Men and Women in Social Networks - Essay Example

Men and Women in Social Networks Introduction The well-rehearsed argument that men die quicker and women live longer may hold more meaning when unpacked. This paper focuses on how social support networks can influence how men and women age differently. The paper draws on the work of Bird, Conrad, Fremont and Timmermans. It makes recommendations based on the critical discussion that follows that the gender gap in longevity has been closing in the UK and other countries. This variability in the gender gap highlights the impact of differences in socioeconomic status, race or ethnicity, as well as between men and women. Some social scientists argue that health status differences among individuals and groups within a country are due to income inequalities or other fundamental social causes (Phelan et al. 2004), while others contend it is a country’s wealth (Kawachi and Kennedy 2006). Generally, men live shorter lives than women do (Bird 2010) due to various reasons, mainly dependent on the researcher’s choice of probable illustrative variables; biologists see hormones, epidemiologist, risk factors and the sociologist, social roles and structural limitations. However, social support networks have been linked to numerous health and mental benefits. (Walker and Hennessy 2004) shows that healthier individuals have larger social networks. Typically, men and women appear to have some exclusive biological strengths and weaknesses over each other, the variations depend on certain social conditions. Men tend to focus on the core relationships within their network because they are more rewarding than the peripheral ones and irrespective of their age, they do not seem to be affected by the amount of social support they are granted and they appear to cope fairly well with the situation at hand. On the other hand, the reported health outcomes of women are affected by the amount of social support they receive. For susceptible persons, social support serves as a “defensive” factor to health complications. Social networks, the web of social relationships all over a person, and social support are linked to each other. Social support is defined as a system of social interactions and personal associations. These associations and interactions can be through social groups such as Book clubs, Sports and Game clubs, Coffee groups, Farmers groups, workout groups, Ex-veterans clubs and many more. Though there is no theory linking social relationships to health, the greatest impact on health education and health conduct is indisputable. Gender Health Outcomes Numerous gender variances in morbidity first appear in teenage years. Gender variances in health views arise around age 14 and carry on till about age 65 (Case and Paxson 2005). The health outcomes for men in later life involving social networks differ to women in relation to depression and health complications. The social support levels of men are not linked to their depression and health grievances while in women, low social support has the highest levels of depression and health grievances (Wahl 2006). The work of (Carstensen et al. 2003) has demonstrated that if men maintain the most important relationships and reduce the number of social contacts, there still is a positive influence on their health and well-being. (Godfrey and Callaghan 2000) as cited by finding that ‘… health and social care needs were inextricably tied in with [older] people’s social and emotional lives … need could not be categorized as “social” or “medical”’. However, the unawareness of social services care providers on change outcomes which may lead to progress in functional capabilities and the lack of appreciation by health specialists on the fact that non-health services can improve some disabilities is quite rampant. In addition, there is significant under-identification of mental health complications among older people in the UK despite interrelationship between mental well-being, physical disability and meagre social networks. A service combination such as medical treatment and social support may enhance good health in older persons. The SAP, partnerships using Section 31 of the Health Act 1999 and concerted working may have reduced the operational barriers between health and social care services for older people. However, (Glendinning 2006) notes that the impact on the delivery of outcomes-focused services has neither been researched nor been published. According to research, loneliness can upset health – heart disease, blood clots and dementia- lessen exercise endeavors and promote drunkenness. The socially isolated older persons go through early admission into nursing or residential care. According to the (UK Department of Health 2012), the new social isolation measure launched as part of the updated 2013/14 Adult Social Care Outcomes Framework is part of a package plans to tackle the concerns of providing care to older people. Based on a 14 year U.S. National Health Interview Survey, men have better self-rated health and less hospitalization incidence than women from early teenage years to late middle age, but more are expected to die at each age. The effect of deprived health on hospital incidences is the same for men and women (Jamieson and Victor 2002), men with lung cancer, heart disease, and bronchitis are expected to experience more hospital incidences than women with the same chronic illnesses, inferring that men may suffer more from severe forms of these chronic illnesses. The same is true for mortality. Although the likelihood of death from these chronic illnesses is the same for women and men, men are expected to die more than women. While certain gender variances in mortality can be described by differences in the distribution of chronic illnesses, a similar enormous portion can be accredited to the larger adverse effects of these illnesses on male mortality. Also in many countries, men utilize report better self-rated health and utilize less health facilities than women. However, men are more likely to die than same-aged women throughout life, indicating that they may in fact be less healthy. An additional probable reason is that women are in fact healthier than men (as proven by their lower mortality), but simply reports worse health on surveys. This is because women are better health reporters than men and are more enthusiastic in discussing their well-being and admit health difficulties to investigators (Corcoran 2007). The overall rate of mental illnesses is similar for both men and women. Depression and substance abuse are