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Biomedical subjects

Neal Krause

Publications and source records attributed to Neal Krause.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2006

Exploring the stress-buffering effects of church-based and secular social support on self-rated health in late life.

OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this study is to see if emotional support received from fellow church members and emotional support from secular social networks reduce the effects of financial strain on self-rated health. A second goal is to determine if church-based social support is a more important coping resource for older Blacks than for older Whites. METHODS: The data come from the second wave of interviews with a nationwide sample of older people. Two groups of older adults are included in the analyses: Older Christians who go to church more than twice a year (N=548) and older people who do not go to church as frequently (N=238). RESULTS: The data suggest that support from fellow church members tends to reduce the impact of financial strain on self-rated health, but support from secular network members fails to exert a similar effect. The findings also reveal that the stress-buffering effects of church-based support emerge among older Blacks, but not older Whites. DISCUSSION: The findings from this study suggest that there may be something relatively unique about support that is provided by fellow church members.

Aged↗
PubMed2006

Church-based social support and mortality.

OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this study was to see if support provided and received from fellow church members reduced the deleterious effects of financial strain on mortality in late life. METHODS: Interviews were conducted with a nationwide sample of 1,500 older adults in 2001 and 2004. Participants were asked in 2001 about financial strain, church-based social support, and a range of private and public religious practices. Mortality status was determined at the follow-up interview in 2004. RESULTS: The findings indicated that providing social support to fellow church members reduced the effects of support providers' own financial problems on mortality. In contrast, the data suggested that receiving support from people at church did not have the same stress-buffering effect. DISCUSSION: Finding ways to help older adults become more involved in providing support to others at church may form the basis for developing interventions aimed at improving their quality of life.

Aged↗
PubMed2006

Belief in life after death and mental health: findings from a national survey.

The present study examined the association between belief in life after death and six measures of psychiatric symptomology in a national sample of 1403 adult Americans. A statistically significant inverse relationship was found between belief in life after death and symptom severity on all six symptom clusters that were examined (i.e., anxiety, depression, obsession-compulsion, paranoia, phobia, and somatization) after controlling for demographic and other variables (e.g., stress and social support) that are known to influence mental health. No significant association was found between the frequency of attending religious services and any of the mental health measures. The results are discussed in terms of the potentially salubrious effects of religious belief systems on mental health. These findings suggest that it may be more valuable to focus on religious beliefs than on religious practices and behaviors in research on religion and mental health.

Anxiety Disorders↗
PubMed2006

Neighborhood deterioration, social skills, and social relationships in late life.

This study is designed to test two hypotheses. The first specifies that older adults who live in dilapidated neighborhoods will receive less social support and encounter more negative interaction with family and friends. The second hypothesis proposes that the relationship between deteriorated neighborhood conditions and social relationships will depend upon whether older study participants have strong social skills. Data from a recent nationwide survey of older adults suggest that living in run-down neighborhoods is associated with more negative interaction; however, residing in disadvantaged neighborhoods is not related to the amount of support older people receive from significant others. But perhaps more important, the findings further reveal that the effects of living in run-down neighborhoods on social support and negative interaction are completely offset for older individuals who possess strong social skills.

Affect↗
PubMed2005

Exploring age differences in the stress-buffering function of social support.

The purpose of this study is to see if there are age differences in the relationship between chronic financial strain, emotional support, and life satisfaction among people aged 65 and older. Data from a nationwide survey of older people (N = 1,518) indicate that emotional support tends to reduce the noxious effects of economic problems on life satisfaction for the sample as a whole. However, the findings further reveal that the potential benefits of emotional support arise primarily among the oldest-old. In contrast, emotional support does not offset the negative effects of financial strain on life satisfaction among the young-old.

Affect↗
PubMed2005

How does self-assessed health change with age? A study of older adults in Japan.

OBJECTIVE: This research examines how the trajectories of self-rated health evolve among elderly Japanese individuals and how socioeconomic status (SES), social relations, and baseline health differentiate these trajectories. METHODS: Data came from a five-wave panel study of a national sample of 2,200 Japanese old adults between 1987 and 1999. Hierarchical linear models and cluster analysis were employed to depict major patterns of temporal changes in self-rated health. RESULT: Overall perceived health becomes worse, but only slightly, between ages 60 and 85, whereas it appears to improve a little bit after age 85. Underlying the observed age norm are four subtrajectories including constant good health, early onset of perceived health decline, late onset of perceived health decline, and a course of recovery from poor self-assessed health. DISCUSSION: Diverse subjective health trajectories exist in old age, extending well into the 90s. Prior observations of the effects of SES, social relations, and baseline health on health states and transitions can now be extended to trajectories of subjective health. Our analysis of Japanese data provides important benchmarks for comparisons with observations made in other developed nations.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMed2005

Negative interaction and heart disease in late life: exploring variations by socioeconomic status.

