A study of family support, friendship, and psychological well-being among older women in Hong Kong

Research output: Journal PublicationsJournal Article (refereed)peer-review

73 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

The "dual-channel" hypothesis (Lawton, 1996), which suggests the dual-antecedent pattern for positive and negative aspects of psychological well-being, was tested by examining the differential relationships between objective and subjective measures of family support (family contact, family quality, perceived importance of family) and friendship (friends support, friends quality, perceived importance of friendship) to two facets of psychological well-being (positive and negative affect). Face-to-face interviews were conducted with a sample of 60 older women aged 60 to 85 in one district of Hong Kong. A series of hierarchical multiple regression analyses, controlling for age and marital status, demonstrated that two subjective measures (family quality and perceived importance of friendship) were significant predictors of positive affect; and one subjective measure (family quality) was a significant predictor of negative affect. The "dual-channel" hypothesis was partially supported. Recommendations regarding informal support provision for older women are discussed.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)299-319
Number of pages21
JournalThe International Journal of Aging and Human Development
Volume55
Issue number4
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1 Jan 2002

Bibliographical note

An earlier version of this article was presented at the Seventh Annual Congress of Gerontology of the Hong Kong Association of Gerontology held in Hong Kong on November 27, 1999.

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'A study of family support, friendship, and psychological well-being among older women in Hong Kong'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this