the two mental illnesses with considerably different occurrence rates among men and women and because they create an enormous health wellness in older life (Miller 2003). Women’s rates of depressive disorders are higher than men. However, this has been linked to a number of gender variances, men’s reluctance to look seek help for such emotional state as well as their propensity to deal with loss and grief through drinking and drug abuse. Since chronic conditions, disability and many other health problems may characterize older life, health promotion among older persons focusses on the health potential of persons and groups (Dean & Holstein 1991) as cited by (Strümpel & Billings 2008). This is because of the unifying concept of health promotion especially among older persons. Many health concepts are age-group and gender specific and depend on social and cultural backgrounds. The dynamic model of health distinguishes health in three phases: history of health, health balance and potential health, has since been applied to a new epidemiological concept, namely the life course approach. The epidemiological data show strong variances in health status and mortality patterns in elderly persons, especially in relation to social and environmental settings. In 1995, WHO Quality of Life (WHOQOL) Group used the healthy, active ageing concept to define quality of life as an “individual’s perception of their position in life in the context of the culture and value systems in which they live and in relation to their goals.” Antonovsky’s model of coherence, the concept of positive health, has been a vital health promotion practice for older people. It is based on three components: comprehensibility, manageability, and meaningfulness as stress coping strategies. Though there is an inverse relationship between socioeconomic status and Antonovsky’s salutogenic model of coherence, the social disparities in health status lessen with older age. Culture and Social Support Although social support is believed to be a worldwide resource, (Gurung 2006) argues that cultural differences exist in social support based on what is considered appropriate behavior within a culture. For instance, Europeans and Americans depend on their social interactions for social support more than the Asians. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asian_AmericansThis is because Asian cultures discourage the expression of unpleasant emotions while Western cultures are more concerned with relieving their emotional and physical pain (Bond et al. 2008) and (Miller 2003). There is little comparative research on family support for unmarried (widowed, divorced/separated and never married) older people who live in divergent cultures. Gender aging and Social Groups Individuals have always depended on their friends, neighbors, and colleagues as well as relatives for a social support system. These sources of social support can be natural such as family, friends and spouses or they can be more formal such as colleagues, personal physicians and community affiliations. Children’s capabilities to develop social skills is linked to early supportive parental interactions. Earlier research shows that women offer and accept more emotional support than do men, but little research has explored gender variances in general forms of exchanging social support. According to Wisconsin Longitudinal Study, there are four main forms of social support exchange for both men and women at midlife. Three of these forms—high exchange, emotional support exchange, and low exchange—are very alike for men and women. However, nearly half of the men can be described as low exchanges while nearly half of the women can be described as emotional support exchanges. About 10 percent of both men and women are high exchanges (Liebler and Sandefur 2002). It is renowned that the genders differ in their need, use, and provision of social support, with women usually both needing and providing more social support than men. Young women report receiving the highest social support, whereas middle-aged and older women indicate fairly low levels of support. Men of all ages report similar levels of social support. (Schaefer, Coyne and Lazarus 1981) as cited by (Matson’s health 2011) described five types of social support: emotional support, esteem support, network support, information support and tangible support. Emotional support is communication that meets a persons’ emotional and affection requirements. Esteem support boosts their capability to handle a problematic situation or accomplish a task, network support affirms their belonging to a network and a reminder of the available support from the network, information support makes available beneficial and necessary information and tangible support is any physical help provided by other people. (Corcoran 2007) reports that social support helps both men and women feel better, handle challenges and also lead to enhanced health and their total well being. Although there is widespread research scrutinizing the affiliation of gender to social support, fairly few studies have scrutinized variances in social support correlated to age, mainly in young- to middle-aged persons in the context of macrosocial revolution. In their work, Knoll and Schwarzer note that a number of researches propose that the forms of social support exchanges with friends may be different for men and women. (Barber et al. 1993) as cited by (Liebler and Sandefur 2002) notes that previous research has shown that women are expected to be more involved in exchanges of emotional support away from the nuclear family than men are. In addition, married persons are less likely to be involved in instrumental support exchanges than are divorced persons since married persons can depend on their partners for such support. It is also likely that men and women do not experience macro social variations in a similar way in terms of social fatalities and social attachment. Throughout the life-cycle, women usually have more close friends than men. From infancy, girls tend to grow more intimate interactive relationships than boys although boys tend to hang out together in larger groups. Grown-up women still have more close relationships and more extensive social networks than men. The justifications of these discrepancies centers on the gender variations in emotionality and emotional expressiveness. Women give emphasis to affection and self-disclosure in their friendships, and are generally more empathetic, expressive, and revealing than men. People uphold social interactions with many other