Social support and self-rated health revisited : is there a gender difference in later life?

Sheung Tak CHENG, Cheung Ming, Alfred CHAN

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

48 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

This study examines the physical, behavioral, emotional and social determinants of self-rated health among Chinese older persons, and investigates if the effect of social support varies by gender. A representative sample of 1589 elderly community dwellers in Hong Kong were interviewed using a structured questionnaire. Gender difference in the effect of social support was tested by an interaction term, 'gender x social support', in a hierarchical regression analysis. The frequency of falling ill, the number of chronic illnesses, sleep quality, mobility and positive emotions were most important determinants of self-rated health. The effect of social support was completely redundant when these factors were taken into account. The interaction term 'gender x social support' was significant and indicated a stronger effect for women, but the effect size was negligible (adding only 0.3% to the explained variance). This suggests that the effect of social support by and large is gender free. These findings suggest a high degree of similarity in the determinants of self-rated health between Western and Chinese older populations.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)118-122
Number of pages5
JournalSocial Science and Medicine
Volume63
Issue number1
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1 Jul 2006

Funding

The preparation of this manuscript was supported in part by the Health and Welfare Bureau, Hong Kong SAR Government. We also want to acknowledge the assistance of the Census and Statistics Department of the Hong Kong SAR Government in the data collection process.

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