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to see whether negative interaction is associated with an increased risk of having heart disease. In the process, an effort was made to see if older people in lower socioeconomic status (SES) groups were more vulnerable to the potentially deleterious effects of interpersonal conflict than upper SES elders. METHODS: Interviews were conducted with a nationwide sample of older adults at three points in time. Survey items were administered to assess exposure to negative interaction, SES, and whether study participants had heart disease. RESULTS: The findings reveal that negative interaction is associated with an increased risk of heart disease for lower SES elders only. Moreover, the data suggest that the pernicious effects of negative interaction on heart disease take between 2 and 4 years to become manifest. DISCUSSION: The findings underscore the role played by interpersonal relationships in the etiology of heart disease.

Age Factors↗
PubMed2005

The social distribution of psychological distress and depression in older adults.

OBJECTIVE: This study examines the associations between social position and mental health and explores whether differences in distress and depression by social position can be accounted for by differences in the major components of the stress process model. We extend previous work by including an ethnocultural measure alongside more traditional measures of social position. METHOD: Secondary data analysis of the 1994 National Population Health Survey. RESULTS: Consistent with findings from studies of younger adults, mental health in later life is determined in part by age, gender, marital status, education, and ethnocultural factors. The data indicate that the life experiences connected to these social positions are largely responsible for these effects. DISCUSSION: Our findings suggest that key social factors are related to mental health in late life, because one's position in the social structure shapes the stressors they encounter and the resources they have at their disposal to cope with them.

Age Factors↗
PubMed2004

Mental health among older adults in Japan: do sources of social support and negative interaction make a difference?

This study addresses the question of whether social support and interpersonal strain from different sources (i.e., spouse, children, and other relatives and friends) have differential impact on mental health. Data for this research came from a national probability sample of 2200 persons aged 60 and over in Japan. Structural equation models were evaluated within the context of two types of social networks: (a) persons who had a spouse and children (n=1299), and (b) those with children only (n=677). Between these two networks, the links among social support, negative relations, and mental health were contrasted. The effects of various sources of social support and negative interactions on mental health vary depending on the specific dimension of mental health as well as the nature of social networks. Among older Japanese who are married with children, social support from spouse has a greater association with positive well-being than social support from children and others. However, cognitive functioning is uncorrelated with all sources of positive and negative social exchanges. In contrast, among those without a spouse, only greater support from children is significantly correlated with higher positive well-being, less distress, and less cognitive impairment.

Asian People↗
PubMed2004

Emotional support from parents early in life, aging, and health.

The purpose of this study is to estimate the relationship between receiving emotional support from parents early in life and an individual's health in adulthood. Analysis of data from a nationally representative sample of adults ages 25-74 years suggests that a lack of parental support during childhood is associated with increased levels of depressive symptoms and chronic conditions in adulthood. These associations between early parental support and adult health persist with increasing age throughout adulthood. Personal control, self-esteem, and social relationships during adulthood account for a large portion of these long-term associations. These findings underscore the importance of adopting a life course perspective in studying the social determinants of health among adults.

Adult↗
PubMed2004

A descriptive epidemiology of lifetime trauma and the physical health status of older adults.

Three issues are evaluated in this study. The 1st involves examining the relationship between exposure to trauma over the life course and physical health status in old age. The 2nd has to do with seeing whether the relationship between trauma and health varies across 3 cohorts of older adults: the young-old (ages 65-74), the old-old (ages 75-84), and the oldest old (age 85 and over). The 3rd issue involves seeing whether the age at which a trauma was encountered is related to health in late life. Data from a nationwide survey of older people (N=1,518) reveal that trauma is associated with worse health. Moreover, the young-old appear to be at greatest risk. Finally, data suggest that trauma arising between the ages of 18 and 30 years, as well as ages 31 to 64 years, has the strongest relationship with current health.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2004

Common facets of religion, unique facets of religion, and life satisfaction among older African Americans.

