Reciprocity of social exchange and social satisfaction among older women.

Abstract

Reciprocity is widely believed to be an important determinant of social satisfaction, yet relatively little research has examined reciprocity in ongoing primary relationships. In this study I investigated the association between reciprocity and older women's satisfaction with their social relationships. The sample consisted of 120 elderly widowed women. Analyses indicated that social exchange patterns that either overbenefited or underbenefited respondents were associated with greater loneliness. Reciprocity was greater in interactions with friends than with adult children and was more strongly related to satisfaction with friends than with children. Reciprocity was also found to vary as a function of the type of social exchange involved (companionship, instrumental support, or emotional support). The results suggest that the meaning of reciprocity is contingent on the actors' role relations and the content of their exchanges. The implications of studying reciprocity within a network perspective versus a dyadic-relationship perspective are also considered.

Living Arrangements and Social Networks of Older Adults

“…also indicates that the youngest respondents tend to provide more instrumental support than they receive, while the opposite is observed for the oldest. These findings are in contrast to those of earlier studies (Morgan et al, 1991, Rook, 1987 which reported overbenefitting by the elderly, that is, the elderly gave more than they received. Figure 8.4 uses the same data as Figure 8.3, but the presentation is different.…”

Associations between received social support and positive and negative affect: evidence for age differences from a daily-diary study

“…With the sources of support failing to explain the age differences on the associations between received social support and positive/NA found, several alternative theoretical perspectives may account for the data: first, a potential underlying mechanism for age differences in the association between emotional support and well-being is an age-related difference in reciprocity of social exchanges (Rook 1987). Equity theory posits that a perceived imbalance of social exchanges (e.g., providing and receiving emotional support) in either direction is detrimental for an individual's well-being (Walster et al 1978).…”

The Social Language of Time: The Time Perspective–Social Network Connection

“…These networks have many structural characteristics: size, density, composition (i.e., what categories of people are most represented), and length of relationships (Wellman, 1981). Social ties within our networks serve many vital functions that include providing access to needed resources, support, control, and companionship (see Rook, 1987aRook, , 1987b. But the interpersonal characteristics of our social networks may also include social constraints and=or conflict (e.g., Lepore, 1992;Lepore, Silver, Wortman, & Wayment, 1996).…”