Lyyra Tiina-Mari, Heikkinen Riitta-Liisa
The Finnish Centre for Interdisciplinary Gerontology, University of Jyväskylä, Finland.
J Gerontol B Psychol Sci Soc Sci. 2006 May;61(3):S147-52. doi: 10.1093/geronb/61.3.s147.
This study examines the effect of perceived social support on all-cause mortality at a 10-year follow-up as well as the plausible mediating factors in this association.
We measured perceived social support in 206 Finnish men and women aged 80 years old by using the Social Provision Scale, which consists of six dimensions: attachment, social integration, opportunity for nurturance, reassurance of worth, reliable alliance, and guidance.
By using a theoretical framework that divided perceived social support into assistance-related and non-assistance-related support, we found that the risk of death was almost 2.5 times higher in women in the lowest tertile of non-assistance-related social support (comprising infrequent experiences of reassurance of worth, emotional closeness, sense of belonging and opportunity for nurturance) than in women in the highest tertile. The risk remained strong even when we controlled for the indicators of baseline sociodemographics and psychological and physiological health and functioning. Among men, none of the perceived social support dimensions showed a significant association with mortality.
The results of this study present a challenge for society to find and develop new social innovations and interventions in order to promote a sense of emotional social support in older people, thereby contributing to their health and welfare.
本研究考察了在10年随访中感知到的社会支持对全因死亡率的影响以及该关联中可能的中介因素。
我们使用社会支持量表对206名80岁的芬兰男性和女性的感知社会支持进行了测量，该量表由六个维度组成：依恋、社会融合、养育机会、价值肯定、可靠联盟和指导。
通过使用一个将感知社会支持分为与援助相关和与援助无关的支持的理论框架，我们发现，在与援助无关的社会支持处于最低三分位数的女性（包括价值肯定、情感亲密、归属感和养育机会的体验较少）中，死亡风险几乎是处于最高三分位数的女性的2.5倍。即使我们控制了基线社会人口统计学以及心理和生理健康与功能指标，这种风险仍然很大。在男性中，感知到的社会支持维度均未显示出与死亡率有显著关联。
本研究结果给社会带来了一项挑战，即要寻找和开发新的社会创新与干预措施，以促进老年人的情感社会支持感，从而增进他们的健康和福祉。
