In a neighborhood where elderly residents have known each other for years, a closely-knit network of mutual assistance and support has developed among a few of the oldest residents. The network and its functions are described in detail, and two features are discussed as being unusual. First, the “old old” people help each other on a daily basis, and second, the routine nature of the assistance is taken for granted by all concerned, except for the author, who observed the evolution of this network over a period of several years. The network's theoretical implications for social integration and its practical implications for the maintenance of independent living are summarized.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
O'BrienJ. and WagnerD., Help Seeking by the Frail Elderly: Problems in Network Analysis, The Gerontologist, 20:1, 1980.
2.
BlauZ. S., Old Age in a Changing Society, Franklin Watts, New York, 1973.
3.
RowlesG. D., Prisoners of Space? Exploring the Geographical Experience of Older People, Westview, Boulder, Colorado, 1978.
4.
CaplanG., Support Systems and Community Mental Health, Behavioral Publications, New York, 1974.
5.
ShanasE., The Family as a Social Support System in Old Age, The Gerontologist, 19:2, 1979.
6.
CantorM. H., Life Space and the Social Support System of the Inner City Elderly of New York, The Gerontologist, 15:1, 1975.
7.
LopataH., Support Systems of Elderly Urbanites: Chicago of the 1970's, The Gerontologist, 15:1, 1975.
8.
CooleyC. H., Social Organization, Scribner's and Sons, New York, 1909.
9.
HochschildA., The Unexpected Community, Prentice-Hall, New Jersey, 1973.
10.
HampeG. and BlevinsA.Jr., Primary Group Interaction of Residents in a Retirement Hotel, International Journal of Aging and Human Development, 6, 1975.
11.
RosowI., Social Integration of the Aged, The Free Press, New York, 1967.
12.
MyerhoffB., Number Our Days, Simon and Schuster, New York, 1978.
13.
KellerS., The Urban Neighborhood, Random House, New York, 1968.
