The proposed study explores the effects of components of social support convoys on physical and mental health indifferent age groups. Using a set of data collected in a community health survey conducted in upstate New York n 1982, we will indentify various age groups (e.g., -24, 25-34, 35-44, 45-54, 55-64, 65+) and conduct analyses to determine (1) the sources of support and support functions for each age group, and (2) the manners in which these sources and functions affect mental and physical health. The preliminary hypotheses are: (1) sources of support change in type and decrease in size and diversity in the older age groups, (2) the effectiveness of social support in upholding health and mental health is a function of the strength of ties with support sources for all age groups, (3) heterogeneity of sources of support positively affects mental and physical health, (4) due to the decreasing availability of medium-strength of ties for many older people, there will be two distinct types of older respondents: those receiving support from strong ties who will maintain good mental and physical health, and those receiving support from other who will show deteriorating levels of mental and physical health, and (5) due to the decreasing availability of heterogeneous sources of support, there will be two distinct types of older respondents: those receiving support from heterogeneous ties who will maintain good mental and physical health, and those receiving support from homogeneous sources will show deteriorating levels of mental and physical health. These hypotheses, along with other factors (sex, marital status, employment history and status, SES, psychological resources and experiences of life events), will be examined and tested for significance. These exploratory analyses should provide meaningful leads in the design of future studies concerning social support and well-being in the life course.
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