Publication Type

Journal Article

Version

publishedVersion

Publication Date

3-2013

Abstract

The primary goal of this paper is to summarise current evidence on social relations and health, specifically how social integration and social support are related to health behaviors and health outcomes, using results from published reviews. Our analysis revealed that social relations are beneficial for health behaviors such as chronic illness self-management and decreased suicidal tendency. The salutary effects of general measures of social relations (e.g. being validated, being cared for, etc.) on health behaviors (e.g. healthy diet, physical activity, smoking, alcohol abuse) are weaker, but specific measures of social relations targeting corresponding health behaviors are more predictive. There is growing evidence that social relations are predictive of mortality and cardiovascular disease, and social relations play an equally protective role against both the incidence and progression of cardiovascular disease. On the other hand, evidence was mixed for the association between social relations and cancer. We discuss these findings and potential areas for future research such as other dimensions of social relations, supportreceiver interactions, and observer ratings of social relations.

Keywords

cancer, cardiovascular disease, health behaviors, mortality, social relations, social support

Discipline

Health Psychology | Social Psychology

Research Areas

Psychology

Publication

APPLIED PSYCHOLOGY-HEALTH AND WELL BEING

Volume

5

Issue

1

First Page

28

Last Page

78

ISSN

1758-0846

Identifier

10.1111/aphw.12000

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