Same-gender and cross-gender friendships among the frail elderly.
In this article, both the same-gender and cross-gender friendships of a small group (N = 22) of elderly Social Service Department clients in England are described, largely in qualitative terms. The paper raises issues about the importance of cross-gender friendships to the housebound, about gender differentiation within friendships, and about the different characteristics of the two kinds of friendships--ideas that need to be tested in larger, more representative studies.
O'Connor
P
P
Department of European Integration and Administration, College of Humanities, University of Limerick, Ireland.
D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D004739:England; D005260:Female; D016330:Frail Elderly / Q000523:psychology*; D006801:Humans; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D008297:Male; D012737:Sex Factors; D012944:Social Support