Age and gender differences in the structure, function, and perceived quality of social support convoys.

Despite evidence that individuals benefit both directly and indirectly from the support they receive from family and friends, the relations between social support and positive mental and physical health have not always been as strong as predicted. Over the past two decades, as interest in the role social support plays in helping people cope with life stress has grown, the concept of support has been broadened to include three distinct dimensions--structure, function, and perceived quality. Additionally, research indicates that the ability of social support to moderate the negative effects of life stress depends upon several factors, including personal characteristics of both the support provider and recipient, such as age and gender. The present research uses the conceptual framework of the Convoy Model (Kahn & Antonucci, 1980) to examine age and gender differences in the dimensions of social support across the developmental stages of adulthood. The results indicate that both age and gender significantly affect the perceived quality of support relationships, particularly within marital relationships and friendships. These results are discussed in relation to their implications for social work practice and research.PhDSocial Work and Developmental PsychologyUniversity of Michigan, Horace H. Rackham School of Graduate Studieshttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/104173/1/9500991.pdfDescription of 9500991.pdf : Restricted to UM users only