Table 1.
Descriptions and Weighted Means and Standard Deviations of Key Variables (N = 2,140)a
| Variable | Description | Proportion or mean | s.d. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Functional impairment (W2) | R’s self-rated ability to complete each of 7 activities of daily living on their own at W1. Responses range from “unable to do” (= 1) to “no difficulty” (= 4) (α = .841). Items are averaged together then logged. Range: 0 to 1.386. | .125 | .238 |
| Self-rated health (W2) | R rated his/her own health as “poor” (reference) | .052 | .218 |
| R rated his/her own health as “fair” | .192 | .410 | |
| R rated his/her own health as “good” | .323 | .470 | |
| R rated his/her own health as “very good” | .307 | .454 | |
| R rated his/her own health as “excellent” | .126 | .320 | |
| Depressive symptoms (W2) | Average of R’s standardized responses to 10 ordinal items from the CES-D scale assessing depressive symptoms. Responses range from “rarely or none of the time” (= 0) to “most of the time” (3). Items are averaged together then logged. Range: 0 to 1.329. | .331 | .277 |
| Age | R’s age at baseline (in years, divided by 10). Range: 5.7 to 8.5. | 6.710 | .747 |
| Female | Whether R is female | .522 | .500 |
| Black | Whether R is black | .097 | .369 |
| Hispanic | Whether R is Hispanic | .071 | .304 |
| Education (W1) | R’s had less than a high school education (reference) | .160 | .397 |
| R’s highest level of education is a high school diploma | .253 | .433 | |
| R has a college degree | .319 | .462 | |
| R holds a professional degree | .268 | .431 | |
| Network size at baseline | R named one confidant in their network roster at W1 (reference) | .109 | .297 |
| R named two confidants. | .140 | .368 | |
| R named three confidants. | .185 | .395 | |
| R named four confidants. | .166 | .377 | |
| R named five confidants. | .401 | .484 | |
| Number of confidants lost between W1 and W2 | R did not lose any confidants between waves W1 and W2 (reference) | .216 | .414 |
| R lost one confidant between waves | .262 | .441 | |
| R lost two confidants between waves | .259 | .434 | |
| R lost three confidants between waves | .161 | .367 | |
| R lost four confidants between waves | .079 | .273 | |
| R lost five confidants between waves | .023 | .148 | |
| Number of confidants added between W1 and W2 | R did not add any confidants between waves W1 and W2 (reference) | .174 | .386 |
| R added one confidant between W1 and W2 | .236 | .417 | |
| R added two confidants between waves | .276 | .443 | |
| R added three confidants between waves | .174 | .381 | |
| R added four confidants between waves | .107 | .318 | |
| R added five confidants between waves | .032 | .183 | |
| Kin composition | Proportion of R’s confidants who are kin at W1. Range: 0 to 1. | .674 | .329 |
| Frequency of contact | Average ordinal rating (1 = < once per year, 8 = every day) of how often R interacts with each confidant at W1. Range: 2.6 to 8. | 6.869 | .855 |
| Emotional closeness | Average ordinal rating (1 = “not very close”, 4 = “extremely close”) of how close R is to each confidant at W1. Range: 1 to 4. | 3.174 | .526 |
| Discussion of health matters | Average ordinal rating (1 = “not likely”, 3 = “very likely”) of how likely R is to talk to each confidant about health at W1. Range: 1 to 3. | 2.607 | .458 |
a
Estimates are weighted using NSHAP W1 person-weights (adjusted for attrition and selection at W2). Estimates are calculated for all respondents who have non-missing data for key variables in the final models for all outcome variables.