Friendship in Later Life: Thirty Years of Progress and Inequalities

Studies examining the impact of social change on individual development and aging postulate the growing importance of flexible relationships, such as friendship. Although friendship is well known as a factor of well-being in later life, the prevalence of friendship in older adult networks and its un...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inInternational journal of aging & human development Vol. 96; no. 4; pp. 420 - 446
Main Authors Baeriswyl, Marie, Oris, Michel
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Los Angeles, CA SAGE Publications 01.06.2023
Baywood Publishing Co., Inc
Subjects
Aged
Aging
Cross-Sectional Studies
Friends
Friendship
Humans
Older people
Polarization
Retirement
Social change
Social inequality
Social Participation
Socioeconomic Factors
Well being
social ties
friendship
gender
social participation
health
social change
socioeconomic status
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Summary:Studies examining the impact of social change on individual development and aging postulate the growing importance of flexible relationships, such as friendship. Although friendship is well known as a factor of well-being in later life, the prevalence of friendship in older adult networks and its unequal distribution has been examined only in few studies. Through secondary data analysis of two cross-sectional surveys carried out in Switzerland in 1979 and 2011, respectively, the increasing presence of close friends was confirmed. Our results show that this trend was part of a broader lifestyle change after retirement, with increasing social engagements. However, this trend does not include a general decrease in social inequalities in friendship opportunities. Overall, friendship increase among older adults has contributed to a polarization of living conditions, with a majority of active, healthy persons contrasting with a minority of individuals who accumulate penalties.
Bibliography:ObjectType-Article-1
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ISSN:0091-4150
1541-3535
DOI:10.1177/00914150221092991