Gender Differences in Perceived Social Support in U.S. Chinese Older Adults

Abstract

Background: This study examined gender differences in perceived positive and negative social support among U.S. Chinese older adults. Methods: Data were drawn from the PINE study, a population-based study of Chinese older adults in the greater Chicago area. Results: Of the 3,159 Chinese older adults surveyed, 58.9% were women. Compared with men and women were more likely to perceive positive spousal support (rely on: 89.8% vs. 85.2%, p<0.01), family support (open upto: 88.5% vs.81.5%, p<0.001; rely on: 91.8% vs. 87.9%, p<0.001) and friend support (open upto: 74.7% vs. 64.4%, p<0.001; rely on: 61.4% vs. 56.9%, p<0.05), whereas men were more likely than women to perceive negative spousal support (been demanded too much: 17.4% vs. 10.7%, p<0.001; been criticized: 35.6% vs. 25.9%, p<0.001). Younger age (r=0.10), higher levels of education (r=0.10), being married (r=0.08), living with a larger number of people (r=0.06), higher overall health status (r=0.14), better quality of life (r=0.20) and improved health over the past year (r=0.07) were significantly and positively correlated with perceived positive social support in older women. Conclusions: Perceived social support varied by gender among U.S. Chinese older adults. Longitudinal studies are needed to understand the outcomes associated with positive and negative social support.