Cross-National Comparison of Social Support Structures between Taiwan and the United States
Dados Bibliográficos
| AUTOR(ES) | |
|---|---|
| AFILIAÇÃO(ÕES) | Nan Lin is the Oscar L. Tang Family Professor of Sociology at Duke University and is a distinguished research fellow at Academia Sinica in Taipei, Taiwan. He is working on a number of empirical projects, including general panel studies on social capital in the United States, urban China, and Taiwan, and a study of social capital in organizations in China. He is also investigating relations between social capital and expressive returns (e.g., marital satisfaction)., Joonmo Son is a doctoral candidate in the Department of Sociology at Duke University. His research interests include comparative studies of health, social capital, and civic engagement, and of genetics and social behavior. He is completing a dissertation project on the dynamics of social capital in labor markets in the United States, China, and Taiwan., Linda K. George is Professor of Sociology and associate director of the Center for the Study of Aging and Human Development at Duke University. Her primary research interests include social factors and health, trends in population health, stress and coping, and the life course. Her current work focuses on the effects of medical technology on population health and the effects of trajectories of social risk and protective factors on mental health. |
| ANO | 2008 |
| TIPO | Artigo |
| PERIÓDICO | Journal of Health and Social Behavior |
| ISSN | 0022-1465 |
| E-ISSN | 2150-6000 |
| EDITORA | JSTOR (United States) |
| DOI | 10.1177/002214650804900108 |
| ADICIONADO EM | 2025-08-18 |
| MD5 |
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Resumo
The study compares the effects of structural bases and functional elements of social support on mental health in Taiwan and the United States, using the study conducted in the United States by Lin, Ye, and Ensel (1999) as a reference. Based on a nationally representative sample of Taiwanese adults (n = 2,835), a fundamental similarity in social support structure and function between the two countries was observed. First, the structural bases of social support had a hierarchical order in their effects on depression: Binding (presence of an intimate relationship) was the strongest in reducing depression, whereas belonging (community participation) was the weakest, with bonding (social networks) in between. Regarding the functional elements, perceived social support was a better protector of mental health than actual social support, a finding in line with previous research. On the other hand, several notable differences in the structural bases and functional elements of social support between the two societies were observed, possibly due to the differential cultural and historical characteristics.