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Centre for Policy on Ageing | |
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| Social ties and health among the very old in Sweden | | Author(s) | Carin Lennartsson |
| Journal title | Research on Aging, vol 21, no 5, September 1999 |
| Pages | pp 657-681 |
| Keywords | Over 70s ; Social contacts ; Personal relationships ; Health [elderly] ; Well being ; Social surveys ; Sweden. |
| Annotation | Research since the 1970s has documented a positive relationship between social ties (despite large variations in measures) and health. Studies of older people have also indicated that the effect may vary according to source of contact. This study uses a nationally representative sample of 537 from the 77 to 98 age group from the Swedish Panel Study of Living Conditions of the Oldest Old (SWEOLD), to examine differences in the effect of social contact on health outcomes, controlling for source of social contact. It also considers that causality may possibly be reversed. Results indicate that social contacts with friends are related to well-being, and that consequently fewer contacts lead to less well-being. This relationship is valid, independent of earlier health status. Results indicate that it is essential that studies of the relationship between social contact and health not only distinguish between different sources of social contact, but also address a range of health problems. (RH). |
| Accession Number | CPA-991021216 A |
| Classmark | BBK: TOA: DS: CC: D:F:5HH: 3F: 76P |
Data © Centre for Policy on Ageing |
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| ...from the Ageinfo database published by Centre for Policy on Ageing. |
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