Centre for Policy on Ageing



The effects of social networks on disability in older Australians
Author(s)	Lynne C Giles, Patricia A Metcalf, Gary F V Glonek
Journal title	Journal of Aging and Health, vol 16, no 4, August 2004
Pages	pp 517-538
Source	http://www.sagepub.com
Keywords	Social contacts ; Informal care ; Personal relationships ; Physical disabilities ; Longitudinal surveys ; Australia.
Annotation	Six waves of data from the Australian Longitudinal Study of Ageing were used. Data are from 1,477 participants aged 70+. The effects of total social networks and those with children, relatives, friends and confidants on transitions in disability status were analysed using binary and multinomial logistic regression. After controlling for a range of health, environmental and personal factors, social networks with relatives were protective against developing mobility disability and Nagi disability (S Z Nagi's Epidemiology of disability among adults in the US, 1976). Other social sub-networks did not have a consistent effect on the development of disability. The effects of social relationships extend beyond disability in activities of daily living (ADLs). Networks with relatives protect against disability in mobility and Nagi tasks. (RH).
Accession Number	CPA-040909212 A
Classmark	TOA: P6: DS: BN: 3J: 7YA
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...from the Ageinfo database published by Centre for Policy on Ageing.