people throughout life. However, during the latter part of life social interactions start to wane. Later-life connections become fewer but deeper in intensity and value (Edelman and Mandle 2009). Stable intimate relationships, especially for older persons, are more closely linked to good mental health and higher morale than being higher numbers of social exchanges or higher socioeconomic status. Few social ties can result to greater levels of psychological well being if more intimate relations exist (Jamieson and Victor 2002). Age-related variations exist in the relationship of social connections and mortality, for instance, marriage is related to the lower mortality possibility for persons under 60 years of age. (Davidson 2001) shows that for older women, widowhood may lead to a new sense of freedom and independence, whereas widowers do not see any benefits of being widowed compared to being married. Further studies show that marital history, number of children, and organizational affiliations may all be predictive of mortality threat. Hence, for men under 70 years of age, separation, divorce and ensuing remarriage predict higher rates of mortality while in women above 70 years of age having more living children and organizational affiliations predict lower rates of mortality. There are several theories as to why social support is very beneficial to physical health. A basic explanation is that better mental and emotional health is related to better physical health (Walker and Hagan-Hennessy 2004). Aging and Abuse The abuse of elderly people in the UK has increased, and (Martin 2013) notes that over a third of the abusers never face justice. These persons aged at least 85 were abused by home helps and staff in care homes – the people in whose care they are entrusted to. The reported abuse cases included neglect, emotional or physical attacks, mental torture and financial exploitation. In 2013 summer, about 910 care homes had been issued with official warnings due to ‘unacceptable’ care standards for the most vulnerable (Martin 2013). Unless improvements are made, these care homes face closure and prosecution. Conclusion The statement men die quicker, women live longer has great truths to it however this need not always be the case. Health outcomes for men can be improved in later life if changes concerning their health behaviors and social support are made. (Wahl 2006) observes that because men are socialized to be in control and not talk about their feelings, they prefer to handle their difficulties and are unwilling to seek support. A combination of health and social features (mostly through engagement in socially supportive activities that support health) will be a protection against functional decline. For instance, finding exercise buddies within one’s social network, infusing social life with physical activities such as dancing, recreational sports etc. find exercise buddies within one’s social networks and post training sessions’ videos on a fitness networking website. This enhances the volume and quality of social interactions among men and improves the socio-psychology coping resources. References BINSTOCK, R. H., GEORGE, L. K., CUTLER, S. J., HENDRICKS, J., & SCHULZ, J. H. (2006). Handbook of aging and the social sciences. Amsterdam, Academic Press, an imprint of Elsevier. http://www.credoreference.com/vol/545. BIRD, C. E., CONRAD, A., FREMONT, A.M., & TIMMERMANS, S. (2010). Handbook of medical sociology. Nashville, Vanderbilt University Press. BOND, J. (2008). Ageing in society: european perspectives on gerontology. London [etc.], Sage. CARSTENSEN, L. L., FUNG, H. H., & CHARLES, S. T. (2003). Socioemotional Selectivity Theory and the Regulation of Emotion in the Second Half of Life. Motivation and Emotion. 27, 103-123 CASE, A., & PAXSON, C. (2004). Sex Differences in Morbidity and Mortality. Demography, 42(2), 189-214. CORCORAN, N. (2007). Communicating health strategies for health promotion. Los Angeles, SAGE. http://site.ebrary.com/id/10438497. DAVIDSON, K. (2001). Late life widowhood, selfishness and new partnership choices: a gendered perspective. Ageing and Society. 21, 297-317. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH. (2012). Tell us what you think of GOV.UK. Loneliness measure to boost care for older people. Retrieved November 25, 2013, from https://www.gov.uk/government/news/loneliness-measure-to-boost-care-for-older-people EDELMAN, C., & MANDLE, C. L. (2009). Health promotion throughout the life span. St. Louis, Mo, Mosby GLENDINNING, C. (2006). Outcomes-focused services for older people. London, Social Care Institute for Excellence. http://www.scie.org.uk/publications/knowledgereviews/kr13.pdf. GURUNG, R. A. R. (2006). Health psychology: a cultural approach. Belmont, CA, Thomson Wadsworth. JAMIESON, A., & VICTOR, C. R. (2002). Researching ageing and later life: the practice of social gerontology. Buckingham, UK, Open University Press. KAWACHI, I., & KENNEDY, B. P. (2006). The health of nations: why inequality is harmful to your health. New York, New Press. LIEBLER, C. A., & SANDEFUR, G. D. (2002). Gender differences in the exchange of social support with friends, neighbors, and coworkers at midlife. Madison, WI, Center for Demography and Ecology, University of Madison--Wisconsin. LINKING HEALTH COMMUNICATION WITH SOCIAL SUPPORT. (2011). Defining Social Support - Kendall Hunt. Retrieved November 23, 2013, from http://www.kendallhunt.com/uploadedFiles/Kendall.../Mattson_Ch6.pdf‎ MARTIN, D. (2013). Number of elderly who are abused soars 28% - but a third of culprits never face justice. Mail Online. Retrieved November 25, 2013, from http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2445112/Elderly-abuse-soars-28--culprits-face- justice.html MILLER, C. A. (2009). Nursing for wellness in older adults. Philadelphia, Wolters Kluwer Health/Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. STRUMPEL, C., & BILLINGS, J. (2008). Overview on health promotion for older people. Overview on health promotion for older people: European Report. Retrieved November 26, 2013, from http://kar.kent.ac.uk/24794/1/hpe_European_Report_draft_May9_2008_finaldraft.pdf WAHL, H.-W. (2006). The many faces of health, competence and well-being in old age integrating epidemiological, psychological, and social perspectives. Dordrecht, the Netherlands, Springer. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/ebooks/ebc/1402041381 WALKER, A., & HENNESSY, C. H. (2004). Growing older quality of life in old age. Maidenhead, Open University Press. http://site.ebrary.com/id/10175186. Read More