Friendship Importance Around the World: Links to Cultural Factors, Health, and Well-Being

The Good, the Bad, and the Variable: Examining Stress and Blood Pressure Responses to Close Relationships

Social relationships influence physical health, yet questions remain regarding the nature of this association. For instance, when it comes to predicting health-relevant processes in daily life, few studies have examined (a) the relative importance of both positive and negative relational experiences, and (b) variability in relational experiences (in addition to mean levels). To address these gaps, we conducted a daily study (N = 4,005; ~ 30,000 observations) examining relationships, stress, and physiology in daily life. Heart rate and blood pressure were assessed using an optic sensor and integrated with an app-based study. Results demonstrated that higher mean levels of positive and lower mean levels of negative relational experiences predicted lower stress, better coping, and better physiological functioning in daily life, such as lower systolic blood pressure reactivity. Greater variability in negative (but not positive) relational experiences predicted lower stress, better coping, and lower systolic blood pressure reactivity.

Frequency of Physical Activity Done with a Companion: Changes Over Seven Years in Adults Aged 60+ Living in an Australian Capital City

Objectives:This study examined how often adults 60+ years were physically active with a partner, close family, friends, and neighbors, over 7 years. Methods: Data from 2062 adults living in an Australian capital city were collected using a mail survey at four time points and analyzed using multinomial logistic regression. Results: A partner was the most frequent companion at all time points. From baseline to 7 years, the greatest decline was activity with family 1-4x/month (.79 [.64-.98]) and ≥5x/month (.54 [.36-.80]). There were also decreases in activity 1-4x/month with a partner (OR = .75, [.62-.92]), friends (.55 [.44-.68]), and neighbors (.79 [.64-.98]). Physical activity with friends or neighbors ≥5x/month did not decline. Discussion: Findings extend understanding of physical activity and activity companions among older adults. More research is needed to understand factors contributing to changes in activity done with companions.

Friendships and Emotional Well-Being in the Context of Race and Age

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES

Research suggests that friendships are associated with better emotional outcomes. Still, little is known about the implications of daily friend encounters on emotional well-being in the context of race and age. Guided by the integrative conceptual framework for friendship research, this study considers racism and cultural beliefs associated with racial groups and different social and emotional goals associated with age and investigates whether the frequency of friend encounters and the link between friend encounters and emotional well-being in everyday life would vary by race and age.

RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS

Black (n = 80; Mage = 53.62) and White American adults (n = 89, Mage = 52.01) from the Stress and Well-being in Everyday Life study provided background and social network information, followed by ecological momentary assessment surveys in which they reported their social encounters and mood every 3 hours for 4 consecutive days.

RESULTS

Multilevel linear models revealed no significant differences by race or age in the frequency of friend encounters. At times when individuals were with friends, their positive mood was elevated compared to when they were not (within-person association). Yet, this association was observed only among White adults and among Black individuals who were aged 41 or younger.

DISCUSSION AND IMPLICATIONS

This work contributes to the conceptual framework for friendship research by considering how individuals' race and age are linked to friendship patterns. Findings highlight the importance of everyday contact with friends for enhancing momentary emotional well-being, particularly among White individuals and younger Black adults.

Patient Religiosity and Desire for Chaplain Services in an Outpatient Primary Care Clinic

Outpatient chaplaincy is a new specialty in healthcare, with a relative paucity of research studies exploring the need for spiritual care interventions in ambulatory settings. Over the past 3 years, our interdisciplinary team at the Duke Outpatient Clinic has piloted the extension of professional spiritual care into this hospital-based resident teaching clinic offering primary care to underserved populations in Durham, NC. In this article, we report the results of a series of surveys that we conducted at the clinic to assess patients' perceptions of chaplain services, understanding of Chaplains' roles, and desire for chaplain services in specific hypothetical scenarios. As part of this survey, we also asked patients about their personal levels of extrinsic and intrinsic religiosity using the well-validated Duke University Religion Index. Our results indicate which chaplain interventions are most desired among this patient population in relation to patients' self-reported religiosity. We hypothesized that only our more religious patients would strongly desire chaplain support for the majority of scenarios presented. We were surprised to find that a majority of our patients-regardless of their own level of religiosity-express desire for support from an outpatient healthcare chaplain when they need a listening ear, are grieving a loss, or are seeking prayer.

Interpretations and revenge goals in response to peer provocations: Comparing adolescents in the United States and Pakistan

This study examined cultural specificity in how interpretations about peer provocation are associated with revenge goals and aggression. The sample consisted of young adolescents from the United States (369 seventh-graders; 54.7% male; 77.2% identified as White) and from Pakistan (358 seventh-graders; 39.2% male). Participants rated their interpretations and revenge goals in response to six peer provocation vignettes and completed peer nominations of aggressive behavior. Multi-group SEM models indicated cultural specificity in how interpretations were related to revenge goals. Interpretations that a friendship with the provocateur was unlikely were uniquely related to revenge goals for Pakistani adolescents. For U.S adolescents positive interpretations were negatively related to revenge but self-blame interpretations were positively related to vengeance goals. Revenge goals were related to aggression similarly across groups.

