Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-2plfb Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-22T15:10:06.099Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Strong and Enduring Ties: Older Women and Their Friends

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  29 November 2010

Hazel MacRae
Hazel MacRae
Affiliation:
Mount Saint Vincent University
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

This paper examines friendship in later life, drawing upon data obtained from in-depth interviews conducted with a sample of 142 elderly women who were living in a small town in Atlantic Canada. The nature and meaning of friendship in later life is examined from the perspective of the elderly woman. The data indicate that most respondents have a substantial number of friends and differentiate between different types of friends: ‘friends’ and ‘close friends,’ ‘old friends’ and those acquired more recently. Focusing attention on the concepts of self-identity and reciprocity, an attempt is made to explain why older people might more highly value their old friends than those acquired more recently.

Résumé

Cet article examine l'amitié dans les dernières années de l a vie et repose sur les données obtenues par des entrevues en profondeur de 152 aînées d'une petite ville des Maritimes. On examine la nature et la signification de l'amitié dans les dernières années de la vie, selon le point du vue de femmes âgées. Les résultats indiquent que la plupart des personnes interrogées ont un nombre important d'amis et qu'elles font la distinction entre «amis», «amis proches», «amis de longue date» et «amis récents». Tout en insistent sur la notion d'actualisation de soi et de réciprocité, on tente d'expliquer pourquoi les aînés accordent vraisemblablement plus d'importance à leurs amis de longue date plutôt qu'aux plus récents.

Keywords

Older WomenFriendshipSelf-identityFemmes âgéesamitiéidentité
Type
Articles
Information
Canadian Journal on Aging / La Revue canadienne du vieillissement , Volume 15 , Issue 3 , Automne/Fall 1996 , pp. 374 - 392
Copyright
Copyright © Canadian Association on Gerontology 1996

