ArticleJournal of the National Medical Association2016
The Effects of Social Support on Physical Functioning in Older African Americans: Longitudinal Results from the Baltimore Study of Black Aging.
Article in Journal of the National Medical Association, 2016. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 4 papers.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
4 citing papers in PubMed, 5 citations in OpenAlex.
- Intelligent living environments and older adults' health outcomes: roles of social support and self-efficacy.BMC public health · 2026Article
- Social support moderates association between area deprivation index and changes in physical health among adults in the Baltimore Study of Black Aging (BSBA).Ethnicity & health · 2024Observational
- Long-term Consequences of Criminal Justice System Intervention: The Impact of Young Adult Arrest on Midlife Health Behaviors.Prevention science : the official journal of the Society for Prevention Research · 2022Article
- Correlates of Life Satisfaction Among Middle-Aged and Older Black Adults.Journal of racial and ethnic health disparities · 2021Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
6 authors at 5 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
introductionCompared with other racial/ethnic groups, African Americans have higher rates of chronic conditions and suffer a disproportionate burden of disability. We aimed to examine the effects of social support on physical functioning among older African Americans.
methodsWe analyzed a sample of 448 urban, community-dwelling, older African Americans (aged 48-98 years) from the Baltimore Study of Black Aging. Baseline physical functioning was collected between 2006 and 2008 (wave 1), and change in physical functioning was collected between 2009 and 2011 (wave 2), physical functioning was assessed by self-reported limitations in 7 activities of daily living-eating, dressing, grooming, walking, bathing, using the toilet, and transferring in and out of bed-using a binary variable to indicate whether the individual had difficulty performing each specific activity. Social support was measured by how frequently participants provided/received goods and services, financial assistance, transportation, companionship, advice, or encouragement (never [0], rarely [1], sometimes [2], frequently [3]). Negative binomial regression models were used to test the effects of social support given, received, and a ratio (support received/support given) on physical functioning for those who improved and those who declined in physical functioning.
resultsParticipants reported physical functioning at wave 1 (1.24, standard deviation [SD] = 1.98) and at wave 2 (0.34, SD = 0.83). Average social support given was 7.49 (SD = 3.26), and average social support received was 7.81 (SD = 3.17). Those who improved in physical function gave less social support and had lower social support ratios; social support received had no effect. Those who remained stable or declined in physical function gave more social support; neither social support received nor social ratio had an effect.
conclusionSocial support given and social support received as well as the ratio should be considered when seeking to understand how physical functioning changes over time among older African Americans.
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Registered trials
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