Understanding the association of family and friend support on depressive symptoms and functional limitations

The increasing prevalence of Multiple Chronic Conditions (MCCs) among adults presents a significant challenge to maintaining health-related quality of life (HRQoL). While social support is a known protective factor, it’s less clear how different aspects of support, specifically from family versus friends and how often that emotional support is felt, interact within the context of chronic illness burdens to truly impact physical and mental HRQoL. This study aimed to disentangle the unique associations of perceived emotional support from family and friends with depressive symptoms (mental HRQoL) and functional limitations (physical HRQoL), and to determine whether these associations were moderated by the presence and number of chronic conditions. Utilizing data from the National Social Life, Health, and Aging Project (NSHAP) Round 3 (N=4,377), a series of hierarchical linear and logistic regression models were conducted. The results revealed that while both family (β = -1.23, p < .001) and friend support (β = -0.46, p < .001) were independently associated with lower depressive symptoms, the effect of family support was significantly stronger. For functional limitations, both support sources were associated with lower odds of limitation with no significant difference in effect size. Moderation analyses showed that the protective effect of friend support against depression was only significant for individuals with one or more chronic conditions. In conclusion, the influence of perceived emotional support was found to be context dependent. Our findings show that family support offers a uniquely strong buffer against depressive symptoms, while both family and friends provide equally valuable reassurance against the distress of functional dependency. These findings underscore the need for tailored psychosocial interventions that consider both the source of support and the specific health domain being targeted to promote resilient aging.

Name thesis:degree_name

M.S.

Level thesis:degree_level

Thesis

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Community Health

Grantor

University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

Year dc:date

2025

Author dc:creator

• Pottachilakath, Inshida Irshad

Contributors dc:contributor

• Mejia, Shannon
• Raj, Minakshi
• Hale, Timothy

• Family Support
• Friend Support
• Depressive Symptoms
• Functional Limitations

Statement dc:rights

• Copyright 2025 Inshida Irshad Pottachilakath

Language dc:language

en, eng

Handle dc:identifier

https://hdl.handle.net/2142/130184

OAI record oai:identifier

https://www.ideals.illinois.edu/oai-pmh?verb=GetRecord&metadataPrefix=etdms&identifier=oai%3Awww.ideals.illinois.edu%3A2142%2F130184