Resources for Friendship Intervention

Programs affecting friendship patterns can be implemented at the individual, dyadic, network, immediate environment, community, or societal level. Literature specifically focused on friendship intervention is scarce. The relevance of other resources for the design and assessment of friendship interventions at each of these levels is described. Practitioners who design social interaction interventions are prompted to familiarize themselves with the friendship literature and to apply the findings. Even if the goal is not to manipulate friendship patterns specifically, interventions should at least be designed not to undermine existing relationships

A Rural-Urban Comparison Of Preferences Expressed by Elders for Long-Term Care Arrangements

This paper examines the long-term care (LTC) arrangements selected by rural older people, identifies the characteristics associated with their selections, and compares patterns of selection and related factors with those of elderly urban residents. The research is based upon 1,240 cases selected from a larger statewide area probability sample of noninstitutionalized persons at least 60 years old. Results, based upon tabular and logistic regression analysis, suggest that older rural residents are more likely than their urban counterparts to select LTC arrangements that involve both formal and informal forms of care as well as arrangements that are more likely to facilitate remaining at their current residences. Furthermore, there appear to be rural-urban differences in the major factors that explain selection of specific LTC arrangements. Implications for future research and for long-term care policy are discussed

Aging well with friends and family.

Abstract: Aging encourages people to enhance their friend and family relationships. In general, the elderly tend to have more heterogeneity in relationships as they grow older. They depend on these relationships for instrumental, financial and emotional support. As a result, older adults who have many friends and have close ties with their families are more socially and psychologically well-adjusted than those who are alienated from their networks. Article: An assumption runs throughout the gerontological literature that having friends and active relationships with family members is better than not having them. Since the 1960s, when social gerontologists began debating the relative merits of the disengagement and activity theories, researchers have used the number of friends, the existence of active family relationships, and the amount of contact older adults have with these presumed intimates as indicators of aging well. Recently, however, researchers have recognized that not all personal relationships are good ones and not all social interactions affect older adults positively (e.g., The tendency of researchers to assume that all personal relationships are positive is not the only limitation characteristic of the investigations on this topic. In both the family and friendship literatures, samples are often less than adequate, either being representative of very specific subpopulations of older adults or not being representative of any population at all (i.e., snowball, volunteer, or other nonprobability samples). Personal relationship researchers tend to study single respondents rather than pairs of friends or family members. When they do investigate dyads, they often study them in isolation rather than considering them in the context of the family or friendship network. Both literatures are also primarily descriptive rather than theoretically motivated, and, consequently, what is known about relationships is little more than a list of findings of all studies. Each of these personal relationship literatures has additional limitations. For example, researchers have rarely studied friendships longitudinally, making it impossible to examine changes in friendship as people age and to separate out age, period, and cohort effects. Gerontological friendship researchers usually study single-race (almost always Caucasian) or single-sex (usually female) populations; when they do include more than one race or bot

Psychosocial Contexts of Diabetes and Older Adulthood: Reciprocal Effects

The present study was conducted to assess the reciprocal effects between the psychosocial contexts of diabetes and older adulthood. Data were collected from 191 community-dwelling adults over the age of 60 with non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus. Results indicate that older adults with diabetes reported higher rates of selected chronic illnesses, lower self-rated physical health, and higher levels of depression than did comparison samples of older adults without diabetes. Compared with younger adults with NIDDM, the present sample of older adults perceived fewer impacts of diabetes, including fewer symptoms of poor metabolic control, less emotional impact, fewer barriers to adherence, and less complex regimens. Overall levels of social support and regimen adherence were high. Older adults in this sample reported wanting minimal help from their family and friends with self-management activities and receiving more help than desired with following a meal plan and taking medications. Implications of the unique context of older adulthood for diabetes self-management are discussed.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/69058/2/10.1177_014572179101700507.pd

Filial obligations to elderly parents: a duty to care?

A continuing need for care for elderly, combined with looser family structures prompt the question what filial obligations are. Do adult children of elderly have a duty to care? Several theories of filial obligation are reviewed. The reciprocity argument is not sensitive to the parent–child relationship after childhood. A theory of friendship does not offer a correct parallel for the relationship between adult child and elderly parent. Arguments based on need or vulnerability run the risk of being unjust to those on whom a needs-based claim is laid. To compare filial obligations with promises makes too much of parents’ expectations, however reasonable they may be. The good of being in an unchosen relationship seems the best basis for filial obligations, with an according duty to maintain the relationship when possible. We suggest this relationship should be maintained even if one of the parties is no longer capable of consciously contributing to it. We argue that this entails a duty to care about one’s parents, not for one’s parents. This implies that care for the elderly is not in the first place a task for adult children

It's definitely not Alzheimer's: perceived benefits and drawbacks of a mild cognitive impairment diagnosis

