title: Emotional Confidants in Ethnic Communities: Social Network Analysis of Korean American Older Adults.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Ethnic communities often serve as the primary source of emotional support for older immigrants. This study aims to identify individuals who are more likely to be nominated as emotional confidants by age peers in the ethnic community and to examine factors contributing to the likelihood of being a more frequently endorsed confidant.
  
  
  METHODS
  Data were drawn from a survey with 675 older Korean Americans. Using the name-generator approach in Social Network Analysis (SNA), participants were asked to list the names of three emotional confidants among age peers in the community.
  
  
  RESULTS
  A higher level of popularity (i.e., in-degree centrality) was predicted by male gender, advanced education, lower functional disability, fewer symptoms of depression, and higher levels of participation in social activities.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our findings suggest the value of SNA as a means of identifying the key emotional confidants in the community and utilizing them in community-based interventions.
authors.affiliation: The University of Texas at Austin, USA yjang12@austin.utexas.edu.
authors.forename: Yuri
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Jang
authors.affiliation: The University of Texas at Austin, USA.
authors.forename: Kyungmin
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: University of South Florida, Tampa, USA.
authors.forename: Nan Sook
authors.initials: NS
authors.lastname: Park
authors.affiliation: University of South Florida, Tampa, USA.
authors.forename: David A
authors.initials: DA
authors.lastname: Chiriboga
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001213:Asian / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D005260:Female; D005431:Florida; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012944:Social Support; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
keywords: Asians; mental health; physical function; social factors