This is the second revision of the application SES, Social Relations, Age and health. The basic goal of the proposed study is to examine how social relations and self-efficacy can contribute to our understanding of the SES-Health link. We build upon the work of several theorists and our own earlier work to examine the moderating and mediating effects of social relations and self-efficacy as possible indicators of the processes and mechanisms influencing the SES-Health link. We expect to benefit from advances in the measurement of key constructs including SES, social relations and self-efficacy. In the case of SES, personal indicators such as income, assets, education and occupation will be explored, as will more lifetime, community, and environmental indicators such as parent education and occupation, neighborhood characteristics and housing quality. Social relations measures include structure, quality, source and type. Data are available from regional and national representative samples of adults, especially older adults: Supports of the Elderly (SSE), Americans' Changing Lives (ACL), National Study of Families and Households (NSFH) and Social Relations over the Life Course (SR). Each of these datasets includes multiple measures of both SES and social relations, together with comparable health and well-being measures. In some datasets longitudinal measures and mortality information are also available.
The specific aims of this study are: 1. To examine the SES- Health link by considering the moderating and mediating effects of social relations. 2. To examine the SES-Health link by considering the reciprocal effects of social relations and self-efficacy. 3. To further explicate the SES-mortality association by examining the role of social relations. In sum, incorporating advances in several areas including SES, Social Relations and Self-Efficacy, the proposed study hopes to further our understanding of the processes and mechanisms through which social inequality influences health.
| Antonucci, Toni C; Ajrouch, Kristine J; Birditt, Kira S (2014) The convoy model: explaining social relations from a multidisciplinary perspective. Gerontologist 54:82-92 |
| Birditt, Kira; Antonucci, Toni C (2008) Life sustaining irritations? Relationship quality and mortality in the context of chronic illness. Soc Sci Med 67:1291-9 |
| Ajrouch, Kristine J; Blandon, Alysia Y; Antonucci, Toni C (2005) Social networks among men and women: the effects of age and socioeconomic status. J Gerontol B Psychol Sci Soc Sci 60:S311-S317 |
| Antonucci, Toni C; Akiyama, Hiroko; Takahashi, Keiko (2004) Attachment and close relationships across the life span. Attach Hum Dev 6:353-70 |
