ASSOCIATIONS BETWEEN EMOTIONAL SUPPORT AND HEALTH-RELATED QUALITY OF LIFE AMONG A POPULATION-BASED SAMPLE OF BLACKS AND WHITES.

QUALITY of life; SOCIAL status; HIGHER education; ECONOMIC history; POWER (Social sciences)

We evaluated associations between the availability and adequacy of emotional support and health-related quality of life (QOL) among Blacks and Whites, and individuals varying in socioeconomic status. While both aspects of emotional support were associated directly with enhanced quality of life, important interaction effects were observed. First, adequacy of emotional support had a beneficial effect for Blacks and Whites of higher education; however, it was associated with better physical health-related QOL for Whites but not Blacks of lower education (b = 2.59, t(1, 845) = 2.82, p= .005). Furthermore, having greater available emotional support was associated with poorer quality of life for Blacks but not Whites (b=-3.99, t(1, 842) = -2.56, p=.01) and for Blacks of lower education compared to Whites of similar status (b= 2.21, t(1, 842) = 2.19, p= .03). Our findings suggest that emotional support may not be as beneficial among Blacks compared to Whites, and particularly among Blacks with less education. Socio-economically disadvantaged groups warrant further research to determine psychosocial resources that can benefit quality of life. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]