Objectives. To understand the perceived benefits and drawbacks of a mild cognitive impairment (MCI) diagnosis from the perspective of those living with the label. Methods. Participants were included if they had recently (within 6 months) received a MCI diagnosis. We also recruited close family members to gain their perspectives. Each was interviewed separately with a semi-structured topic guide covering three areas: (1) experience of cognitive impairments and changes in the individual; (2) impact of cognitive impairment(s) on daily activities and social relationships; and (3) experience of the diagnosis process and living with the label. Transcribed interviews were stored in Nvivo". Grounded theory procedures of memo writing, open coding, constant comparison, and focused coding were used to derive conceptual themes. Results. Eighteen dyads were interviewed.The overarching themes surrounding diagnosis benefits and drawbacks were as follows: (1) emotional impact of the diagnosis; (2) practical benefits and limitations of the diagnosis, in terms of (a) understanding one’s symptoms and (b) access to clinical support. Although participants were glad to have clinical support in place, they expressed frustration at the lack of clarity, and the lack of available treatments for MCI. Consequently, living with MCI can be characterized as an ambivalent experience. Conclusion. As a clinical label,MCI appears to have little explanatory power for people living with cognitive difficulties. Work is needed to clarify how clinicians and patients communicate about MCI, and how people can be helped to live well with the label. Despite an emerging body of prognostic studies, people with MCI are likely to continue living with significant uncertainty

Self-disclosure mediates the effects of gender orientation and homophobia on the relationship quality of male same-sex friendships

This study tested the degree to which self-disclosure mediates the effects of gender orientation and homophobia on relational satisfaction, closeness, and commitment in men’s same-sex friendships. Participants included 211 men from the southwest region of the US, who reported on either geographically close (n = 107) or long distance same-sex friendships (n = 104). Results indicated that self-disclosure mediates the positive effect of femininity on satisfaction, closeness, and commitment in men’s same-sex friendships. Self-disclosure also mediates the negative, indirect effects of homophobia on all three relational outcomes. Tests of structural invariance provided no evidence to suggest that the indirect effects of femininity and homophobia on all three relational outcomes vary as a function of geographic distance.Yeshttps://us.sagepub.com/en-us/nam/manuscript-submission-guideline

The validation of a new measure quantifying the social quality of life of ethnically diverse older women: two cross-sectional studies

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>To our knowledge, the available psychometric literature does not include an instrument for the quantification of social quality of life among older women from diverse ethnic backgrounds. To address the need for a tool of this kind, we conducted two studies to assess the initial reliability and validity of a new instrument. The latter was created specifically to quantify the contribution of a) social networks and resources (e.g., family, friends, and community) as well as b) one's perceived power and respect within family and community to subjective well-being in non-clinical, ethnically diverse populations of older women.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>In Study 1, we recruited a cross-sectional sample of primarily non-European-American older women (<it>N </it>= 220) at a variety of community locations. Participants were administered the following: a short screener for dementia; a demographic list; an initial pool of 50 items from which the final items of the new Older Women's Social Quality of Life Inventory (OWSQLI) were to be chosen (based on a statistical criterion to apply to the factor analysis findings); the Single Item Measure of Social Support (SIMSS); and the Medical Outcome Study 36-item Short-Form Health Survey (MOS SF-36). Study 2 was conducted on a second independent sample of ethnically diverse older women. The same recruitment strategies, procedures, and instruments as those of Study 1 were utilized in Study 2, whose sample was comprised of 241 older women with mostly non-European-American ethnic status.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>In Study 1, exploratory factor analysis of the OWSQLI obtained robust findings: the total variance explained by one single factor with the final selection of 22 items was over 44%. The OWSQLI demonstrated strong internal consistency (<it>α </it>= .92, <it>p </it>< .001), adequate criterion validity with the SIMSS (<it>r </it>= .33; <it>p </it>< .01), and (as expected) moderate concurrent validity with the MOS SF-36 for both physical (<it>r </it>= .21; <it>p </it>< .01) and mental (<it>r </it>= .26; <it>p </it>< .01) quality of life. In order to confirm the validity of the 22-item OWSQLI scale that emerged from Study 1 analyses, we replicated those analyses in Study 2, although using confirmatory factor analysis. The total variance accounted for by one factor was about 42%, again quite high and indicative of a strong single-factor solution. Study 2 data analyses yielded the same strong reliability findings (i.e., <it>α </it>= .92, <it>p </it>< .001). The 22-item OWSQLI was correlated with the SIMSS (<it>r </it>= .27, <it>p </it>< .001) in the expected direction. Finally, correlations with the MOS SF- 36 demonstrated moderate concurrent validity for physical (<it>r </it>= .14; <it>p </it>< .01) and mental (<it>r </it>= .18; <it>p </it>< .01) quality of life, as expected.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The findings of these two studies highlight the potential for our new tool to provide a valid measure of older women's social quality of life, yet they require duplication in longitudinal research. Interested clinicians should consider using the OWSQLI in their assessment battery to identify older women's areas of lower versus higher social quality of life, and should establish the maximization of patients' social quality of life as an important therapeutic goal, as this variable is significantly related to both physical and mental health.</p

Loneliness of Older Immigrant Groups in Canada: Effects of Ethnic-Cultural Background

This study aimed to explore the loneliness of several groups of older immigrants in Canadacompared to native-born older adults. Data from the Canadian General Social Survey, Cycle 22 (Nolder adults = 3,692) were used. The dependent variable is the 6 item De Jong Gierveld lonelinessscale. Determinants of loneliness included country of birth, ethnic background (cultural context);belongingness (community context) and social networks (social context). Results showed that onlysome immigrant groups are significantly lonelier than older adults born in Canada. Immigrants withsimilar language and culture are not lonelier; while those from countries that differ in nativelanguage/culture are significantly higher on loneliness. Multivariate analyses showed the importanceof cultural background, of composition of the network of relatives and friends, and of localparticipation and feelings of belonging to the Canadian society in explaining loneliness of olderimmigrants