The relationship of different sources of social support and civic participation with self‐rated health

Abstract

Purpose -Social support from different sources is beneficial for health and often helps individuals to cope with stress and illness. The aim of this paper is to simultaneously examine the effects of social support from personal, professional, and community networks and other factors in relation to health.Design/methodology/approach -A cross sectional postal and web-based survey was undertaken to examine these relationships in a random sample of 10,000 households in Wandsworth, London. Social support variables were standardized by calculating Z-scores and the relationship with health was modelled using a series of regression models.Findings -The response rate was 22.8 per cent. This study found that ''social support from family'', ''social support from friends'', ''social support at work'', and ''civic participation'' were associated with a lower likelihood of poor self-rated health, but that social support from neighbours was associated with a higher likelihood of reporting poor health. The results suggest that most of the health effects of social support are supplementary. However, the finding that the health effects of social support from family disappear after controlling for the other social support variables, suggests that it can be compensated for by support from other sources. Socio-economic variables such as gender, age, being married, employment, and home ownership were also associated with better self-rated health.Originality/value -This paper extends previous analyses by demonstrating a range of interactions between self-rated health, social support (from personal, professional, and community networks), civic participation, and socio-economic variables. These factors have not previously been studied simultaneously.

Health and well-being at work: The key role of supervisor support

“…The main aim of this study was to explore the associations between measures of social support from different domains and sources on the one hand and various health and work outcomes on the other. Although there is quite a lot of detailed evidence and research from outside Switzerland on such associations, and on the association between social support and health in particular, social supports from different sources and networks have rarely been studied simultaneously and compared directly with each other ( Jenkins and Elliott, 2004 , Van Daalen et al, 2006 , Van Woerden et al, 2011 ). Previous studies have either used measures of general social support or measures of support from a single source or a small number of sources.…”

“…Numerous studies suggest that social support is (directly) linked and (causally) related to health in general ( Holden et al, 2015 , Kumar et al, 2012 , Uchino et al, 2012 , Van Woerden et al, 2011 , Wright, 2006 ) and positively associated with physical health ( Barth et al, 2010 , Fiori and Jager, 2012 , Uchino, 2009 ), and with mental health in particular ( Kawachi and Berkman, 2001 , Plaisier et al, 2007 , Sinokki et al, 2010 , Sinokki et al, 2009 ). Previous studies and reviews also indicated that (perceived) social support even protects from cardiovascular disease and all-cause mortality ( Barth et al, 2010 , Brummett et al, 2005 , Uchino, 2006 ).…”

“…Since most studies on health effects of social support focus on support from close relations, personal networks or confidants such as a spouse or closest friend who are believed to play the most important role in this regard, evidence about other and multiple sources of social support and their effects on health and well-being is limited and scarce with few exceptions (see inter alia Fuhrer and Stansfeld, 2002 ; Li et al, 2014 ; Van Daalen et al, 2005 ; Van Daalen et al, 2006 ; Van Woerden et al, 2011 ). Nevertheless, different sources of social support were found to have different effects on health and well-being in different populations or social groups ( Li et al, 2014 , Van Woerden et al, 2011 ). Counting on multiple sources of support seems to be more characteristic of women, while men report receiving more but rather exclusive support from a closest person who is most often their spouse ( Fuhrer and Stansfeld, 2002 ).…”

“…Only very few studies have examined the effects of social support from work-related and non-work-related sources simultaneously ( Jenkins and Elliott, 2004 , Van Daalen et al, 2005 , Van Woerden et al, 2011 ). And even less interest has been devoted to both health and work-related outcomes in case of difficulties at home as well as problems at work.…”

Perceived neighbourhood cohesion and health among mid-aged Australian women

“…However, employment is an indicator of socioeconomic position, so it is often associated with higher levels of neighbourhood cohesion. [187,251] Griffiths and colleagues showed that women who spent more time doing home duties had more contact with their neighbours. …”