Social Networks and Social Support

Background and Significance

Two theorists are generally credited with early attention that focused on the concept and phenomenon of social support. Sociologist Émile Durkheim (1859–1917) was the first to observe the relationship between lack of social support and suicidal behavior. John Bowlby (1907–1990), a British psychiatrist, closely observed the developing relationship of support between mothers and young children, and he proposed a theory of attachment that has been influential to explain social attachments beyond the mother–child dyad. More recent theories suggest that structural and functional dimensions of social support among humans is influenced by factors operating in the broad social environment as well as in the individual's psychobiological makeup.

Understanding the role of social support during late life has taken on renewed urgency because of demographic trends. These include the increasingly disproportionate ratio of older adults to younger adults in the population, trends toward smaller family sizes, higher rates of divorced and never-married older persons, and the prevalence of chronic debilitating conditions for which social support is required. These concerns have spawned a vast body of research, much of which has focused intensely on the antecedents and consequences of social support during late life.

Nature and Experience of Social Support

Social support has been studied in a variety of population groups. Studies based in local, regional, and U.S. locations, as well as in numerous international communities, have yielded important demographic differences. Compared with younger adults, older adults appear to require a smaller and less diverse network of supportive individuals to enjoy the benefits of social support. Older women are more likely than older men to receive emotional support from a confidante, but [Page 528]men receive more instrumental assistance from others than do women; both older women and older men receive increasing amounts of social support from their grown children over time. Racial differences in social support vary somewhat during late life. The social networks of African Americans include disproportionately more kin than do those of European Americans, and African Americans report somewhat less frequent interaction with their networks. However, both races report similar trends toward more emotionally close social partners, and fewer peripheral social partners, in their networks as they age.

Family structure provides opportunity advantages for social support. Older persons with siblings and married older persons are at a social support advantage. Frailty during late life exacerbates the impact of family structure on social support. Among frail elders, material and instrumental social support is particularly dependent on larger kinship networks, more female kin, and more geographically proximal kin.

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