Table 3.

Characteristics of subjects and percentage reporting high social support (n = 390)

		High social support, by domain1
	Total sample	Social support, all domains*	Emotional support	Tangible support	Affectionate support	Positive interaction
Total sample (%)		75.9	69.0	84.6	88.2	81.8
Age (%)
55–64	36.4	70.4	59.2**	81.7	84.5	78.2
65–74	36.9	79.2	72.9	87.5	90.3	84.0
≥75	26.7	78.9	76.9	84.6	90.4	83.7
Sex (%)
Male	37.2	75.2	69.7	84.1	86.9	82.1
Female	62.8	76.3	68.6	84.9	90.0	81.6
Marital status (%)
Unmarried	49.5	68.4***	64.3*	80.8*	82.9***	73.1***
Married	50.5	83.2	73.6	88.3	93.4	90.4
Educational status (%)
1–11 years	36.7	75.5	66.4	88.1	85.3	79.0
High school graduate or General Educational Development	31.3	71.3	68.9	79.5	88.5	82.8
Some college, graduate, or more	32.1	80.8	72.0	85.6	91.2	84.0
Count of chronic conditions (Mean ± SD)	2.8 ± 2.4	2.6 ± 2.4*	2.7 ± 2.4	2.7 ± 2.3*	2.7± 2.4	2.7 ± 2.4
Short Performance Physical Battery2 (Mean ± SD)	8.1 ± 3.6	8.4 ± 3.6**	8.4 ± 3.5*	8.2 ± 3.6	8.2 ± 3.6	8.2 ± 3.7
Depression score3 (%)
Score <16	85.6	79.3***	72.2***	86.5**	90.7***	85.3***
Score ≥16	14.4	55.4	50.0	73.2	73.2	60.7
Chronic pain4 (Mean ± SD)	1.4 ± 1.2	1.3 ± 1.1**	1.3 ± 1.1*	1.3 ± 1.1**	1.3 ± 1.1***	1.4 ± 1.1

¹There were 8 questions for emotional support, 4 each for tangible and positive interaction, and 3 for affectionate. Respondents indicated how often each type of support was available to them when they needed it. Those who responded “none of,” “a little of,” or “some of the time” were considered to have low levels of social support. “Those who responded “most of” or “all of the time were considered to have high levels of social support.

²Scored 1–12, high scores indicate greater functioning.

³Established cutoff for clinically significant depressive symptoms is ≥16.

⁴Scored 0–4, high scores indicate more pain.

^*p < .05;

^**p < .01;

^***p < .001.