title: The impact of giving support to others on older adults' perceived health status.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Social support that may contribute to the physical and mental health of older adults is widely studied. However, much of the existing research has focused on the impact of receiving support; the effects of giving support have largely been neglected. Using the biopsychosocial perspective, this study aimed to examine the independent impact of giving support to others on older adults' perceived health status.
  
  
  METHODS
  Data for this study were obtained from a nationwide community-based cross-sectional survey entitled 'Determinants of Wellness among Older Malaysians: A Health Promotion Perspective', which was conducted in 2010. To assess the unique effects of giving support on perceived health status, above and beyond other possible known factors, a four-step hierarchical regression model using SPSS was used to test the hypothesis.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The findings from the analysis revealed that giving support to others was a significant positive predictor of older adults' perceived health status after receiving support, demographic variables and chronic medical conditions were considered. Further results showed that giving support to others had almost twice the effect on perceived health status (β = 0.11, P < 0.001) as receiving support (β = 0.06, P < 0.05).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The findings from this study underscore the need to develop programmes that encourage older adults' participation in productive activities such as caring for and helping others and volunteering.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Gerontology, Universiti Putra Malaysia, Serdang, Malaysia.
authors.forename: Yadollah
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Abolfathi Momtaz
authors.forename: Rahimah
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Ibrahim
authors.forename: Tengku A
authors.initials: TA
authors.lastname: Hamid
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001294:Attitude to Health; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D015577:Geriatric Assessment / Q000379:methods* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D008296:Malaysia; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012944:Social Support; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
keywords: aged; giving social support; hierarchical regression; perceived health