Social support and stressful life events: age differences in their effects on health-related quality of life among the chronically ill
UMass Chan Affiliations
Department of Quantitative Health SciencesDocument Type
Journal ArticlePublication Date
1992-08-11Keywords
Activities of Daily LivingAdolescent
Adult
Age Factors
Aged
Bereavement
Chronic Disease
Health Status
Humans
Income
Interpersonal Relations
*Life Change Events
Middle Aged
*Quality of Life
Sampling Studies
*Social Support
Work
Biostatistics
Epidemiology
Health Services Research
Metadata
Show full item recordAbstract
There is substantial evidence of individual variation in health-related quality of life measures that is not accounted for by age or disease condition. An understanding of factors that determine good health is necessary for maintained function and improved quality of life. This study examines the extent to which social support and stressful life events were more or less beneficial for the long-term physical functioning and emotional well-being of 1,402 chronically ill patients. Analyses, conducted separately in three age groups, showed that social support was beneficial for health over time regardless of age. In addition, low levels of support were particularly damaging for the physical functioning of older patients. Stressful life events impacted differentially on health-related quality of life; relationship events had an immediate effect on well-being which diminished with time; financial events had an immediate negative effect on functioning and well-being which persisted over time for middle-aged patients; bereavement had a delayed impact on quality of life, with the youngest patients especially vulnerable to its negative effects; work-related events had both negative and positive effects, depending on age group. Results reinforce the importance of identifying and dealing with psychosocial problems among patients with chronic disease.Source
Qual Life Res. 1992 Aug;1(4):235-46. Link to article on publisher's siteDOI
10.1007/BF00435632Permanent Link to this Item
http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14038/47364PubMed ID
1299454Related Resources
Link to Article in PubMedae974a485f413a2113503eed53cd6c53
10.1007/BF00435632