Social networks and self-rated health: a cross-cultural examination among older Israelis.
OBJECTIVE
This article examines the relationship of social network and self-rated health among different cultural groups.


METHODS
This study examined associations between network structure, interaction, support and social engagement and self-rated health, controlling for sociodemographic background and psychobiological pathways among veteran Jewish-Israelis (n = 2,043), Arab-Israelis (n = 609), and new immigrants from the former Soviet Union (n = 751). Hierarchical multiple regression analysis was performed.


RESULTS
Three different patterns emerged. The association of social network and self-rated health among the majority veteran Jewish culture in Israel was similar to that found in Western societies. Among Arab-Israelis, self-rated health was explained by more traditional, familial, and communal network dynamics. The characteristic association between social network and self-rated health among the new immigrants was explained by migration-induced factors.


CONCLUSIONS
The findings demonstrate that social networks impact health differently in different cultural groups and under conditions of social change, such as migration in later-life.
Litwin
Howard
H
Hebrew University, Jerusalem, Israel.
D000368:Aged; D018912:Arabs / Q000208:ethnology; D003469:Culture; D004641:Emigration and Immigration; D005006:Ethnicity; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D007557:Israel; D007585:Jews; D012944:Social Support; D014586:USSR / Q000208:ethnology