Disentangling the effects of race and SES on arthritis-related symptoms, coping, and well-being in African American and White women.

This study examined both unique and interactive effects of race and socioeconomic status (SES) on arthritis-related symptoms, coping, and well-being in African American and White women. Participants included 77 African American and 98 White women, aged 45 to 90, who completed structured, face-to-face interviews. A series of 2 x 2 MANCOVAs examined race (African American, White) and SES (high/low education or high/low occupational status) differences in arthritis-related symptoms, coping, and well-being. African Americans used more religious coping, wishful-thinking, seeking social support, and emotional expression than Whites. Individuals with low SES reported worse arthritis-related symptoms, poorer well-being, and greater use of coping strategies that tend to be maladaptive. Race x SES interactions revealed higher depressive symptoms in African Americans with low versus high education and coping differences in African Americans with low versus high occupational status; however differences in depressive symptoms and coping based on SES were not evident for Whites. Results demonstrate unique and interactive race and SES differences for arthritis-related symptoms, coping, and well-being showing the complexity of race and SES in the realm of physical and mental health.

Social relations and depressive symptomatology: self-efficacy as a mediator.

This study investigates general and social self-efficacy as possible mediators of the relationship between quantity and quality of social relations and depressive symptomatology. Mediation models were examined using a regionally representative sample of middle-aged (35-59) and older adults (60+). Hierarchical regression analyses, controlling for age, race, sex, education, health, and family composition, revealed partial mediation for several social relations predictor variables. Whereas general self-efficacy acted as a partial mediator for only middle-aged adults, social self-efficacy was a partial mediator between social relations and depressive symptomatology only among older adults. Findings suggest that self-efficacy may function as a mechanism through which social relations influence depressive symptoms, and that the importance of this mechanism as domain-specific or domain-general may vary with age.

Interactive effect of support from family and friends in visually impaired elders.

The interactive relationship of high and low friend and family support for adaptation to chronic vision impairment was examined in 241 men and women. Two 2 (High/Low Family Support) x 2 (High/Low Friend Support) x 2 (Gender) multivariate analyses of covariance tested for psychological well-being, one with qualitative support measures, the other with quantitative support measures. Two analyses of covariance models tested for adaptation to vision loss. A significant multivariate 3-way interaction effect for qualitative support was found. Women with high support from both friends and family had better psychological well-being, whereas men with high support from both friends and family or just from family had better psychological well-being. Two univariate main effects showed that participants with high qualitative friend support and high quantitative family support had better adaptation to vision loss. Findings demonstrate the complexity of measuring and understanding relationships among social support, well-being, and domain-specific adaptation to chronic impairment.