Abstract
ABSTRACT Objectives: The size of one's support network is positively related to health and well-being. It is therefore important to understand this association in people with Type 1 diabetes, as this could inform interventions. Moreover, the type of support (emotional, instrumental, informational) offered likely varies by gender of both the person seeking support and offering support. We thus examine the relationship between the composition of (perceived) social support networks and well-being in a sample of 121 persons with Type 1 diabetes. Design: An egocentric social network survey, combined with survey measures. Main outcome(s): The size and composition of support networks and well-being. Measures: Participants indicated the type of support individuals in their contact network offered and their gender, alongside measures of perceived social support and well-being. They indicated which individuals offered which types of support (emotional, instrumental, informational). Results: Perceived support was associated with the actual size of the emotional support network. Further, the size of the emotional support network was associated with well-being. Using multilevel models we examined assortment by gender in social support networks. Compared to women, men were more inclined to list the opposite gender as support, especially for emotional and informational support. Conclusion: Mapping out an individual's multidimensional support network paints a more complete picture of support than single item measures of support. We therefore recommend relying on a social network methodology to gain a more complete understanding of support networks. The findings highlight that an association exists between emotional network size and wellbeing. Given the potential implications of this finding for the quality of life of diabetes patients, it is important to establish the causality of this relationship.
Highlights
ObjectivesThe size of one’s support network is positively related to health and well-being. It is important to understand this association in people with Type 1 diabetes, as this could inform interventions
We aim to explore how both approaches to measuring social support relate to mental well-being in people with Type 1 diabetes
While our pre-registered hypothesis that perceived social support would mediate the relationship between gender and mental well-being was not supported, our exploratory analyses shed a novel and interesting light on the nature of support networks in people with Type 1 diabetes and their associations with subjective well-being
Summary
The size of one’s support network is positively related to health and well-being. It is important to understand this association in people with Type 1 diabetes, as this could inform interventions. The type of support (emotional, instrumental, informational) offered likely varies by gender of both the person seeking support and offering support. We examine the relationship between the composition of (perceived) social support networks and well-being in a sample of 121 persons with Type 1 diabetes. Measures: Participants indicated the type of support individuals in their contact network offered and their gender, alongside measures of perceived social support and well-being. They indicated which individuals offered which types of support (emotional, instrumental, informational). Results: Perceived support was associated with the actual size of the emotional support network. The size of the emotional support network was associated with well-being. Given the potential implications of this finding for the quality of life of diabetes patients, it is important to establish the causality of this relationship
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