Passage
Jake and his classmate Michael both grew up in a high-crime public housing project in a poverty-stricken neighborhood in a large urban area. Both children lived in single-parent households and had almost no relationship with their fathers. They performed poorly in school and frequently got in trouble with authority figures. Neither completed high school and both had been arrested by the time they turned 18.At this point their trajectories begin to diverge. By age 27, Jake had been in and out of prison three times, had fathered four children by four different women, and was abusing drugs and alcohol daily. On the other hand, Michael had earned a general equivalency diploma, was a general manager at a factory, was married with a biological son and adopted daughter, and owned a home in the suburbs.Jake and Michael both participated in a study about resilience-the ability to prevail in the face of threats to adequate psychosocial development. This study recruited 81 adult men who as children had lived in the same public housing project between 1976 and 1980. The investigators categorized participants into one of two groups based on their adult outcomes-low resilience and high resilience. All the men reported family difficulties while growing up in crime and poverty. The low-resilience men (n = 69) were significantly more likely to report drug and alcohol use and current or prior imprisonment, whereas the high-resilience men (n = 12) were all employed, and most were married homeowners.The study's primary finding was that high-resilience men received more social support outside their immediate families while growing up than did low-resilience men. Results also suggested that high-resilience men tended to have calmer, more optimistic dispositions, whereas low-resilience men were more anxious, disagreeable, and pessimistic.
-Which of the following supports the study's primary finding in explaining why Michael has experienced fewer health problems than Jake?

Question

Passage
Jake and his classmate Michael both grew up in a high-crime public housing project in a poverty-stricken neighborhood in a large urban area.  Both children lived in single-parent households and had almost no relationship with their fathers.  They performed poorly in school and frequently got in trouble with authority figures.  Neither completed high school and both had been arrested by the time they turned 18.At this point their trajectories begin to diverge.  By age 27, Jake had been in and out of prison three times, had fathered four children by four different women, and was abusing drugs and alcohol daily.  On the other hand, Michael had earned a general equivalency diploma, was a general manager at a factory, was married with a biological son and adopted daughter, and owned a home in the suburbs.Jake and Michael both participated in a study about resilience-the ability to prevail in the face of threats to adequate psychosocial development.  This study recruited 81 adult men who as children had lived in the same public housing project between 1976 and 1980.  The investigators categorized participants into one of two groups based on their adult outcomes-low resilience and high resilience.  All the men reported family difficulties while growing up in crime and poverty.  The low-resilience men (n = 69) were significantly more likely to report drug and alcohol use and current or prior imprisonment, whereas the high-resilience men (n = 12) were all employed, and most were married homeowners.The study's primary finding was that high-resilience men received more social support outside their immediate families while growing up than did low-resilience men.  Results also suggested that high-resilience men tended to have calmer, more optimistic dispositions, whereas low-resilience men were more anxious, disagreeable, and pessimistic.
-Which of the following supports the study's primary finding in explaining why Michael has experienced fewer health problems than Jake?

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

11ecba2d_0ccf_4ede_a3bf_29f88a9dca50_MD0008_00 Social support refers to the people who provide a network of love, help, and resources throughout one's lifetime. Social support can be provided by family, friends, coworkers, coaches, religious and social organizations, online networks, and even pets. Social support fulfills emotional (eg, physical intimacy), esteem (eg, encouragement), tangible (eg, a place to live), informational (eg, advice) and companionship (eg, activity partners) needs. Studies suggest that individuals with strong social support networks tend to have better health, possibly because social support lessens the impact of stress (but the exact mechanism is unclear). The study's primary finding is that high-resilience men had received more social support outside their immediate families while growing up than did low-resilience men. The fact that Michael has experienced fewer health problems than Jake can be best explained by his close relationship with his pastor, who helped him handle stress productively while he was growing up. (Choice A) Michael's wife convincing him to quit smoking and to see his doctor regularly is an example of social support provided by immediate family while he is an adult. The results suggest that social support provided by individuals outside the immediate family while growing up was critical for high-resilience men in the study. (Choice C) Although Jake's lack of health insurance as an adult does help to explain his poorer health, it is not an explanation based on the primary finding that low-resilience men lacked social support while growing up. (Choice D) The results do suggest that low-resilience men are more anxious, disagreeable, and pessimistic, traits that describe neuroticism, which is correlated with anxiety and depression. However, this explanation is not based on the primary finding that low-resilience men lacked social support while growing up. Educational objective: Social support refers to the social network of relationships that provide assistance, resources, and intimacy. Social support fulfills emotional, esteem, tangible, informational, and companionship needs. People with strong social support networks tend to experience better health than those with weak social support.

Passage Jake and His Classmate Michael Both Grew Up in a a High-Crime