The Mental Health Benefit of Friend Networks in Older Korean Americans: The Conditioning Effect of Family Type.

We not only confirmed the health-promoting role of friend networks and the value of a close-knit family but also found that the benefit of friend networks was pronounced when quality of the family relationship was impaired. Our findings called renewed attention to older immigrants' social convoys of family and friends, suggesting that enhancement of friend networks could be particularly advantageous for older immigrants with dysfunctional family relationships.