Research has shown that people with strong, supportive social relationships are more likely to have better physical and mental health and to live longer. However, most research has focused on only limited types of social connection, even though people make social connections in diverse ways and places, such as at work, at church, or within extended families. This study introduced the concept of cumulative social advantage, which encompasses multiple aspects of social connection. Researchers looked at whether cumulative social advantage affected various physical health outcomes, including mortality.
Data came from over 6600 participants from two different studies within MIDUS. Over 4000 participants from MIDUS 2 (2004-2005) and over 2000 from the MIDUS Refresher (2008-2009) were included. Twenty-one measures where used to evaluate cumulative social advantage in four areas:
- Extended emotional support networks: included how many hours a month people received emotional support from friends and family, whether they could rely on them for help if they had a serious problem, etc.
- Parental warmth and social modeling: included how much love and affection a person got from their parents, whether their parents were friendly to people outside the family, etc.
- Religion and faith-based support: included how much they sought comfort through religious means, such as attending religious services or talking to a spiritual advisor, whether they received comfort from others in their congregation, and whether they felt it was important to celebrate religious holidays with their community.
- Community engagement and work-family balance: included how close people felt to others in their community, whether talking with someone at home helped them deal with problems at work, and whether having a good day on the job made them a better companion at home.
The following aspects of physical health and aging were measured to see if they were associated with cumulative social advantage:
- Number of chronic conditions: such as diabetes, high blood pressure, arthritis.
- BMI (body mass index): a calculation of body weight adjusted for height.
- Functional limitations: how hard people found it to complete activities of daily living, such as walking one block or climbing stairs.
- All-cause mortality: whether people died due to any cause.
As expected, cumulative social advantage corresponded to better health. It was associated with having:
- fewer chronic conditions
- lower body weight
- fewer functional limitations/ less difficulty with activities of daily living
- decreased risk of mortality.
Older adults, females, and people with more education were likely to have more cumulative social advantage. Social advantage also seemed tied to the surrounding economic context. It was lower for those interviewed during the Great Recession of 2008 (MIDUS Refresher) and higher for those interviewed during MIDUS 2, which was a time of more economic prosperity.
Advanced statistical analysis supported wide use of the cumulative social advantage model, which was valid across sexes, age groups, racial groups, and time periods. Results suggest that interventions aimed at strengthening family relationships, promoting community involvement, and enhancing emotional support networks may be effective in promoting health. To further test the model’s usefulness, studies are needed that follow social connections over time, to see how various types of social support may interact and accumulate to affect health, or whether healthier people are more likely to have social advantages. Future research could also expand measurements to include even more dimensions of social connection, such as digital networks or neighborhood resources.
Source: Ong, A. D., & Mann, F. D. (2025). Cumulative social advantage across the lifespan: Examining the convergent and predictive validity of a multidimensional hierarchical construct for health and longevity. American Psychologist. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1037/amp0001513
Read the full article at: https://midus.wisc.edu/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/2964.pdf