Taking diversity seriously: Within‐group heterogeneity in African American extended family support networks
Objective This study examined the correlates of involvement in extended family social support networks among African Americans. Background Previous literature has documented the importance of informal social support from extended family members for the African American population. Most research has...
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Published in | Journal of marriage and family Vol. 83; no. 5; pp. 1349 - 1372 |
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Main Authors | , , |
Format | Journal Article |
Language | English |
Published |
Hoboken, USA
Wiley Subscription Services, Inc
01.10.2021
Blackwell Publishing Ltd |
Subjects | |
Online Access | Get full text |
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Summary: | Objective
This study examined the correlates of involvement in extended family social support networks among African Americans.
Background
Previous literature has documented the importance of informal social support from extended family members for the African American population. Most research has investigated black‐white differences in network involvement or has focused on impoverished African American families. Both approaches conceal important within‐group variation in participation among the total African American population.
Method
This study relied on nationally representative data from the African American sub‐sample of the National Survey of American Life (n = 3538). It employed ordinary least squares regression analysis to examine the sociodemographic and family factors that are associated with four key measures of involvement in extended family support networks: receiving and providing extended family support, frequency of family contact, and degree of subjective closeness.
Results
African Americans routinely interacted with members of their family, displayed a high degree of family closeness, and exchanged support fairly frequently. Findings also revealed significant variation in network involvement by sociodemographic characteristics: women, younger adults, and Southerners were typically most involved; individuals who experienced greater material hardship, were previously incarcerated, or served in the military reported less involvement. Results also showed that family closeness and family contact were particularly salient factors shaping the extent to which network members engaged in support exchanges.
Conclusion
The magnitude of within‐group heterogeneity in network involvement underscores the importance of considering issues of intragroup diversity in the developing literature on African American extended family networks. |
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Bibliography: | Funding information JPB Foundation; National Institute of Mental Health, Grant/Award Number: U01‐MH57716; National Institute on Aging, Grant/Award Number: P30‐AG15281 ObjectType-Article-1 SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1 ObjectType-Feature-2 content type line 23 |
ISSN: | 0022-2445 1741-3737 |
DOI: | 10.1111/jomf.12783 |