Availability, Use, and Cultivation of Support Networks as Predictors of the Well-Being of Middle-Aged and Older Chinese: A Panel Study

Table 1

Paired samples 𝑡-test of social network components and well-being components of Wave 1 and Wave 2 (𝑁=2,120).

	Wave 1 (𝑁=2,970)		Wave 2 (𝑁=2,120)		t-test
	M	SD.	M	SD.	t
Support Network Scale
Support network availability	3.23	.82	3.20	.80	1.81
Support network use	2.34	.53	2.37	.53	−2.98**
Support network cultivation	2.93	.69	2.93	.71	−.05
Overall Support Network Scale	2.64	.51	2.65	.50	−1.38
PositiveAgingIndex^∧
Health	3.95	.76	3.90	.76	2.78**
Functioning	3.96	.72	3.88	.70	5.25***
Caring engagement	3.54	.72	3.53	.64	.82
Productive engagement	2.63	.89	2.61	.87	.93
Overall positive aging	3.60	.51	3.56	.49	4.09***

* 𝑃<0.05 (2-tailed), **𝑃<0.01 (2-tailed), ***𝑃<0.001 (2-tailed).
Scaling format of all scales: 5-point Likert scale, ranging from 1 (lowest value) to 5 (highest value).
∧Positive Aging Index: 12-item short version.