Social isolation (low social support)

Question 1

How do genes and the environment affect one’s health (through what pathways)?

Answer 1

Genes and environment (independently and through interaction) affect the BRAIN –> influence PSYCHOLOGICAL TRAITS (e.g. hostility), HEALTH BEHAVIORS (e.g. Smoking) and NEUROENDOCRINE SYSTEM (e.g. Stress hormones, activation of autonomic nervous system)

Question 2

What is social support?

Answer 2

1. QUANTITATIVE: Number of contacts, group memberships.
2. TANGIBLE: People that can help you meet your needs
3. EMOTIONAL: Sharing hopes, dreams and fears.

(QTE: Cutie!)

Question 3

What were the main findings of studies that investigated the connection between social isolation and mortality rate in healthy persons?

Answer 3

• Those with fewer social ties more likely to die (and those with higher # of ties and activities had reduced mortality)
• Low PERCEIVED social support can also increase mortality.
• More social ties not only protects against serious illnesses, but even helps recovery from the common cold!

Question 4

Does the intimacy of contacts matter, or is it sufficient to have contacts?

Answer 4

Having INTIMATE contacts has more protective benefits than merely having contacts.

Question 5

How do social and economic resources affect the prognosis of patients with coronary artery disease?

Answer 5

Low levels of social and economic resources contributed to increased risk of cardiovascular death over an extended follow-up period. (While the medical severity of the disease was the strongest predictor of survival, social and economic resources contributed up to 12% of total prognostic information!)

This was true even after all known medical prognostic factors, such as severity of CAD and left ventricular dysfunction, were controlled for!

Question 6

What is a tool that can be used to assess people’s perceptions of support?

Answer 6

Cohen’s ISEL (Interpersonal Support Evaluation)

Question 7

What were the findings of studies that investigated the link between perceived social support and mortality in CAD patients?

Answer 7

Those with higher ISEL scores (greater perceived social support) had reduced mortality rates of 19% - significant, as beta-blockers on post-MI patients only reduced mortality by 23%!

Higher ISEL scores were also associated with better physical, mental, emotional and social function!

Question 8

What were the main findings of a study that investigated the link between negative affect, social support and quality of sleep in caregivers vs non-caregivers?

Answer 8

Hypothesis:
Caregiving is related directly to poor sleep, and also indirectly by way of negative affect and level of social support.

• Results*:
• Social support and negative affect were strongly negatively correlated (i.e. High negative affect was associated with low social support and vice versa)
• When social support and negative affect are controlled for, correlation between caregiving and poor sleep is NO LONGER SIGNIFICANT.
• Significance*:
• When devising interventions for caregivers, it is important to assess negative affect as well!