Living arrangements and social networks as interlocking mediating structures

In this introductory chapter we describe the rationale for developing a research program on older adults' living arrangements and social networks. We provide arguments for the relevance and importance of work in this area, and provide indications of the kinds of insights we hope to obtain. The chapter ends with a brief overview of what to expect in the book. Throughout the world, a trend toward population aging is visible. Though the quantitative features of changing age structures are widely known and generally undisputed (a higher proportion at the 'older' ages, however defined), the social implications are as yet little known, and often subject to considerable debate and speculation (Day, 1992). Economic concerns have dominated studies on population aging. Attention has focused on the question of how society can financially support an aging population. The picture painted for the future is one of fewer shoulders to bear greater loads.

[1]  Paul B. Baltes,et al.  Successful aging: Perspectives from the behavioral sciences , 1990 .

[2]  P. Scott,et al.  The Economic Consequences of Population Ageing in Advanced Societies , 1988 .

[3]  P. Dykstra.  Next of (non)kin: The importance of primary relationships for older adults' well-being. , 1991 .

[4]  Robert J. Havighurst,et al.  Developmental tasks and education , 1943 .

[5]  T. K. Burch,et al.  Household formation in developed societies. , 1987 .

[6]  I. Rosow.  Social integration of the aged , 1968 .

[7]  M. W. Riley.  The Quality of Aging: Strategies for Interventions , 1989 .

[8]  T. Hareven.  Family Time and Industrial Time: The Relationship between the Family and Work in a New England Indus , 1983 .

[9]  Robert L. Kahn,et al.  Convoys over the life course: attachment, roles, and social support , 1980 .

[10]  M. W. Riley.  The Family in an Aging Society , 1983 .

[11]  Richard A. Posner,et al.  Aging and old age , 1996 .

[12]  G. Peters,et al.  role of friends and neighbors in providing social support , 1985 .

[13]  A. Warnes.  Being Old, Old People and the Burdens of Burden , 1993, Ageing and Society.

[14]  J. Aldous.  New views on the family life of the elderly and the near-elderly. , 1987 .

[15]  Barry Wellman,et al.  Men in networks: Private communities, domestic friendships. , 1992 .

[16]  J. W. Riley,et al.  The Lives of Older People and Changing Social Roles , 1989 .

[17]  E. Crimmins,et al.  Retirement Reconsidered: Economic and Social Roles for Older People , 1988 .

[18]  B. Neugarten.  Personality and aging , 1977 .

[19]  M. Cantor,et al.  Neighbors and Friends , 1979 .

[20]  E. Litwak,et al.  Helping the elderly : the complementary roles of informal networks and formal systems , 1986 .

[21]  S. Arber,et al.  The Meaning of Informal Care: Gender and the Contribution of Elderly People , 1990, Ageing and Society.

[22]  J. Rowe,et al.  Human aging: usual and successful. , 1987, Science.

[23]  U. Staudinger,et al.  Resilience and reserve capacity in later adulthood: Potentials and limits of development across the life span , 1995 .

[24]  E. Shanas.  Family Help Patterns and Social Class in Three Countries , 1967 .

[25]  R. Butler,et al.  Productive Aging: Enhancing Vitality in Later Life , 1985 .