Social Relationships, Gender, and Recovery From Mobility Limitation Among Older Americans

Overview

Journal J Gerontol B Psychol Sci Soc Sci

Specialties Geriatrics
Psychology
Social Sciences

Date 2015 Jan 14

PMID 25583597

Citations 9

Authors

Kenzie Latham

Philippa J Clarke

Greg Pavela

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Objectives: Evidence suggests social relationships may be important facilitators for recovery from functional impairment, but the extant literature is limited in its measurement of social relationships including an over emphasis on filial social support and a paucity of nationally representative data.

Methods: Using data from Waves 4-9 (1998-2008) of the Health and Retirement Study (HRS), this research examines the association between social relationships and recovery from severe mobility limitation (i.e., difficulty walking one block or across the room) among older Americans. Using a more nuanced measure of recovery that includes complete and partial recovery, a series of discrete-time event history models with multiple competing recovery outcomes were estimated using multinomial logistic regression.

Results: Providing instrumental support to peers increased the odds of complete and partial recovery from severe mobility limitation, net of numerous social, and health factors. Having relatives living nearby decreased the odds of complete recovery, while being engaged in one's neighborhood increased the odds of partial recovery. The influence of partner status on partial and complete recovery varied by gender, whereby partnered men were more likely to experience recovery relative to partnered women. The effect of neighborhood engagement on partial recovery also varied by gender. Disengaged women were the least likely to experience partial recovery compared with any other group.

Discussion: The rehabilitative potential of social relationships has important policy implications. Interventions aimed at encouraging older adults with mobility limitation to be engaged in their neighborhoods and/or provide instrumental support to peers may improve functional health outcomes.

Citing Articles

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Functional mobility and 10-year all-cause and cause-specific mortality in older people from São Paulo, Brazil.

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Physical functioning and survival: Is the link weaker among Latino and black older adults?.

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Profile of social self-management practices in daily life with Parkinson's disease is associated with symptom severity and health quality of life.

Tickle-Degnen L, Stevenson M, Gunnery S, Saint-Hilaire M, Thomas C, Sprague Martinez L Disabil Rehabil. 2020; 43(22):3212-3224.

PMID: 32233702 PMC: 7529710. DOI: 10.1080/09638288.2020.1741035.

Change in Mobility: Consistency of Estimates and Predictors Across Studies of Older Adults.

Cornman J, Glei D, Weinstein M J Gerontol B Psychol Sci Soc Sci. 2019; 76(1):209-218.

PMID: 31362309 PMC: 7973479. DOI: 10.1093/geronb/gbz091.

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