Racial Differences in Associations of Cognitive Health Status With Happiness, Helplessness, and Hopelessness Among Older Adults: An Exploratory Study

Background

The relationship between healthy and positive aging and dementia and cognitive impairment has received limited attention in the field of aging. Affect impacts cognitive changes and processes, and cognitive impairment is associated with affective comorbidities. The purpose of the study was to examine (a) whether happiness, helplessness, and hopelessness are linked to cognitive health status, and (b) whether these associations differ by race.

Methods

Participants were enrollees in the Wisconsin Alzheimer's Disease Research Center's Clinical Core (ADRC). Average age at baseline was 60.85 (SD = 8.65), 73.70 (SD = 8.02), and 73.80 (SD = 9.59) years for cognitively normal individuals, individuals with MCI, and individuals with dementia, respectively.

Results

In the full sample, chi-square test results revealed associations between Cognitive Health Status (CHS) and (a) happiness, χ2(2) = 6.06, p < 0.05, (b) helplessness, χ2(2) = 6.44, p < 0.05, and (c) hopelessness, χ2(2) = 14.11, p < 0.01.

Conclusion

This study provides support for the association of both positive and negative affect with cognitive health status in middle- to older-aged adults.

Maternal social support and health facility delivery in Southwest Ethiopia

BACKGROUND

Maternal mortality continues to decrease in the world but remain the most important health problems in low-income countries. Although evidence indicates that social support is an important factor influencing health facility delivery, it has not been extensively studied in Ethiopia. Therefore, this study aimed to assess the effect of maternal social support and related factors on health facility delivery in southwest Ethiopia.

METHODS

A cross-sectional survey data on 3304 women aged 15-47 years in three districts of Ethiopia, were analyzed. Using multivariable logistic regression, we assessed the association between health facility birth, social support, and socio-demography variables. Adjusted odds ratios with 95% confidence intervals were used to identify statistically significant associations at 5% alpha level.

RESULT

Overall, 46.9% of women delivered at health facility in their last pregnancy. Average travel time from closest health facility (AOR: 1.51, 95% CI 1.21 to 2.90), mean perception score of health facility use (AOR: 1.83, 95% CI 1.44 to 2.33), involvement in final decision to identify their place of childbirth (AOR: 2.12, 95% CI 1.73 to 2.58) had significantly higher odds of health facility childbirth. From social support variables, women who perceived there were family members and husband to help them during childbirth (AOR: 3.62, 95% CI 2.74 to 4.79), women who received continuous support (AOR: 1.97, 95% CI 1.20 to 3.23), women with companions for facility visits (AOR: 1.63, 95% CI 1.34 to 2.00) and women who received support from friends (AOR: 1.62, 95% CI 1.16 to 3.23) had significantly higher odds of health facility childbirth.

CONCLUSIONS

Social support was critical to enhance health facility delivery, especially if women's close ties help facility delivery. An intervention to increase facility delivery uptake should target not only the women's general social supports, but also continuous support during childbirth from close ties including family members and close friends as these are influential in place of childbirth. Also actions that increase women's healthcare decision could be effective in improving health facility delivery.

Representation of Friendship and Aggressive Behavior in Primary School Children

This study examines the representation of friendship during middle childhood and its impact on aggressive behavior. The literature shows that friendship is almost a "gym of social skills," which, in turn, are protective factors against aggressive behavior; in this regard, the quality of friendship is especially important, but this quality becomes less and less accessible to direct observation as children grow older and spend most of their time in the externally regulated environment of primary school. To assess friendship quality requires allowing children to present their own perspective on the relationship, a goal that we have tackled through drawing. Children aged 6-11 years were individually asked to draw themselves and a close friend in two situations (i.e., relational wellbeing and relational distress) and to complete a 20-item scale of physical and verbal aggression. Data were analyzed with three main aims, namely, (1) to show if and how the representation of two core features of relationships (i.e., relatedness and individuality) changes according to the situation and/or according to the children's gender; (2) to focus on the representation of distressing situations to verify if they coincide with forms of conflict and if they differ according to the children's gender; and (3) to verify if the strength of indices of relatedness and individuality, both in situations of wellbeing and distress, predicts children's tendency to enact aggressive behaviors. The results confirm that relatedness is the dominant feature of friendship, especially in the situation of wellbeing and when the situation becomes distressing. Conflict is not always present when children do not feel fine with their friends; boys and girls do not differ significantly in this regard, but they do differ in terms of the management of relatedness and individuality when problematic situations arise. In line with previous studies, sex is the main predictor of aggressive behavior with peers, with boys more at risk than girls; however, the capacity to relate with one's own friend even in difficult times (in which boys are not inferior to girls) predicts lesser aggression with peers in general.

Friendship loss and dissolution in adulthood: A conceptual model

Adult friendships are important relationships, yet little work has examined the processes through which they end and the antecedents and consequences of endings. Building on work that has highlighted the reasons friendships end (Fehr, 1996), we propose an adult friendship dissolution process model that features how situational, personal, and interpersonal variables may influence whether friendships are ended via active or passive routes. Furthermore, potential intervening variables that could lead to different paths of friendship dissolution, including the emotional toll of experiencing dissolution via one path versus another, are discussed.