OBJECTIVES: Common facets of religion are those aspects of religion that can be shared by people from any racial group. In contrast, unique facets of religion are available only to people in specific racial groups. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the interface among common facets of religion, unique facets of religion, and life satisfaction in a nationwide sample of older Black people. METHODS: Interviews were conducted with a nationally representative sample of older African Americans. Survey items were administered to assess common religious factors (e.g., the frequency of church attendance) and unique religious factors (i.e., the belief that religion sustains Black people in the face of racial adversity). Subjective well-being was measured with a life satisfaction index. RESULTS: The findings reveal that both the common and the unique aspects of religion contribute to life satisfaction among older African Americans. DISCUSSION: Most studies on race differences in religion focus solely on common religious factors that may enhance the subjective well-being of older Whites as well as older Blacks. The findings from this study are important because they call attention to the insight that can be obtained by also taking the unique facets of religion for older Black people into consideration.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMed2004

Stressors arising in highly valued roles, meaning in life, and the physical health status of older adults.

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study is to see if stressors arising in highly valued roles affect health by eroding an older person's sense of meaning in life. A second goal is to assess whether emotional support provided by social network members helps offset the deleterious effects of stress on meaning and health. METHODS: Interviews were conducted with a nationwide sample of older people. Survey items were administered to assess stressors in highly valued roles, meaning in life, and self-rated health. RESULT: The findings suggest that life events arising in roles that are valued highly are associated with less favorable health ratings. Moreover, the data reveal that stressors in highly valued roles affect health primarily by eroding an older person's sense of meaning in life. Finally, the results indicate that emotional support helps older people cope more effectively with stress by restoring their sense of meaning in life. DISCUSSION: Researchers have devised a number of interventions to improve the health of older people by enhancing the functioning of their social networks. These interventions have met with mixed success. The findings from the current study suggest that focusing on meaning in life may help researchers devise more effective interventions.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMed2004

Lifetime trauma, emotional support, and life satisfaction among older adults.

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study is to examine the relationships among lifetime exposure to traumatic events, emotional support, and life satisfaction in three cohorts of older adults. DESIGN AND METHODS: Face-to-face interviews were conducted with a nationwide sample of 1,518 older people in 2003. Approximately 500 elders were interviewed in each of the following age cohorts: Young-old (age 65-74), old-old (75-84), and oldest-old (85 and older). RESULTS: The findings suggest that exposure to lifetime trauma is associated with less life satisfaction in all three age cohorts. The data further reveal that emotional support offsets the effects of trauma on feelings of life satisfaction in the old-old and the oldest-old. The stress buffering properties of emotional support were especially evident in the oldest-old cohort. IMPLICATIONS: The findings underscore the need to develop interventions that help older people deal more effectively with lifetime trauma. Moreover, the results suggest that interventions providing emotional support may be especially helpful for the oldest-old.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMed2004

Religion, aging, and health: exploring new frontiers in medical care.

The purpose of this review article is to selectively examine research that was designed to evaluate the relation between religious involvement and health among older people. Four facets of religion are examined in detail: church-based social support, religious coping, forgiveness, and prayer. In addition, potential negative effects of religion on health are discussed. Negative interaction in the church as well as religious doubt are evaluated in this respect. Throughout, an effort is made to show how current research on religion and health may be used to provide more comprehensive care for our aging population.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMed2003

Social structural influences on emotional support from parents early in life and adult health status.

The authors' purpose in this study was to identify social structural predictors of receiving emotional support from parents early in life and structural factors responsible for variations in the associations between early parental support and adult health status. Data from a US representative sample of 2,786 adults aged 25-74 years suggest that men, non-Whites, and individuals from socioeconomically advantaged families report having received higher levels of early parental support. Furthermore, these analyses suggest that although adult health status is predicted by early parental support in general, health status among adults is particularly sensitive to levels of support received from a same-sex parent during childhood. These findings emphasize the pervasive influence of gender in American society and add focus to researchers' understanding of the long-term health effects of early parental support.

Adult↗
PubMed2003

Negative interaction in late life: issues in the stability and generalizability of conflict across relationships.

This study used an inductive approach to probe more deeply into the nature of negative interaction in late life. The data come from a nationwide longitudinal survey of older adults (N = 515). We began with two empirical observations and derived theoretical propositions from them that have not been explored extensively in mainstream gerontological research on negative interaction. First, the findings reveal that unpleasant interaction is quite stable over a 6-year period. This suggests that interpersonal difficulties are chronic stressors that may arise because at least some older people are involved in conflicted relationships that are difficult to terminate. The second empirical finding reveals that older adults who encounter interpersonal problems in one social relationship (e.g., with children) tend to encounter them in others as well (e.g., with friends). This suggests that some older people may play a role in creating the negative interactions they encounter.

Aged↗