Social networks and support for parents and childless adults in the second half of life: Convergence, divergence, or stability?

Klaus, Daniela; Schnettler, Sebastian

doi:10.1016/j.alcr.2015.12.004

Cited by 25 publications

(30 citation statements)

References 48 publications

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“…Analogously, childless adults, who also have less access to biological kin and who are a growing subpopulation in both the USA and Europe [24], have been shown to substitute friends for kin [25]. Similar patterns have been identified among Hispanics and Asians [26], who are making up an increasingly large percentage of older Americans as well [27].…”

Section: Increasing Diversity: the Changing Face Of Friendshipsmentioning

confidence: 85%

“…In contrast, decreasing fertility rates [4] and increasing childlessness [24] will likely translate to a reduced availability of children for future older adults. Given that adult children tend to be the primary caretakers of aging parents [25], more recent cohorts of adults may invest more resources into non-kin ties, potentially surrounding themselves with "chosen kin" who can provide support traditionally provided by legally defined kin (e.g., children). As outlined earlier, this development is already observable in childless adults [25] and LGBTQ adults [2].…”

Section: Changes In Context and The Social Opportunity Structurementioning

confidence: 99%

“…In contrast, geographical mobility could pose potential threats to longstanding ties if, for example, adult children and/or close friends of older adults are moving away (i.e., decreasing availability and potentially increasing cost of investment into these ties [37]). Similar to childless adults [25], older adults in this situation may shift their investments toward chosen kin.…”

Section: Changes In Context and The Social Opportunity Structurementioning

confidence: 99%

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The Increasing Importance of Friendship in Late Life: Understanding the Role of Sociohistorical Context in Social Development

Fiori¹,

Windsor²,

Huxhold³

2020

Gerontology

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Historically, family ties have been understood as the primary source of support for aging adults, and past empirical and theoretical work has highlighted the tendency of older adults to focus on close family. However, in line with demographic changes and historical increases in the diversity of social structures, friendships are increasing in importance in recent generations of older adults. Given the powerful role of context in shaping these changes, this paper offers a conceptual analysis linking individual agency to sociohistorical context as a way to understand this increasing diversity of social ties. More specifically, we propose that the individual invests time and energy to form and maintain social ties, and that each individual has a specific social opportunity structure (all potential ties that are available to invest in, as well as the costs of those investments). Furthermore, this investment of time and energy is determined in part by individual differences in capacities and motivations. We argue that sociohistorical context influences this process in three important ways: (1) in its effect on the social opportunity structure; (2) in its direct effect on time and energy; and (3) in its effect on individuals' capacities and motivations. We believe that these mechanisms can account for the increasing diversity of social ties across adulthood, as well as the potential for future historical changes. © 2020 S. Karger AG, BaselHistorically, family ties have been understood as the primary source of support for aging adults, reflected in theoretical understandings of social development across adulthood and into late life (e.g., [1]) and in the policy emphasis placed on family caregiving in the United States [2]. However, due to demographic changes, such as increasing life expectancy [3], decreasing fertility rates [4], the "gray divorce revolution" [5], and greater geographical mobility [6], the structure and function of older adults' social networks are changing. In particular, it is our view that friendships are increasing in importance (i.e., greater prevalence, greater provision of support, etc.) in recent generations of older adults [7].Existing frameworks of friendship in late life (e.g., [8]), as well as more general models of social networks across the lifespan (e.g., Convoy Model [9]), acknowledge the Friendship in Late Life

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Section: Increasing Diversity: the Changing Face Of Friendshipsmentioning

confidence: 85%

Section: Changes In Context and The Social Opportunity Structurementioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Changes In Context and The Social Opportunity Structurementioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

The Increasing Importance of Friendship in Late Life: Understanding the Role of Sociohistorical Context in Social Development

Fiori¹,

Windsor²,

Huxhold³

2020

Gerontology

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“…However, the distinction between involuntary and voluntary childlessness (that is, exclusion versus choice) has rarely been addressed in research with older populations (e.g. Klaus and Schnettler 2016). There are some notable exceptions, for example, Gibney et al (2017) used childhood health status as a proxy for involuntary childlessness, and a special issue of the Journal of Family Issues addressed all types of childlessness in older age (Dykstra and Hagestad 2007).…”

Section: Biological and Neurological Risks: Physical And Cognitive Hementioning

confidence: 99%

A critical review and development of a conceptual model of exclusion from social relations for older people

et al. 2019

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Social exclusion is complex and dynamic, and it leads to the non-realization of social, economic, political or cultural rights or participation within a society. This critical review takes stock of the literature on exclusion of social relations. Social relations are defined as comprising social resources, social connections and social networks. An evidence review group undertook a critical review which integrates, interprets and synthesizes information across studies to develop a conceptual model of exclusion from social relations. The resulting model is a subjective interpretation of the literature and is intended to be the starting point for further evaluations. The conceptual model identifies individual risks for exclusion from social relations (personal attributes, biological and neurological risk, retirement, socio-economic status, exclusion from material resources and migration). It incorporates the evaluation of social relations, and the influence of psychosocial resources and socioemotional processes, sociocultural, social-structural, environmental and policy contextual influences on exclusion from social relations. It includes distal outcomes of exclusion from social relations, that is, individual well-being, health and functioning, social opportunities and social cohesion. The dynamic relationships between elements of the model are also reported. We conclude that the model provides a subjective interpretation of the data and an excellent starting point for further phases of conceptual development and systematic evaluation(s). Future research needs to consider the use of sophisticated analytical tools and an interdisciplinary approach in order to understand the underlying biological and ecopsychosocial associations that contribute to individual and dynamic differences in the experience of exclusion from social relations.

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“…ness for labor market outcomes (Budig et al 2012;Correll et al 2007;Gash 2009), health (Kendig et al 2007), and old-age well-being (Dykstra and Wagner 2007;Huijts et al 2013;Klaus and Schnettler 2016;Zhang and Hayward 2001). Because of data limitations, most past research focused on female childlessness.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Analyzing Childlessness

Kreyenfeld

Konietzka

2017

Demographic Research Monographs

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Social networks and support for parents and childless adults in the second half of life: Convergence, divergence, or stability?

Cited by 25 publications

References 48 publications

The Increasing Importance of Friendship in Late Life: Understanding the Role of Sociohistorical Context in Social Development

The Increasing Importance of Friendship in Late Life: Understanding the Role of Sociohistorical Context in Social Development

A critical review and development of a conceptual model of exclusion from social relations for older people

Analyzing Childlessness

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