SOCIAL FUNCTIONING IN LATE LIFE

Research over several decades has consistently validated the importance of

social support in buffering the effects of stress: Given equivalent stressors, those
individuals with strong social ties appear to have better outcomes than those
who are isolated or who perceive that support is unavailable or unhelpful from
those in their network. Yet, the elderly appear to have reduced social networks
and the frequency of their social contacts is reduced as compared to younger
adults, and this may be especially true for the oldest-old, whose social networks
have been shown to be one-half the size of the young-old. This finding was
previously thought to be evidence for the disengagement hypothesis of
aging'that is, that aging involves a process of withdrawal from society and others
and the development of a more inward focus. However, for many older adults,
the reduction in social contact is not voluntary and may be more related to
disability and reduced mobility than preference. The disengagement hypothesis
has been recently reframed as socioemotional selectivity, based on the finding
that, although overall social contacts do decrease in late life, it is only contact
with acquaintances and other peripheral individuals that decrease; social
contacts with very close friends and family remain stable, and older adults'
satisfaction with these close relationships remains high. It may be that as
individuals age and resources become fewer, those resources are adaptively
invested in maintaining close relationships as opposed to maintaining
acquaintanceships. For older adults with a limited future time perspective or a
greater awareness of mortality, there is even more motivation to maintain
emotionally meaningful relationships. However, this phenomenon may be at
least partially dependent on the external circumstances of older people's lives.
For example, in a recent study of more than 500 elderly individuals over the age
of 70, the size of social networks and the feelings of connectedness to that social
milieu were related to the presence and availability of nuclear family. Older
adults with nuclear family members tended to have social networks that were
both larger as well as more emotionally close than older adults without nuclear
family. On the other hand, those without nuclear family reported greater feelings
of closeness to friends than those with nuclear family, suggesting that older
adults can adapt to the absence of family by creating satisfying relationships
with others.
The social structure of the oldest-old has recently been studied, and data
suggest that this group may be particularly vulnerable to social isolation due to
multiple losses. In a recent study, most individuals over the age of 85 had at
least one surviving relative, but approximately one-fourth had little or no contact
with that relative. Most social contact was derived from children, and for those
individuals without children, social contact and support were not provided from
more distant relatives, except within the African American community, where
other relatives and friends were available to provide help and support. For the
oldest-old, then, the family, especially adult children, appears to play a crucial
role in providing social support.