The purpose of this study is to examine the association between negative social exchanges and mortality. Negative social exchanges involve criticisms, demands, insensitivities, or interference from the social network. A considerable body of evidence now indicates that the effects of negative social exchanges on psychological distress are substantial and that they outweigh the effects of positive social exchanges, and recent findings suggest that negative exchanges have deleterious effects on health as well. Few studies, however, have explored the effects of negative exchanges on mortality, and far more information is needed about the severity of the impact of negative exchanges on mortality and why this association may exist. The proposed study will link death certificate information to survey data from a national, longitudinal study that extensively measures positive and negative social exchanges among older adults. We plan to pursue three primary aims: 1) to evaluate the relative impact of positive and negative social exchanges on mortality; 2) to investigate whether physical health and psychological distress mediate the effect of social exchanges on mortality; and 3) to investigate the stable and changing patterns of social exchanges that predict mortality. The Later Life Study of Social Exchanges (LLSSE), which will be linked with mortality records in the proposed study, is a 5- wave nationwide survey of adults over age 65 that contains the most comprehensive measurement of social exchanges conducted to date, including assessments of the frequency of both positive and negative exchanges, subjective appraisals of those exchanges, social network composition and membership, social activity patterns, and loneliness.
