AGING AND PERSONALITY: STUDIES ON PSYCHOLOGICAL PROBLEMS AND MORE
People who care about us push us to take risks that are emotionally hard. They also are a buffer against life's blows. While this is true at sixteen or at sixty-five, the importance of close, supportive relationships for older people in particular has been repeatedly demonstrated in studies done over the past twenty years.
In the late 1960s Margery Fiske Lowenthal of the University of California surveyed the frequency of psychological problems among all the residents over age sixty in a low-income area of San Francisco. More than anything else, she found that having a "confidant" (someone to confide in) helped these people bounce back emotionally after the most devastating tragedies rather than breaking down. This compelling evidence of the importance of having at least one close relationship was followed by an avalanche of studies tracing the effect of what social scientists call "social support" in cushioning stress. As it turns out, not only do close relationships help us weather life's slings and arrows, they even reduce our chances of getting physically ill.
For instance, in the Alameda County study researchers have found that social isolation is a significant risk factor for earlier than normal disability and death. In this ongoing research, thousands of residents of Alameda County, California, are being followed to see the effect of health practices (e.g., exercising, not smoking) and social factors (e.g., living an isolated life) on longevity. According to George Kaplan, who reported on the study's results as of 1986, being married has virtually no effect on life expectancy, but having at least one close relationship does. Older people who have a confidant tend to live longer than those who do not.
As we get older and our loved ones die, our store of confidants erodes. But if the ranks of your friends have thinned, do not despair. It is the quality, not the quantity that counts. The studies show that older people with many living relatives, many neighbors, and many "social contacts" per day or week are no happier or more protected from stress than anyone else. Being surrounded by critical or uncaring people may even be worse than having no one at all. Are other people important to our health and well-being? Yes, provided they are genuine confidants - supportive, understanding, caring presences.
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GENERAL HEALTH
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