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Perceived Social Support and Preventive Health Behavioral Outcomes among Older Women

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Abstract

Although research has documented that social support is a positive pathway to healthpromoting behavioral practices, very few longitudinal studies have assessed the relationship between social support and health-promoting behaviors among older, diverse women. Three waves of data from the Americans’ Changing Lives (ACL) survey assessed whether or not changes in perceived social support influenced behavioral outcomes among 671 African American women and non-Hispanic white women aged 60 years and older. Positive social support from friends was the most successful in predicting physical activity across the life span while positive spousal support, positive support from children, and health behavior-specific support were insignificant determinants of physical activity. The results suggest that social support from friends may be an important predictive factor in engaging older women in physical activity during the aging process.

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  1. Department of Human Development & Family Studies, University of Connecticut, 348 Mansfield Road, Storrs, CT, 06269-2058, USA

    Idethia S. Harvey

  2. University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA

    Kezia Alexander

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Correspondence to Idethia S. Harvey.

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This study was supported by a grant from the National Institutes of Health 5P30AG0115281, the Michigan Center for Urban African American Aging Research, and the National Institute of Health Loan Replacement Program L60MD002682-01. In addition, the authors wish to acknowledge Ji Yeon Yang and Maria M. Muyot for their statistical assistance. Data Disclaimer: The original collector of the data, ICPSR, and the relevant funding agency bear no responsibility for uses of this collection or for interpretations or inferences based upon such uses.

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Harvey, I.S., Alexander, K. Perceived Social Support and Preventive Health Behavioral Outcomes among Older Women. J Cross Cult Gerontol 27, 275–290 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10823-012-9172-3

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