The relationship between social support, self-efficacy, and asthma outcomes in older adults.

Objective: There has been a call for research examining factors that influence asthma outcomes in older adults because of the notable disparities observed in this age group. Social support and self-efficacy are resources that factor into asthma outcomes. The current study aimed to examine the relationship between these resources (independently and jointly) and asthma control and quality of life.

Methods: Older adults with moderate-severe asthma were recruited from NYC. Data were obtained during in-person interviews via validated measures of social support, asthma self-efficacy, asthma control, and asthma quality of life. Linear regression evaluated self-efficacy in the relationship between social support and asthma outcomes.

Results: In a sample of 359 older adults ( = 68.04, 47.9% Hispanic, 26.5% Black, and 25.6% other), social support had an inverse association with asthma control. As social support increased, asthma control decreased ( = 0.95, (356) = -3.13, = .002). Self-efficacy significantly moderated this relationship ( = 0.01, (356) = 2.37, = .018). For individuals with low or moderate asthma self-efficacy, more received social support was associated with worse asthma control ( = -0.33, (356) = -4.66, < .0001; = -0.20, (356) = -3.21, = .0014, respectively). For individuals with high self-efficacy, no relationship was found between received social support and asthma control ( = -0.10, (356)= -1.20, =.23). For asthma quality of life, higher levels of received social support were associated with worse quality of life ( = -0.88, (356) = -2.64, = .009), but this association was not significantly moderated by self-efficacy ( = 0.01, (356) = 1.90, = .0582).

Conclusions: For older adults with asthma, receiving more social support is associated with worse asthma outcomes, especially for older adults with lower asthma self-efficacy.