This is a report of research on subcultural variation in primary social isolation in a representative sample of older persons in an urban area. The research classifies the respondents by subcultural status and examines the rates of primary social isolation. Most persons (85%) can be classified in sixteen of forty hypothetical subcultures, but only seven subcultures contain enough respondents to be numerically important. Two subcultures are identified with above average rates of primary social isolation and three with below average rates of primary social isolation. Sociologically, it makes sense to look at primary social isolation as a group phenomenon.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
CummingE. and HenryW. E., Growing Old, Basic Books, New York, 1961. Reprinted by Arno Press, New York, 1980.
2.
GordonM. M., Assimilation in American Life, Oxford University Press, New York, 1964.
3.
FischerC. S., Toward a Subcultural Theory of Urbanism, American Journal of Sociology, 80, pp. 1319–1341, 1975.
4.
TunstallJ., Old and Alone, Humanities Press, New York, 1967.
5.
RosowI., The Social Integration of the Aged, Free Press, New York, 1967.
6.
RileyM. W. and FonerA., Aging and Society, Russell Sage Foundation, New York, 1968.
7.
HochschildA. R., The Unexpected Community, Prentice-Hall, Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, 1973.
8.
U.S. Bureau of the Census, Census of Population 1970 Vol. 1: Characteristics of the Population, Part 34, New York-Section 1 and 2, U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, D.C., 1973.