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Adams, R.G. (1987). Patterns of network change: A longitudinal study of friendships of elderly women. The Gerontologist, 27, 222–227.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Adams, R.G. (1989). Conceptual and methodological issues in studying friendships of older adults. In Adams, R. & Blieszner, R. (Eds.), Older adult friendship structure and process (pp. 17–41). Newbury Park, CA: Sage.Google Scholar
Allan, G. (1977). Class variation in friendship patterns. British Journal of Sociology, 28, 389–393.Google Scholar
Allan, G. (1989). Friendship: Developing a sociological perspective. Boulder, CO: Westview.Google Scholar
Allan, G., & Adams, R.G. (1989). Aging and the structure of friendship. In Adams, R. & Blieszner, R. (Eds.), Older adult friendship (pp. 45–64). Newbury Park, CA: Sage.Google Scholar
Arling, G. (1976). The elderly widow and her family, neighbors and friends. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 38, 757–768.Google Scholar
Armstrong, M.J. (1991). Friends as a source of informal support for older women with physical disabilities. Journal of Women and Aging, 3(2), 63–83.Google Scholar
Babchuk, N., & Anderson, T. (1989). Older widows and married women: Their intimates and confidants. International Journal of Aging and Human Development, 28(1), 21–35.Google Scholar
Blau, Z.S. (1961). Structural constraints on friendships in old age. American Sociological Review, 26, 429–439.Google Scholar
Blau, Z.S. (1973). Old age in a changing society. New York: Franklin Watts.Google Scholar
Blieszner, R. (1989). Developmental processes of friendship. In Adams, R. & Blieszner, R. (Eds.), Older adult friendship (pp. 108–126). Newbury Park, CA: Sage.Google Scholar
Cantor, M.H. (1979). Neighbours and friends. Research on Aging, 1, 434–463.Google Scholar
Chappell, N.L. (1983). Informal support networks among the elderly. Research on Aging, 5, 77–99.Google Scholar
Cohen, C.I., & Rajkowski, H. (1982). What's in a friend? Substantive and theoretical issues. The Gerontologist, 22, 261–266.Google Scholar
Connidis, I., & Davies, L. (1990). Confidants and companions in later life: The place of family and friends. Journal of Gerontology, 45, 141–149.Google Scholar
Crohan, S., & Antonucci, T. (1989). Friends as a source of social support in old age. In Adams, R. & Blieszner, R. (Eds.), Older adult friendship (pp. 129–146). New-bury Park, CA: Sage.Google Scholar
Furnham, A. (1989). Friendship and personal development. In Porter, R. & Tomaselli, S. (Eds.), The dialectics of friendship (pp. 92–110). London: Routledge.Google Scholar
Hess, B. (1972). Friendship. In Riley, M.W.Johnson, M. & Foner, A. (Eds.), Aging and society Vol. HI: A sociology of age stratification (pp. 357–393). New York: Russell Sage Foundation.Google Scholar
Hewitt, J.P. (1991). Self and society. Boston: Allyn and Bacon.Google Scholar
Hochschild, A.R. (1973). The unexpected community. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall.Google Scholar
Jerrome, D. (1981). The significance of friendship for women in later life. Aging and Society, 1, 175–197.Google Scholar
Lewittes, H.J. (1989). Just being friendly means a lot — Women, friendship and aging. In Grau, L. & Susser, I. (Eds.), Women in the later years: Health, social, and cultural perspectives (pp. 139–159). New York: Harrington Park Press.Google Scholar
Litwak, E. (1989). Forms of friendship among older people in an industrial society. In Adams, R. & Blieszner, R. (Eds.), Older adult friendship (pp. 65–88). New-bury Park, CA: Sage.Google Scholar
Lopata, H.Z. (1973). Widowhood in an American city. Cambridge, MA: Schenkman.Google Scholar
Lopata, H.Z. (1979). Women as widows: Support systems. New York: Elsevier.Google Scholar
Lowenthal, M., & Haven, C. (1968). Interaction and adaptation: Intimacy as a critical variable. American Sociological Review, 33, 20–30.Google Scholar
Lozier, J., & Althouse, D. (1975). Retirement to the porch in rural appalachia. International Journal of Aging and Human Development, 6, 7–15.Google Scholar
MacRae, H. (1987). Identity and its maintenance in later life: A social network approach. Ph. D. Dissertation, Department of Sociology, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario.Google Scholar
MacRae, H. (1992). Fictive kin as a component of the social networks of older people. Research on Aging, 14, 226–247.Google Scholar
Mandelbaum, D.B. (1973). The study of life history: Gandhi. Current Anthropology, 14, 177–196.Google Scholar
Martin-Matthews, A. (1991). Widowhood in later life. Toronto: Butterworths.Google Scholar
Matthews, S.H. (1979). The social world of old women. Beverly Hills, CA: Sage.Google Scholar
Matthews, S.H. (1986a). Friendships in old age: Biography and circumstance. In Marshall, V.W. (Ed.), Later life: The social psychology of aging (pp. 233–269). Beverly Hills, CA: Sage.Google Scholar
Matthews, S.H. (1986b). Friendships through the life course: Oral biographies in old age. Beverly Hills, CA: Sage.Google Scholar
Mead, G.H. (1934). Mind, self and society. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.Google Scholar
O'Connor, P. (1993). Same-gender and cross-gender friendships among the elderly. The Gerontologist, 33, 24–30.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Paine, R. (1974). Anthropological approaches to friendship. In Leyton, E. (Ed.), The compact (pp. 1–14). Toronto: University of Toronto Press.Google Scholar
Peters, G.R. (1982). Friends, neighbours, and confidants. In Mangen, D.J. & Peterson, W.A. (Eds.), Research instruments in social gerontology, Vol. II: Social Roles and Social Participation (pp. 389–443). Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press.Google Scholar
Peters, G.R., & Kaiser, M.A. (1985). The role of friends and neighbors in providing social support. In Sauer, W. & Coward, R. (Eds.), Social support networks and the care of the elderly: Theory, research, practice, and policy (pp. 123–158). New York: Springer.Google Scholar
Powers, E.A., & Bultena, G.L. (1976). Sex differences in intimate friendships of old age. Journal of Marriage and The Family, 38, 739–747.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rawlins, W.K. (1992). Friendship matters. New York: Aldine De Gruyter.Google Scholar
Reohr, J. (1991). Friendship: An exploration of structure and process. New York: Garland.Google Scholar
Roberto, K. (1989). Exchange and equity in friendships. In Adams, R. & Blieszner, R. (Eds.), Older adult friendship (pp. 147–165). Newbury Park, CA: Sage.Google Scholar
Roberto, K., & Kimboko, P. (1989) Friendships in later life: Definitions and maintenance patterns. International Journal of Aging and Human Development, 28, 9–19.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Rosow, I. (1967). Social integration of the aged. New York: Free Press.Google Scholar
Shea, L., Thompson, L., & Blieszner, R. (1988). Resources in older adults' old and new friendships. Journal of Social And Personal Relationships, 5, 83–96.Google Scholar
Strain, L.A., & Chappell, N.L. (1982). Confidants: Do they make a difference in quality of life? Research on Aging, 4, 479–502.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Taylor, S.J., & Bogdan, R. (1984). Introduction to Qualitative research methods. New York: John Wiley and Sons.Google Scholar
Wentowski, G. (1981). Reciprocity and the coping strategies of older people: cultural dimensions of network building. The Gerontologist, 21, 600–609.Google Scholar
Wood, V., & Robertson, J. (1978). Friendship and kinship interaction: Differential effect on the morale of the elderly. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 40, 367–375.Google Scholar
Wright, P. (1989). Gender differences in adults' same and cross-gender friendships. In Adams, R. & Blieszner, R. (Eds.), Older adult friendship (pp. 197–221). New-bury Park, CA: Sage.Google Scholar