The impact of perceived social support on heart disease risk factor knowledge among African American women in Texas

Heart disease disproportionately impacts African American women nationwide and in Texas. Heart disease disparities are linked to increased risk factors that are often related to reduced heart disease risk factor knowledge and limited socioeconomic resources. However, there is a need to determine the relationship between perceived social support and heart disease risk within this population. The purpose of this study was two-fold: (1) to examine how perceived social support impacts heart disease risk factor knowledge among African American women aged 30-55 in Texas, and (2) to examine whether demographic characteristics moderate a relationship between perceived social support and heart disease knowledge. This study employed a quantitative research design with purposeful and snowball sampling representative of African American women aged 30-55 residing in Texas (n = 121). The participants completed a survey comprised of a demographic questionnaire, the Heart Disease Knowledge Questionnaire (HDKQ), and the Multidimensional Scale for Perceived Social Support (MSPSS). Results of the multiple regression analysis revealed that when demographic variables are controlled, age (standardized β= .28, p = .002) and income (standardized β= .19, p = .037) are the only predictor variables that indicate social support impacts heart disease knowledge in the sample population, thus indicating nonsignificant differences in the regression model (standardized β = -.023, p = .80). In addition, hierarchical multiple regression revealed that demographic variables age (F change = 1.056, R square change = .008, and p = .306), education (F (3, 115) = .583, p = .627), family history (F (2, 116) = 1.51, p = .225) and income (F change = 1.006, R2 change = .008, and p = .318) as individual predictors yielded nonsignificant differences in the overall predictive model, indicating that demographic variables do not moderate a relationship between social support and heart disease risk factor knowledge. Overall, the current study reveals the need to increase heart health knowledge through interventions and programs that combine both risk factor education and social support to reduce heart health disparities in African American women.