for. Of the social support subindices, strong adequacy of emotional support (p < 0.001) and of the social network subindices, strong social anchorage (p = 0.031) were correlated to increased common carotid IMT. The present data suggest that conjugal circumstances are an independent social factor predicting carotid atherosclerosis.

Arteriosclerosis↗
PubMed1998

Psychosocial predictors of functional change in recently diagnosed rheumatoid arthritis patients.

In order to examine the influence of active and passive pain-coping strategies and social support characteristics on the change in functional status in the first stage of the disease in rheumatoid arthritis patients, self-report data and clinical and laboratory measures were collected from 91 patients (70% female, mean age 57 yr) shortly after diagnosis and 1 yr later. Multiple regression analyses indicated that, after taking the influence of demographic variables, disease activity and pain into account, a decrease in functional status (mobility, self-care, grip strength) after 1 yr could be predicted by an initially more frequent use of the passive pain-coping strategies of worrying and resting. A decrease in mobility could be additionally predicted by an initially smaller social network. Results indicate the impact of passive pain-coping strategies and social network characteristics for the prognosis of functional outcome in the first stage of the disease and suggest the early manifestation of avoidance mechanisms, including behavioral, cognitive-emotional and social components, in face of a chronic stressor.

Activities of Daily Living↗
PubMed2006

Working conditions, psychosocial resources and work stress in nurses and physicians in chief managers' positions.

The study investigated whether psychosocial work conditions, professional network, job support, social network and support, sick leave and salary were associated with work stress in nurses in chief manager' positions above ward level and physicians in clinical director positions. A sample consisting of 205 nurses and 274 physicians in chief managers' positions at higher structural level answered a questionnaire. Odds ratios were used for estimating the bivariate association between work stress and psychosocial resources. The result showed that both nurse managers (OR 6.8; 95% CI: 3.5-13.5) and clinical directors (OR 6.7; 95% CI: 3.6-12.5) exposed to high job demands had a significantly higher probability of high level of work stress. The results also indicated that the available psychosocial resources taken together inside and outside work did not balance the experienced work stress in nurse managers and the clinical directors who were exposed to high work demands. No relation was found between work stress and sick leave and salary.

Absenteeism↗
PubMed1997

Establishing social contact in exile: a prospective community cohort study of Vietnamese refugees in Norway.

The social networks of Vietnamese refugees and predictors of their intra- and inter-ethnic social contact after 3 years in Norway were studied. An unselected community cohort of Vietnamese boat refugees was personally interviewed, first on arrival in Norway (n = 145) and again after 3 years (n = 130). By the time of the second interview, the refugees had to a large degree reconstructed social networks and 54% had good contact with other Vietnamese. Only 17% had equally good contact with Norwegians. Female gender, further education after resettlement and having a close confidant on arrival were related to good inter-ethnic social contact. The latter was the only predictor of good intra-ethnic social contact. Competency in the Norwegian language, surprisingly, did not predict good social contact with Norwegians. The refugees were largely successful in re-establishing a social platform in relation to their own ethnic group in their new environment. It was much more difficult to establish good social contact with Norwegians. Educational institutions appear to be important social arenas in this respect. The personal capacity for close attachments during a period of psychosocial transition is also important.

Acculturation↗
PubMed2003

[Scl-90-R scoring of stress after myocardial infarction].

OBJECTIVE: 134 patients with acute myocardial infarction, who were treated in an intensive care unit (ICU) of a German hospital in Kiel between 1996 and 1999 were selected for the study to examine their psychologic symptoms. PATIENTS AND METHODS: The patients were asked to fill in the self-report inventory, the Symptom Checklist-90-Revised (SCL-90-R) within the first 48 h after their arrival in the ICU. RESULTS: Patients with a low social status were found to have elevated mean values of the following scales: somatization (0.93), depression (0.66), and anxiety (0.59). The Global Severity Index (GSI) as a global measure of psychologic distress was elevated as well (0.46). CONCLUSION: Since patients with a limited social network and low social status, increased anxiety and depressive scores have a poor prognosis as to their mortality and their professional reintegration, it it considered necessary for the prospective setting of this study to register particularly those patients in order to treat their anxiety.

Adult↗
PubMed2006

Negative life events, social support and gender difference in depression: a multinational community survey with data from the ODIN study.

OBJECTIVE: To explore if differences in negative life events, vulnerability and social support may explain the gender difference in depression. METHODS: Cross-sectional, multinational, community survey from five European countries (n = 8,787). Depression is measured by Beck Depression Inventory, whereas negative life events and social support are measured by various questionnaires. RESULTS: Women report slightly more negative life events than men do, mainly related to the social network, but more social support in general and in connection with reported life events. This trend is the same in all participating countries except Spain, where there is no gender difference in the reported support. In general, women are not more vulnerable to negative life events than men are. However, women with no social support, who are exposed to life events, are more vulnerable than men without support. CONCLUSION: The higher rate of depression in women is not explained by gender differences in negative life events, social support or vulnerability.

Adult↗
PubMed2002

Anxiety disorders in late life: an evolving picture.

Although anxiety disorders are the most prevalent group of disorders in the United States, little is known about the efficacy of treatments for these disorders in elderly patients. Anxiety disorders, especially generalized anxiety disorder and phobias, are highly prevalent in older people. Anxiety symptoms and disorders are associated with increased mortality and disability in older people. Risk factors for anxiety disorders include chronic medical illness, disability, low education, low social network, and poor social support. The newer antidepressant medications, in particular the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors and venlafaxine-extended relief, are recommended as first-line pharmacotherapy of these disorders in elderly. Cognitive-behavioral therapy is recommended as first-line psychotherapy for these disorders. However, these recommendations are based on extrapolation of data from younger adults or retrospective analysis of datasets, the results need to be confirmed with controlled studies in an elderly age group.

Journal Article↗
PubMed1998

Functional ability among elderly people in three service settings: the discriminatory power of a new functional ability scale.

The purpose is to assess the discriminatory power of the Avlund scales: (1) by assessing the ability of the scales to discriminate between three different populations of elderly people, and (2) by studying groups with a poor fit between use of formal home care and functional ability. The study included (A) all residents in new sheltered housing facilities (response rate 68%, n = 102), (B) a random sample of users of home care (response rate 67%, n = 435), and (C) a random sample of individuals not using home care (response rate 74%, n = 501). All participants were 60+ years old. Data were collected by personal interviews (group A) and by postal questionnaires (group B and C). Functional ability was measured by The Avlund Mob-T scale about tiredness related to mobility and the Mob-H scale about need of help to mobility. Both scales were able to distinguish the three sub-populations. The whole range of the Mob-T scale was used in all three subpopulations, and the whole range of the Mob-H scale was used among the oldest residents and the oldest users of home care. A small group of well-functioning users of home care (n = 52) was characterized by good self-rated health, good hearing, vision and memory abilities; they gave more help to others, had higher social participation, and lived alone (only the women). A somewhat lager group of poor functioning non-users of home care (n = 266) had the opposite characteristics. In addition, they were older, had a poor social network and poor social support.

Activities of Daily Living↗