role of family and friends in improving self rated health: an empirical investigation in india

The purpose of this paper is to understand the role of family and friends in improving the Self Rated Health of people in India. Literature has revealed that there is a positive association between the social environment in which an individual stays and the perception of his health. The data for this study has been taken from four World Value Surveys (WVS) conducted between the years 1990 and 2009. There were two independent variables in the study namely Importance of Family and Importance of Friends while the dependent variable was Self Rated Health. The analysis performed on data from all the four surveys reveals that higher the degree of association between an individual and his family & friends, the better is his self perceived health which in turn also influences his overall health.