Providing Social Support May Be More Beneficial than Receiving It: Results from a Prospective Study of Mortality

This study examines the relative contributions of giving versus receiving support to longevity in a sample of older married adults. Baseline indicators of giving and receiving support were used to predict mortality status over a 5-year period in the Changing Lives of Older Couples sample. Results fr...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Psychological science 2003-07, Vol.14 (4), p.320-327
Main Authors: Brown, Stephanie L., Nesse, Randolph M., Vinokur, Amiram D., Smith, Dylan M.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Aged
Caring
Cost-benefit analysis
Couples
Dependency (Psychology)
Depressive disorders
Emotional support
Female
Helping Behavior
Humans
Interpersonal Relations
Logistic regression
Longevity
Male
Marriage
Mental health
Michigan
Middle Aged
Mind
Mortality
Older adults
Older people
Personal relationships
Prospective Studies
Psychology
Social interaction
Social psychology
Social research
Social Support
Spouses
Survival Analysis
Wellbeing
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Summary:This study examines the relative contributions of giving versus receiving support to longevity in a sample of older married adults. Baseline indicators of giving and receiving support were used to predict mortality status over a 5-year period in the Changing Lives of Older Couples sample. Results from logistic regression analyses indicated that mortality was significantly reduced for individuals who reported providing instrumental support to friends, relatives, and neighbors, and individuals who reported providing emotional support to their spouse. Receiving support had no effect on mortality once giving support was taken into consideration. This pattern of findings was obtained after controlling for demographic, personality, health, mental health, and marital-relationship variables. These results have implications for understanding how social contact influences health and longevity.
ISSN:0956-7976
1467-9280
DOI:10.1111/1467-9280.14461