A study of family support, friendship, and psychological well-being among older women in Hong Kong.
The "dual-channel" hypothesis (Lawton, 1996), which suggests the dual-antecedent pattern for positive and negative aspects of psychological well-being, was tested by examining the differential relationships between objective and subjective measures of family support (family contact, family quality, perceived importance of family) and friendship (friends support, friends quality, perceived importance of friendship) to two facets of psychological well-being (positive and negative affect). Face-to-face interviews were conducted with a sample of 60 older women aged 60 to 85 in one district of Hong Kong. A series of hierarchical multiple regression analyses, controlling for age and marital status, demonstrated that two subjective measures (family quality and perceived importance of friendship) were significant predictors of positive affect; and one subjective measure (family quality) was a significant predictor of negative affect. The "dual-channer" hypothesis was partially supported. Recommendations regarding informal support provision for older women are discussed.
Lingnan University, Tuen Mun, NT, Hong Kong. siuol@ln.edu.hk
Oi-Ling
OL
Siu
David R
DR
Phillips
D000339:Affect; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged / Q000523:psychology*; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005190:Family / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D033062:Friends; D006723:Hong Kong; D006801:Humans; D017533:Marital Status; D008603:Mental Health; D008875:Middle Aged; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D012044:Regression Analysis; D012307:Risk Factors; D012944:Social Support; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014505:Urban Population; D014930:Women / Q000523:psychology*; D016387:Women's Health