Social Relationships and Health: A Flashpoint for Health Policy

• Published in: Journal of health and social behavior Vol. 51; no. 1_suppl; pp. S54 - S66
• Main Authors: Umberson, Debra, Montez, Jennifer Karas
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Los Angeles, CA Sage Publications 01.01.2010; SAGE Publications; American Sociological Association
• Subjects: Attrition (Research Studies); Cardiovascular disease; Childhood; Data collection; Emotional support; Evidence; Female; Health; Health Behavior; Health care policy; Health outcomes; Health Policy; Health Problems; Health risks; Health Status; Heart attacks; Humans; Long term; Long term effects; Male; Medical research; Mental health; Mortality; Mortality Rates; Mortality risk; Older people; Physical Health; Race; Race relations; Racial Groups; Religious Organizations; Scientists; Sex; Social Adjustment; Social behavior; Social Control; Social Environment; Social integration; Social interaction; Social Isolation; Social networking; Social Networks; Social relations; Social relationships; Social Support; Sociologists; Sociology, Medical; Spouses; Stress, Psychological - complications; Studies; Wound healing; social support; relationships; stress; social integration; cumulative disadvantage
• ISSN: 0022-1465; 2150-6000
• DOI: 10.1177/0022146510383501

Social relationships—both quantity and quality—affect mental health, health behavior, physical health, and mortality risk. Sociologists have played a central role in establishing the link between social relationships and health outcomes, identifying explanations for this link, and discovering social variation (e.g., by gender and race) at the population level. Studies show that social relationships have short- and long-term effects on health, for better and for worse, and that these effects emerge in childhood and cascade throughout life to foster cumulative advantage or disadvantage in health. This article describes key research themes in the study of social relationships and health, and it highlights policy implications suggested by this research.