DESCRIPTION (from abstract): This application proposes to investigate the effects of positive and negative social interactions on the psychological well-being of adults across the life course, with particular emphasis on African American and Caucasian elderly. These analyses will examine the relative contributions of positive and negative social interactions on psychological well-being, with particular attention being paid to the relationship between stress and psychological well-being and the degree to which personal resources mediate or moderate the relationship. The proposed analyses will also examine the correlates of negative social interaction. These relationships will be examined using three datasets: The National Comorbidity Study (PI: Dr. Ronald Kessler), the Survey on Social Relations (PI: Dr. Toni Antonucci), and Americans' Changing Lives (PI: Dr. James House). Using a conceptual model of positive and negative social interactions, personal resources, stress, and psychological well-being, relevant model components will specify multifactorial models of these relationships which will be analyzed using a variety of multivariate procedures, including ordinary least squares (OLS) regression, factor analysis, and structural equation modeling. The proposed analyses will be conducted on the entire samples and on elderly samples, in particular, to examine the nature of the relationships among the constructs on interest among older populations. Separate analyses will be conducted for African Americans and Caucasians to test for racial differences. The proposed research will contribute to our understanding of the relationship between stress, social networks and well-being among African American and Caucasian adults across the life course.
NIH ExPorter
NIH ExPorter