Centre for Policy on Ageing



Social network type and morale in old age
Author(s)	Howard Litwin
Journal title	The Gerontologist, vol 41, no 4, August 2001
Pages	pp 516-524
Keywords	Friends ; Informal care ; Social contacts ; Morale ; Well being ; Cluster analysis ; Israel.
Annotation	The aim of this research was to derive network types among an older population, and to examine the relationship of network type to morale. The study used secondary analysis of data compiled by the Israeli Central Bureau of Statistics for 2,079 community-dwelling older Jewish people; network types were derived through K-means cluster analysis. Respondents' morale scores were regressed on network types, controlling for background and health variables. Five network types were derived. Respondents in diverse or friends networks reported the highest morale; those in exclusively family or restricted networks had the lowest. Classification of network types allows consideration of the interpersonal environments of older people in relation to outcomes of interest. The relative effects on morale of elective versus obligated social ties, evident in the current analysis, is a case in point. (KJ/RH).
Accession Number	CPA-011008209 A
Classmark	SX: P6: TOA: DQ: D:F:5HH: 3YB: 7H6
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...from the Ageinfo database published by Centre for Policy on Ageing.