The Social Networks of Older People: A Cross-National Analysis

(Hardback)

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This edited volume examines the social networks of older people in nine countries from a range of perspectives in order to determine the potential of informal support structures to deliver the bulk of care in today's society. Researchers from the United States, Canada, England and Wales, France, Spain, the Netherlands, Sweden, Finland, and Israel present up-to-date analyses of support networks in each of their countries. The social policy implications of the comparative data are critically reviewed. The findings clearly suggest that social network availability is diminishing for a significant minority of elderly people. However, current practice in most countries reveals little purposive interweaving of formal services and informal networks, in order to strengthen the function of the latter and to prolong their presumed benefits.

Reviews

This volume will be a valuable resource for gerontological practioners, researchers, and policy-makers who are interested in the social care of older adults. The individual studies are of evenly high quality and each author presents a thorough discussion of the purpose, methods, results, and implications of his/her research....A major strength of this book is its rigorous, systematic appraoch to exploring a range of methods for studying the social networks of older adults across the aging populations of diverse countries. It is also a timely empirical contribution to politically motivated rhetoric about personal responsibility for the care of dependent family members....This first-rate compendium of studies on the social networks of elders in other countries certainly offers worthwhile alternatives to the interest group struggles that often characterize the development of public policy for the aged in this country.-Journal of Social Service Research
"This volume will be a valuable resource for gerontological practioners, researchers, and policy-makers who are interested in the social care of older adults. The individual studies are of evenly high quality and each author presents a thorough discussion of the purpose, methods, results, and implications of his/her research....A major strength of this book is its rigorous, systematic appraoch to exploring a range of methods for studying the social networks of older adults across the aging populations of diverse countries. It is also a timely empirical contribution to politically motivated rhetoric about personal responsibility for the care of dependent family members....This first-rate compendium of studies on the social networks of elders in other countries certainly offers worthwhile alternatives to the interest group struggles that often characterize the development of public policy for the aged in this country."-Journal of Social Service Research

Author Bio

HOWARD LITWIN has published 60 articles, book chapters and research monographs in the fields of social gerontology, social networks and community-based social work./e Dr. Litwin received his DSW from Columbia University and is currently Associate Professor of Social Work at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.