Abstract:

Research over the past decade has documented a positive correlation between social relationships & health, but not a causal interpretation. In this light, two questions are addressed, ie, whether social networks: (1) act as buffers against the negative impact of life events on health; or (2) have a direct effect, independent of the presence or absence of major life events. Employing a time-series panel design to overcome problems of causal explanations, survey & health assessment data obtained 1982-1984 are used to examine the social networks & health of 3,559 poor frail elderly, participants of California's Multipurpose Senior Services Project. The results indicate that social networks have a short-term direct effect on health, & short- as well as long-term buffering effect on health. Implications for intervention are discussed.