This Article Full Text (PDF) References Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Alert me to new issues of the journal Add to Saved Citations Download to citation manager Request Permissions Request Reprints Add to My Marked Citations Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Citing Articles via Scopus Google Scholar Articles by Morgan, D. Articles by Neal, M. Search for Related Content Social Bookmarking                         What's this?

Are Some Relationships more Useful than Others? The Value of Similar Others in the Networks of Recent Widows

Portland State University, morgand{at}pdx.edu

Paula Carder

Portland State University

Margaret Neal

Portland State University

Contacts with other widows are often seen as having particular value for those who are coping with bereavement. Both the benefits of associating with other widows and the difficulties of maintaining ties with married friends make it likely that recent widows' friendship networks will show increasing `homophily', based on substituting widowed friends for married friends. We investigated these issues based on a year of longitudinal interviewing with 321 recently widowed women, aged 59-85 years, who provided data about their social support networks. Our results indicate that these widows did shift their networks toward greater association with others who had experienced this life event. We did not, however, find evidence that this was due to the amount or quality of the support they received from widowed rather than married friends. One possible explanation is that widows' preference for associating with their similar others has more to do with the nature of the companionship they share in such relationships, rather than with the provision of social support.

Key Words: changes in personal relationships • social networks • social support • stressful life events • widowhood

Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, Vol. 14, No. 6, 745-759 (1997)
DOI: 10.1177/0265407597146002


CiteULike    Complore    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    Twitter    What's this?

This article has been cited by other articles:

				K. S. Rook Gaps in social support resources in later life: An adaptational challenge in need of further research Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, February 1, 2009; 26(1): 103 - 112. [Abstract] [PDF]

				M. Kalmijn and M. B. van Groenou Differential effects of divorce on social integration Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, August 1, 2005; 22(4): 455 - 476. [Abstract] [PDF]