Purpose: This study evaluates the role of older family members as providers of social resources within familial network systems affected by an inherited cancer susceptibility syndrome. Design and Methods: Respondents who previously participated in a study that involved genetic counseling and testing for Lynch syndrome and their family network…

Purpose: This study evaluates the changes in social networks of older and younger breast cancer patients over a 6-month period following their first diagnosis and how such modifications are associated with changes in the patients' mood state. Design and Methods: Newly diagnosed breast cancer patients were interviewed shortly after their diagnosis…

Purpose: This study explored the quality and functioning of terminally ill elders' social relationships and their impact on elders' consideration to hasten death. Design and Methods: In-depth, face-to-face interviews were conducted with 96 terminally ill elders. Logistic regression was used to determine whether aspects of social relationships…

Purpose: We designed this study to examine the end-of-life (EOL) experience in long-term care (LTC) based on input from key stakeholders. Design and Methods: The study consisted of 10 homogeneous focus groups drawn from a purposive sample of LTC residents (2 groups; total n = 11), family caregivers (2 groups; total n = 19), paraprofessional staff…

Examined role of social support in process of caring for someone dying at home using data from in-depth ethnographic interviews with 16 caregivers. Employed cultural analysis to draw parallels with rituals of transition. Results suggest social support for caregiver of dying person is extremely important. Recommends question of negative social…

Assessed informal support among tenants in public senior housing. Although informal assistance was reported, more impaired tenants received little assistance. The interviews also revealed minimal social involvement of frail tenants. Frail tenants reported a variety of reasons for avoiding relationships with older tenants. (Author/BL)

Purpose: This article reports on the findings of a study whose purpose was to explore the experiences of caregivers of gay and lesbian seniors living in the community and to identify issues that emerged from an exploration of access to and equity in health care services for these populations. Design and Methods: The study used a qualitative…

Compared the neighbor support given to 226 widows who were categorized into three groups: those who had one or more children in the same city, those who had children who resided elsewhere, and those who were childless. Multivariate analyses revealed differences between these groups on various measures of neighbor support. (Author/NRB)

Examined social support networks for 44 residents of two planned housing facilities. While other residents often were regarded as sources of support, the locus of these networks lay with persons outside the housing facilities. The less healthy were more socially isolated, except in times of a medical crisis. (JAC)

Purpose: This study concerns one component of the ability to provide person-centered care: the cognitive skill of perceiving others in relatively complex terms. This study tested the effectiveness of a social motivation for increasing the number of psychological constructs used to describe an unfamiliar senior citizen. Design and Methods:…

Examined effectiveness of group program for spouses (n=42) of frail aging veterans that included support, education, problem solving, and stress reduction. Compared with caregivers (n=47) receiving no intervention, those in group program showed significant increases in use of coping strategies, knowledge of community resources, perceived…

Purpose: This study explores the effects of participation in a program designed to enrich friendship and reduce loneliness among women in later life. Several hypotheses based on the need to belong, socioemotional selectivity theory, and the social compensation model were tested. Design and Methods: Study 1 involved two measurement points, one at…

Studied intrainstitutional relocation of 40 men aged 53 to 91 and its effects on social integration, and behavioral and self-reported measures of psychosocial adaptation. Found in both longitudinal and time-lag analyses of pre- and post-relocation data, relocated men had lower scores on attitude toward aging dimension, fewer friends, and evidenced…