Exam 3 Introduction to Social Relationships Instrumental support Tangible aid Ex Helping with housework Emotional support Relationship quality Ex Caring advice companionship Social Convoy Set of relationships with family friends and acquaintances described as a series of concentric circles Gender differences in social networks Women have larger networks and receive support but their cost of caring causes a greater Mean have smaller networks their wife is their primary confidante and they have less support relationship burden from friends Changes in network size with age Size of network decreases with age Little change in the quality of support received Members of the network do change Carstensen s Socioemotional Selectivity Theory Reasons people engage in social relationships Adults actively select their social network members Maintain rewarding relationships discard problematic relationships Two types of social goals o Knowledge focused to acquire knowledge and information about the social world ex potential partners and future careers o Emotion focused to regulate emotion and maintain intimacy ex the emotional intimacy of having someone know and understand you Priority of time when it is limited vs time being expansive o Expansive future oriented pursue knowledge focused goals and desire large varied o Limited present oriented pursue emotion focused goals and highly selective in choice social networks of social partners Social input model Social partners treat older adults more kindly particularly when conflict occurs This means more forgiveness and respect for older adults Social relationships influence on health in positive ways Mental and physical well being along with social support helps us to live longer Social partners influence healthy relationships encouraging compliance and reducing problematic behavior Coping with life events buffer us from stressors It is critical for avoiding institutionalization Social relationships influence on health in negative ways Excessive support can cause unwarranted dependency Can influence negative health behaviors because negative social interactions can be damaging to health These have a more profound effect on health than positive experiences o This means that the negative experiences can almost cancel out the positive experiences particularly for those who have more negative relationship experience than positive relationship experiences The negative experiences tend to be more lasting people tend to be more emotionally reactive when negative things happen and these are just a few of the reasons why negative relational experiences have a more profound effect on health and well being Characteristics benefits of friendship in later life Friendship is important at every age Valued network members are often overlooked Friends are different from family o Voluntary mutual choice o Some aged peers share cohort experiences o More often involve positive interactions Later life friendships are associated with better health Romantic Relationships in Later Life Parents reaction to the empty nest Generally a positive time Greater freedom and opportunity Satisfaction increases privacy time together Poor marital quality contribute to negative experiences Boomerang Children Children that move back home Who those who never married are separated or divorces and those in financial crisis Men tend to move back to home more than women Why marital satisfaction peaks in late adulthood Fewer stressful responsibilities ex childbearing Increased fairness in the relationship Increased time together Greater emotional understanding and emotional regulation Gender differences in dating Women are less likely than men Gender differences in remarriage For women the probability of remarriages decreases with age Implications of Late Life Divorce Often more traumatic Related to opportunities for remarriage Financial implications particularly for women who did not work outside the home Women typically initiate divorce In recent years the number of middle aged and older adults getting divorced has increased largely due to changes in life expectancy increases in female employment salaries and changing attitudes toward divorce People divorcing in later life because Men lack of shared interests activities Women emotional distance poor communication Seniors deciding to cohabit vs getting remarried Psychosocial reason Maintain anatomy protect adult child Tax disincentives Loss of military and pension benefits Fear of incurring liability for partner s medical expenses Credit rating protection separation of current debt Family Relationships in Later Life Sibling relationships among middle age and later life Longest lasting relationship Time spent together is more meaningful More positive more things in common Midlife o Become closer in response to major life events ex launching adult children loss of parent Late life o Conflicts over caring for their aging parents arise o Insurance policy in times of crisis o More contact for widowed and never married siblings Most people become grandparents by age 65 Role of grandparents has changed in recent decades More positive close and longer lasting relationships now than in the past Healthier and more active than in previous decades Variability in grandparent grandchild relationships Gender o Closer relationships with grandmothers vs grandfathers o Closer relationships between grandparents and their same sex grandchildren Ethnicity Socioeconomic Status SES o High SES not essential to the family functioning o Lower SES grandparents play an essential role o Grandparents are more important in families with lower socioeconomic status e g families in poverty because grandparents are necessary to provide financial support and or assist with and provide childcare while parents are working In families with higher socioeconomic status grandparents are valued but they are not necessary to the family s survival Differences in relationships o Relationship is important during family transitions because they provide support and safety ex during parental divorce Custodial Grandparenting parents by default primary caregivers Occurs when adult children cannot care for grandchildren because of drug addiction mental illness in prison parental death etc Mother daughter relationships are the closest most intimate and conflicted Parents view the relationships as closer and less conflicted than offspring do What midlife children do for their parents Take