Social network research can determine the possibilities and limits of informal support systems for handicapped adults. Analysis of 370 handicapped adults' social networks focuses on: social network characteristics, demographic characteristics, amount of support received, type of support needed, and feelings of balance/imbalance,…

This research demonstrated a social network intervention for youths with moderate and severe disabilities. Two groups of nondisabled peers participated in weekly discussions with an adult integration facilitator to increase social interaction for two students (one autistic and one moderately mentally retarded). Both quantity and quality of…

Uses path analysis and data from 2,829 Washington State residents aged 55 and over to study effects of rural or urban residence on social integration/loneliness. Finds rural residents not more highly integrated into social networks than urban counterparts and not lonelier. Discusses implications for existing social relations stereotypes of the…

Maintains that spreading poverty in Europe has weakened social cohesion and now threatens the construction of the European Community. Initially centered on issues concerning the distribution of resources and goods, the discussion increasingly has focused on the breakdown of social relationships and the question of citizen's rights. (MJP)