Life Stress and Health: Stressors and Resources

The association between network social capital and self-rated health: Pouring old wine in new bottles?

“…It is argued that, among other mechanisms, social network members contribute to a better health through the provision of social support (Berkman and Glass, 2000). Direct and indirect positive effects of social support on health are already established (Lin and Ensel, 1989;Pearlin, 1989;Ensel and Lin, 1991;Thoits, 1995). Therefore, we examined whether there is an effect of network social capital on health, beyond the social support mechanism, among a representative sample of the Belgian population.…”

Social Conditions As Fundamental Causes of Disease

“…Other social variables have also been effectively studied with longitudinal designs. For example, Catalano and colleagues (1993) related job layoffs to the emergence or reemergence of alcohol abuse, and Lin and Ensel (1989) and Ensel and Lin (1991) showed that stressful circumstances predicted subsequent health and mental-health outcomes.…”

Psychological Distress among Black and White Americans: Differential Effects of Social Support, Negative Interaction and Personal Control

“…Theory and research on stress, social relationships, and psychological outcomes (e.g., Aneshensel, Rutter, and Lachenbruch 1991;Barrera 1986;Cohen and Wills 1985;Lin and Ensel 1989;Wheaton 1985) focuses on how positive and negative aspects of social relationships affect the stress process and overall adjustment. Overall, the research indicates that negative interaction detracts from psychological health (Finch et al 1989;Okun, Melichar, and Hill 1990;Swindle et al 2001) and increases one's vulnerability to psychological distress, while findings for positive interaction (i.e., supportive exchanges), however, indicate that it is generally unrelated to psychological outcomes such as depression and overall satisfaction (Fiore, Becker, and Coppel 1983;Kiecolt-Glaser, Dyer, and Shuttleworth 1988).…”