Kin
Older Adults With Weak Kinship Ties
While most older adults are embedded in kinship networks, there is a minority who have weak ties. Those older adults who are most likely to have weak ties are those who have smaller kin networks, such as the divorced who are childless, particularly men, or the never married. Those who are older and without a spouse or children are most at risk for social isolation. Particularly vulnerable are unmarried childless women who are very old (age eighty-five and older) who have chronic illnesses or disabilities. These women are more likely than others to be institutionalized because they lack family members to provide support or assistance.
CAROLYN ROSENTHAL LORI D. CAMPBELL
BIBLIOGRAPHY
BENGTSON, V. L.; ROSENTHAL, C. J.; and BURTON, L. "Families and Aging: Diversity and Heterogeneity." In Handbook of Aging and the Social Sciences, 3d ed. Edited by Robert H. Binstock and Linda K. George. San Diego: Academic Press, 1990. Pages 263–287.
CAMPBELL, L. D.; CONNIDIS, I. A.; and DAVIES, L. "Sibling Ties in Later Life: A Social Network Analysis." Journal of Family Issues 20 (1999): 114–148.
COONEY, T. M., and SMITH, L. A. "Young Adults' Relations with Grandparents Following Recent Parental Divorce." Journal of Gerontology: Social Sciences 51B (1996): S91–S95.
FULLMER, E. M. "Challenging Biases Against Families of Older Gays and Lesbians." In Strengthening Aging Families: Diversity in Practice and Policy. Edited by G. S. Smith, S. S. Tobin, E. A. Robertson-Tchabo, and P. W. Power. Thousand Oaks, Calif.: Sage Publications, 1995. Pages 99–119.
GELFAND, D. E. Aging and Ethnicity: Knowledge and Services. New York: Springer, 1994.
HIMES, C. L.; HOGAN, D. P.; and EGGEBEEN, D. J. "Living Arrangements of Minority Elders." Journal of Gerontology: Social Sciences 51B (1996): S42–S48.
KORNHABER, A. Contemporary Grandparenting. Thousand Oaks, Calif.: Sage, 1996.
ROSENTHAL, C. J. "Kinkeeping in the Familial Division of Labor." Journal of Marriage and the Family 48 (1985): 965–974.
ROSENTHAL, C. J., and MARSHALL, V. W. "Generational Transmission of Family Ritual." American Behavioral Scientist 31 (1988): 669–684.
RUBINSTEIN, R. "Never Married as Social Type: Re-evaluating Some Images." The Gerontologist 27 (1987): 108–113.
SILVERSTEIN, M., and WAITE, L. J. "Are Blacks More Likely than Whites to Receive and Provide Social Support in Middle and Old Age? Yes, No, and Maybe So." Journal of Gerontology: Social Sciences 48 (1993): S212–S222.
UHLENBERG, P. "Demographic Change and Kin Relationships in Later Life." In Annual Review of Gerontology and Geriatrics, Volume 13: Focus on Kinship, Aging, and Social Change. Edited by George L. Maddox and M. Powell Lawton. New York: Springer, 1993. Pages 219–238.
UHLENBERG, P.; COONEY, T.; and BOYD, R. "Divorce for Women after Midlife." Journal of Gerontology: Social Sciences 45 (1990): S3–S11.
Additional topics
Medicine EncyclopediaAging Healthy - Part 2Kin - The Importance Of Maintenance Of Kin Ties, Demographic Changes Affecting The Supply Of Kin, Other Determinants Of Kin Ties