Effects of Social Ties on Self-rated Physical Health Among African American Adults

ObjectivesTo examine associations between social ties and self-rated physical health among midlife and older African Americans.MethodsCross-sectional analysis of the 2005-2006 Milwaukee African American oversample of the second Midlife Development in the United States (MIDUS II) study. Multivariate logistic regression examined associations between type of social ties (family or friends), their frequency (number of contacts), and their quality (support and strain) with better self-rated physical health (SRPH). We defined better SRPH to include self-reports of good, very good, or excellent SRPH; this category was compared with fair or poor SRPH. Control variables included demographic factors; social engagement characteristics such as working, volunteering, and caregiving; and measures of social structure such as types of discrimination experience and ratings of neighborhood quality.ResultsIn adjusted results, each additional degree of family support was associated with better self-rated physical health (odds ratio OR], 1.59; 95% confidence interval CI], 1.14-2.22). Each additional reported incident of daily discrimination was associated with 9% lower odds of reporting better SRPH (OR, 0.91; CI, 0.83-0.99).DiscussionResults suggest quality of family support may contribute importantly to the health of African Americans. When working with midlife and older African Americans, providers should engage and support families as a vital resource to improve health.