This chapter presents an overview of the stress process, which is the conceptual framework that examines the interrelationships among the stressors to which people might be exposed, and the mediating and moderating conditions that help to regulate the impact of the stressors on various aspects of people’s mental health. Of salient sociological importance, the stress process also takes into account the bearing of status placement on the stressors people experience, the mediating and moderating resources and conditions to which they have access, and the symptoms of mental health they manifest. Over the 30 years since its inception, it has helped to lead researchers to a greater understanding of the connections between mental health and its complex psychosocial causes. Yet, there are many gaps in this understanding, and some of these have been singled out here as promising targets for future research.

Current Issues and Future Directions in Research into the Stress Process

This study proposed that, among older adults, higher support and lower strain received from each of the four relational sources (spouse/partner, children, family, and friends) were associated with reduced loneliness and improved well-being and that loneliness might mediate the relationship between support/strain and well-being. Structural equation modeling was conducted using a national sample of adults aged 50 years and older (N = 7,367) from the Health and Retirement Study. Findings indicated that support from spouse/partner and friends alleviated loneliness, while strain from all the four sources intensified loneliness; higher support and lower strain from various sources directly and indirectly improved well-being, with indirect effects mediated through reduced loneliness. It was concluded that, in later life, various sources of support/strain engender distinct effects on loneliness and well-being, and loneliness serves as one of the psychological pathways linking support/strain to well-being.

Social support, social strain, loneliness, and well-being among older adults: An analysis of the Health and Retirement Study *

Using multiple dimensions of solidarity and conflict in a latent class analysis, we develop a typology of adult child‐parent relationships. The data (N ¼ 4,990) are from the first wave of the Netherlands Kinship Panel Study. In descending order of relationship quality, the 5 types are harmonious (akin to relationships with friends), ambivalent (intensive exchange of material support accompanied by strain), obligatory (just keeping in touch), affective (emotionally supportive with few other meaningful exchanges), and discordant (predominantly negative engagement). The types are differentiated by gender, age, family size, geographic distance, and parental marital history, indicating that they are not fixed but are shaped by socialstructural conditions.

/pdf/solidarity-and-conflict-between-adult-children-and-parents-a-2kb8whn9lc.pdf

Solidarity and Conflict between Adult Children and Parents: A Latent Class Analysis.

Associations between characteristics of neighbourhood open space and older people's walking

The Role of Identity In International Students' Psychological Well-Being In the United States: A Model of Depression Level, Identity Gaps, Discrimination, and Acculturation

This study examines positive social support, social negativity, and anxiety and mood disorders in a random sample of 4688 adults aged 21-54 years from the National Comorbidity Survey (1990-1992). Social negativity with spouses, relatives, and friends had a strong positive association with the number of anxiety and mood disorder episodes. One surprising finding was that positive support was not as strongly associated with the number of anxiety and mood disorder episodes as social negativity. Positive support from spouses or friends was not associated with a lower number of episodes of either anxiety or mood disorders. Only positive support from relatives was associated with a lower number of episodes of both anxiety and mood disorders. These results may be due to variation by source in the link between support and negativity. Given that much previous research has focused on the role of positive social support, these findings demonstrate the significant impact that negative social exchanges can have on ment...

Mental health in U.S. adults: The role of positive social support and social negativity in personal relationships

Maintaining social network contacts is an important and challenging factor in successful aging. This study examines how physical activity level is associated with network contacts in an interview survey of 6,596 adults 60 and over. The number of telephone calls, family gatherings, and visits with neighbors were used to measure social contacts. Physical activity was operationalized by the frequency and intensity of the five most common activities in the past month. Regression results demonstrated that gardening, walking, and biking were positively associated with all three measures of social contacts, even after controlling for sociodemographic, health and ADL factors. These findings suggest that social network contacts may be positively influenced by participation in physical activity. Reducing barriers to physical activity may be an appropriate strategy for promoting social network contacts in older individuals.

Physical Activity and Social Network Contacts in Community Dwelling Older Adults

Two Web-based forums for discussing diversity issues were evaluated as part of graduate social work education. Data included surveys from 91 students as well as aggregate Web use information. Outcomes included perceived learning benefits related to cultural competency, improved relationships and benefits of anonymous vs. identified participation in the forums. We found that (1) 75% of the students reported benefits related to learning cultural competency; (2) just over 60% experienced positive impacts on relationships with classmates; (3) 54% believed anonymity improved honesty during forum dialogues; however, students who participated in the author-identified forums perceived significantly more perceived learning benefits related to cultural competency than those who participated in the anonymous forums; and (4) over one-third of students improved their perceived technological competence as a result of participating in the forums. We conclude that online forums can serve as a useful adjunct to a...

Evaluation of Electronic Discussion Forums in Social Work Diversity Education: A Comparison of Anonymous and Identified Participation

This study examined diabetes awareness, diagnosis, and social support among Mexican Americans, African Americans, other Hispanic people, and white people living in the United States. Using a national sample of people age 60 and older, three groups were formed based on serum glucose level and diagnosis of diabetes: those who were unaware that their serum glucose level was greater than 115 mg/dl (no diagnosis), those with a diabetes diagnosis, and those with normal glucose (no diagnosis). Mexican Americans were the most likely to have a diagnosis, had the highest mean glucose levels, and, together with white people, were most likely to be classified as unaware. Mexican Americans and other Hispanic people had the lowest levels of social support and affiliation on four out of five measures.

Psychosocial Factors and Ethnic Disparities in Diabetes Diagnosis and Treatment among Older Adults

This study focuses on an assessment of perceived health promotion needs and interests among predominantly older low-income women (76%) in the state of Pennsylvania. A questionnaire was completed by a convenience sample of 140 individuals attending four senior centers and two nutrition sites. In addition, 14 focus groups with an average of 8 members per group were conducted for a total of 105 people from two of the four senior centers. The health topics of greatest interest to women were exercise (57.6%), making friends (50.9%), nutrition (37.5%), losing weight (33.6%), and home safety (34.6%). Compared with women, men were significantly more interested in exercise and its effect on mood (41.3% versus 24.0%) and love and sex after 60 (44.8% versus 18.2%) and significantly less interested in nutrition (17.2% versus 37.5%). The fitness activities of greatest interest to women were walking (63.1%), back exercises (37.5%), toning to music (22.1%), and self-defense (18.2%), none of which was significantly different from the men in the sample. Results suggest that many of the key health needs perceived by low-income older women could be addressed by a combination of fitness activities and health education, especially if they are also designed to facilitate social interactions. The barriers to participation in such programs most often cited were transportation, scheduling, and cost factors. Fortunately, many communities already have the resources to offer low-cost interventions in the areas of need, such as walking groups, self-defense, and home safety. Communities interested in serving low-income older women should more closely examine the barriers and the unmet needs of this group when designing intervention programs.

Elizabeth M. Bertera

Papers

Mental health in U.S. adults: The role of positive social support and social negativity in personal relationships

Physical Activity and Social Network Contacts in Community Dwelling Older Adults

Evaluation of Electronic Discussion Forums in Social Work Diversity Education: A Comparison of Anonymous and Identified Participation

Psychosocial Factors and Ethnic Disparities in Diabetes Diagnosis and Treatment among Older Adults

Assessing perceived health promotion needs and interests of low-income older women.