Chapter Overview

1. What is a social support system, and what effect do gender and family structure have on it?
A social support system refers to the network of relatives and friends who provide emotional and instrumental support. Support systems create a convoy, which follows people over the life course. Women have more extensive social support networks than men and thus have more of the benefits they provide but also more of the strains. Some older people lack a family support network, either because their children have moved away or because they have no children or have never married. Among the never married elderly, other kin often play the role typically reserved for children. The increase in life expectancy over the past century has created a beanpole family structure, expanding the potential social support system of aging people to include four or even five generations.

2. How does marital satisfaction change over the life course?
Studies of marital satisfaction over the life course consistently show a decline during the childrearing years. In part, the decline during the child-rearing years is caused by role strain. As the children leave home, marital satisfaction rises, peaking in the retirement years. The later-life satisfaction peak may also be a function of divorce-that is, those who remain married are the survivors. Still, the research is consistent enough to suggest that marriage is very satisfying for most people in old age.

3. How do sibling relationships change in later life?
There is a life course pattern to sibling relationships. Many siblings feel close as young children, then drift apart to attend to the needs of their own families. As siblings grow older, they often become close once again. Siblings mostly provide emotional support but some, especially sisters, also care for each other in old age.

4. What factors influence parent-child relationships in later life and what effect does divorce have on these relationships?
Relationships established earlier in life affect the quality of interaction between parents and children in later life. Children who recall their childhood in a positive way are more concerned about their aging parents than those who perceived parental rejection. People who have been divorced have less contact with their adult children and report less positive interaction than those who remain married. Losing touch with children after a divorce is especially a problem for men.

5. What factors influence the grandparent-grandchild relationship in later life and what effect does divorce have on this relationship?
The relationship between parents and their children is often passed on to the grandchildren. When parents and grandparents are close, the grandchildren see their grandparents more often and feel closer to them. When parents divorce, the grandparent-grandchild relationship is affected. The paternal grandparents are most likely to lose contact with their grandchildren. Divorce does not necessarily mean a severing of familial ties, however, for some parents remain close to their former daughters-in-law. With the divorce and remarriage of parents, family ties may multiply.

6. What kinds of social support do older gay men and women depend on?
Some gay men and women become alienated from their families if family members disapprove of their lifestyles. They may plan for aging by creating a support system of friends and significant others. However, many gay men and women play special roles in their own families, as caretakers of aging parents.

7. Is friendship a good source of support in later life?
Friends form a special part of an individual's support network. Whereas family relationships are dictated by obligations and responsibilities, friendships are voluntary, pleasurable, and the primary source of companionship.