Table 1.
Descriptions of Key Variables (N = 2,570)a
| Variable | Weighted Mean | Standard Deviation | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bridging measures | |||
| Brokerage potential | Number of pairs of alters in R’s network that are not directly connected to each other. Range: 0 to 10. | 1.587 | 2.107 |
| Sole bridge status | Whether R serves as the sole intermediary between alters who otherwise would not be connected to each other. {Yes =1, no =0} | .196 | .399 |
| Network structural controls | |||
| Kin composition | Proportion of alters who are kin by blood or marriage is calculated, then divided into tertiles to reduce skewness. Lowest tertile = 0, highest = 2. | 1.068 | .776 |
| Closeness to alters | Average response to: “How close do you feel is your relationship with [name]?” Responses range from “not very close” (=1) to “extremely close” (=4). | 3.115 | .508 |
| Frequency of contact with alters | Rs were asked how often they contact each alter. Eight possible responses range from “less than once a year” to “every day.” We transform responses to estimates of number of days of contact per year w/each alter (e.g., “every day” =365). We then take the average across all alters. Observed range: 2 to 365. | 198.256 | 85.448 |
| Number of alter pairs | Number of alter-alter pairs in R’s network. Range: 0 to 10. | 6.123 | 3.597 |
| Sociodemographic characteristics | |||
| Age | R’s age in years, divided by 10. Range: 5.7 to 8.5. | 6.785 | .782 |
| Female | Whether R is female {Yes =1, no =0} | .541 | .498 |
| African-American | Whether R is African-American {Yes =1, no =0} | .093 | .366 |
| Latino | Whether R is Latino. {Yes =1, no =0} | .063 | .295 |
| Education | (Ref.) R had no high school education {1 =Yes, 0 =No} | ||
| R graduated high school {1 =Yes, 0 =No} | .278 | .445 | |
| R had some college {1 =Yes, 0 =No} | .292 | .448 | |
| R graduated college {1 =Yes, 0 =No} | .258 | .423 | |
| Retired | Whether R is retired {Yes =1, no =0} | .588 | .484 |
| Marital status | (Ref.) R is married/lives with partner {1 =Yes, 0 =No} | ||
| R is separated/divorced {1 =Yes, 0 =No} | .112 | .329 | |
| R is widowed {1 =Yes, 0 =No} | .170 | .416 | |
| R was never married {1 =Yes, 0 =No} | .029 | .178 | |
| Depression | Average of 11 standardized ordinal items from a modified CES-D (α = .80). Range: −.603 to 2.727. | −.033 | .569 |
| Cognitive function | Number of items from the short portable mental status questionnaire (SPMSQ), such as “What day of the week is it?”, that R answered correctly. Range: 0 to 10. | 9.489 | .996 |
| Functional health | Average of 9 ordinal items (reverse-coded) assessing R’s difficulty with ADLS (α = .78). Range: −3 to 0. | −.259 | .485 |
a
Means incorporate person-level weights, with post-stratification adjustments for non-response. Estimates pertain to all respondents who have at least two network members and information on all of the variables used in the regression analysis.