The impact sex and marital status have upon circumscribing the social relationships of the elderly is explored. Data reveal that the widowed, as a group, are no more isolated from their kin and friends or from associations in religious organizations than married individuals. (Author)

Attempts to replicate research on the activity theory of aging. Behaviorally based activity scales were drawn from daily activity inventories of residents of three retirement communities. Findings support the activity theory. Informal activities had the most positive affect on respondents' life satisfaction. (Author/JAC)

While research on alcohol use among the elderly has accumulated in recent years, the drinking patterns of some segments of the elderly population have received little or no attention. A study was conducted over an 18-month period investigating drinking patterns in three retirement communities in southern California and Oregon. The extent of…

The social network of elderly blacks was compared with whites in a sample of 241 ambulatory persons interviewed in congregate settings in a planning district of a border Southern state. Questions were asked about monthly patterns of social interaction, such as visiting and phone contacts with children, other kin, neighbors, friends, involvement in…

Information concerning social relations after widowhood has frequently been analyzed without explicit knowledge of such conditions before widowhood. Longitudinal data from a national survey of low-income aged (N=4494) was analyzed to assess the social impact of widowhood on older persons. Widows interviewed in 1973 and again in 1974 were…

Love and romance continue to be important issues within every age group, not merely among the usually studied college students. Two issues, the nature or intensity of the love experienced and the motives or purposes of love were examined for different age groups. The ways in which the pursuit of heterosexual love may change throughout adult life…