Social support resources of older adults in rural Canada

• Author / Creator

  Swindle, Jennifer E.

• Social support is important for health and well-being and has been associated with reduced isolation in rural communities. Support from family and friends may become increasingly important as one ages, and may enable some seniors to remain living in their communities. The purpose of this project was to understand variation in the social support resources of older adults in rural Canada. This included variation in seniors’ social networks, support networks, tasks and services received, and exchange patterns. Methods included secondary analysis of a national telephone survey of adults aged 65 and older residing in rural Canada.

  Four key findings emerged. First, there was variation in the connections seniors had to family and friends. While some seniors had social networks averaging two people, others had social networks averaging 17. Who is present in social networks sets limits on who can be recruited into the support network. Second, who gets recruited from social networks into support networks varies. On average, social networks comprised 10 people, but support networks averaged three people. Spouses, children, middle-aged and local social network members were most likely to be recruited into support networks. However, recruitment depended on who was available to provide support. Third, not everyone receives support. Findings revealed that 15 percent of seniors who had a social network reported receiving no support, while nine percent who received support had few people who provided help with tasks like housework and shopping. While some of that group may not need support and/or are providing help to others, some seniors may have only one or two people to rely on. Fourth, rural older adults are not passive receivers of support. Many provide a high number of tasks to family and friends, helping build social ties and maintain supportive relationships.

  These findings point to the need for rural communities to be vigilant about evolving support needs of older residents. If seniors have few people who provide them with support, or if they rely on non-kin, who will provide care if needed? Services will be needed to fill the gap, and these services are not always available in rural areas.

• Subjects / Keywords

  • Social networks
  • Social support
  • Exchanges
  • Support networks
  • Older adults
  • Rural

• Graduation date

  Fall 2009

• Type of Item

  Thesis

• Degree

  Doctor of Philosophy

• DOI

  https://doi.org/10.7939/R3D01Z

• License

  This thesis is made available by the University of Alberta Libraries with permission of the copyright owner solely for non-commercial purposes. This thesis, or any portion thereof, may not otherwise be copied or reproduced without the written consent of the copyright owner, except to the extent permitted by Canadian copyright law.