THE EFFECTS OF AGE AND DISABILITY ON SOCIAL SUPPORT

Currently, one of the most promising areas of community intervention f or researchers and practitioners alike is social support. Social suppo rt has been shown to promote positive community outcomes in a variety of populations and situations, leading to optimistic projections about community interventions. However, the mixed success of intervention e fforts suggests that our understanding of social support is still far from adequate. In particular, our understanding is sketchy about the e ffects of variables like age and disability on the capacity of individ uals to develop and sustain social supports. This study examines the e ffects of age and disability on social support, so that this understan ding might guide intervention efforts. The sample consisted of 210 ind ividuals, with ages ranging from 18 to 70 years, who were interviewed in their homes. The study involved two distinct groups of disabled adu lts, 90 of whom had had a stroke, and 120 of whom had had a spinal cor d injury. Using multiple regression, we studied the independent and jo int effects of age and disability on source, type and overall satisfac tion with social support. The results indicated that both age and disa bility have small but significant effects on specific aspects of socia l support. Older age was found to be related to higher levels of profe ssional social support, but not to any other dimensions of support. Di sability, on the other hand, was related to social support in a number of ways. As might be expected, functional independence was related to more support from community individuals and less from professionals, as well as to decreased satisfaction with social support. Further, tho se with spinal cord injuries had more of all three types of support (i nstrumental, informational and emotional) than those with strokes, as well as having more support from individuals in their communities. The findings suggest that those with strokes and those with less severe d isabilities are at greater risk of poor support.