title: Correlates of social support in older American Indians: the Native Elder Care Study.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  This study examined social support and identified demographic and health correlates among American Indians aged 55 years and older.
  
  
  METHODS
  Data were derived from the Native Elder Care Study, a cross-sectional study of 505 community-dwelling American Indians aged ≥55 years. Social support was assessed using the Medical Outcomes Study Social Support Survey measure (MOS-SSS) of which psychometric properties were examined through factor analyses. Logistic regression analyses were used to identify associations between age, sex, educational attainment, marital status, depressive symptomatology, lower body physical functioning, and chronic pain and social support.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Study participants reported higher levels of affectionate and positive interaction social support (88.2% and 81.8%, respectively) than overall (75.9%) and emotional (69.0%) domains. Increased age, being married/partnered, and female sex were associated with high social support in the final model. Decreased depressive symptomatology was associated with high overall, affectionate, and positive interaction support, and decreased chronic pain with affectionate support. The count of chronic conditions and functional disability were not associated with social support.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Overall, we found high levels of social support for both men and women in this population, with the oldest adults in our study exhibiting the highest levels of social support. Strong cultural values of caring for older adults and a historical tradition of community cooperation may explain this finding. Future public health efforts may be able to leverage social support to reduce health disparities and improve mental and physical functioning.
authors.affiliation: a School of Social and Behavioral Health Sciences , Oregon State University , Corvallis , OR , USA.
authors.forename: Kathleen P
authors.initials: KP
authors.lastname: Conte
authors.forename: Marc B
authors.initials: MB
authors.lastname: Schure
authors.forename: R Turner
authors.initials: RT
authors.lastname: Goins
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000375:Aging / Q000208:ethnology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007198:Indians, North American / Q000208:ethnology*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012944:Social Support; D014481:United States / Q000208:ethnology
keywords: American Indians; older adults; social support