U.S. National Patterns of Problem Coping Networks: Preliminary Results from 1983 and 1984 Gallup Surveys

Abstract

Interest in the informal patterns of problem coping has emerged increasingly as societies turn from centralized, formal service delivery strategies toward voluntary sector local community helping resources. The results from the 1983 and 1984 sur veys reflect evidence that individuals shifted somewhat their reliance on public agencies in the direction of using voluntary association peers. Our research reports on a first step in assessing the balance between informal and formal resources for coping with a range of common experienced life-course concerns.

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