title: Health-related social control among older men with depressive symptomatology.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Social control attempts, or attempts by social network members to influence a person's behavior, significantly predict men's health behaviors and psychological well-being. Despite the fact that depression is associated with compromised interpersonal functioning and poor health behaviors, the association between social control processes and depression has not been studied. Thus, this pilot study explored differential vulnerability to spouses' social control attempts among older, male primary care patients with varying levels of depression symptom severity and the degree to which these attempts predicted patients' behavioral and affective responses.
  
  
  METHODS
  Participants included 88 older men referred by their primary care providers for a behavioral health assessment at a Veterans Affairs Medical Center. Data on sociodemographics, depressive symptomatology, health behaviors, spouses' positive and negative social control attempts, and patients' behavioral and affective responses to attempts were collected by telephone.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The sample was primarily Caucasian (mean age = 65.3 (SD = 8.1) years). Patients' higher depressive symptoms were significantly associated with positive and negative affective responses to their spouses' social control attempts. The frequency of control attempts and patients' behavioral responses, however, were unrelated to patients' depressive symptoms. Multiple regression models revealed that while spouses' control attempts were unrelated to patients' positive behavioral responses, more frequent negative attempts predicted greater negative behavioral responses (e.g., ignoring spouses' attempts). Moreover, negative control attempts predicted greater negative affective responses (e.g., resentment, sadness).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The findings highlight the value of identifying effective social control strategies that maximize positive behavioral change, emotional responses, and health outcomes among older men with depressive symptoms.
authors.affiliation: a Mental Illness Research, Education and Clinical Center , Philadelphia VA Medical Center , Philadelphia , PA , USA.
authors.forename: Shahrzad
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Mavandadi
authors.forename: Natacha
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Jacques
authors.forename: Steven L
authors.initials: SL
authors.lastname: Sayers
authors.forename: David W
authors.initials: DW
authors.lastname: Oslin
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D003863:Depression / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D015438:Health Behavior; D006801:Humans; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010349:Patient Compliance; D010865:Pilot Projects; D011788:Quality of Life; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D012944:Social Support; D018454:Spouses
keywords: age; depression; health behavior; social support