Edward R. Roybal Institute on Aging, Suzanne Dworak-Peck School of Social Work, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
School of Social Work, University of South Florida, Tampa, FL, USA.
J Gerontol B Psychol Sci Soc Sci. 2023 Jan 28;78(1):143-153. doi: 10.1093/geronb/gbac109.
We identified types of family relationships of older Korean Americans and examined how the mental health benefit of friend networks might be conditioned by family type.
Data were from 2,070 participants in the Study of Older Korean Americans, a multistate survey of Korean immigrants aged 60 and older (Mage = 73.3, standard deviation [SD] = 8.01). To identify family types, latent profile analysis (LPA) was performed with marital status, living arrangement, family network, positive and negative interactions with family members, and family mistreatment. Linear regression models examined how mental distress was associated with friend networks and family types, as well as their interactions.
LPA identified 5 family types: close-knit, intimate but distant, detached, connected but dysfunctional, and dysfunctional. Greater distress was associated with smaller friend networks and belonging to the detached, connected but dysfunctional, and dysfunctional family types in comparison to the close-knit type. The interaction model showed that people in the connected but dysfunctional and dysfunctional groups had a stronger association between friend networks and mental distress than the counterparts in the close-knit group.
We not only confirmed the health-promoting role of friend networks and the value of a close-knit family but also found that the benefit of friend networks was pronounced when quality of the family relationship was impaired. Our findings called renewed attention to older immigrants' social convoys of family and friends, suggesting that the enhancement of friend networks could be particularly advantageous for older immigrants with dysfunctional family relationships.
我们确定了老年韩裔美国人的家庭关系类型，并研究了朋友网络的心理健康益处可能受到家庭类型的影响。
数据来自于 2070 名年龄在 60 岁及以上的韩国移民参加的《老年韩裔美国人研究》（Study of Older Korean Americans），这是一项多州调查。为了确定家庭类型，我们使用婚姻状况、居住安排、家庭网络、与家庭成员的积极和消极互动以及家庭虐待进行潜在剖面分析（LPA）。线性回归模型检验了心理困扰与朋友网络以及家庭类型的关系，以及它们之间的相互作用。
LPA 确定了 5 种家庭类型：紧密型、亲密但疏远型、分离型、连接但功能失调型和功能失调型。与紧密型相比，较大的困扰与较小的朋友网络以及属于分离型、连接但功能失调型和功能失调型家庭类型有关。交互模型显示，与紧密型家庭相比，连接但功能失调型和功能失调型家庭中的人在朋友网络和心理困扰之间的关联更强。
我们不仅证实了朋友网络的促进健康作用和紧密家庭的价值，还发现当家庭关系质量受损时，朋友网络的益处更为明显。我们的研究结果再次引起了人们对老年移民家庭和朋友社交网络的关注，这表明增强朋友网络对那些家庭关系失调的老年移民可能特别有利。
