title: Widowhood and illness: a comparison of social network characteristics in France, Germany, Japan, and the United States.
abstract: This study examined social network characteristics of adults aged 70 to 90 years in relation to widowhood and illness in France, Germany, Japan, and the United States. Participants were drawn from representative samples from each of the 4 countries (total N = 1,331). Resource deficit profiles based on whether respondents were widowed, ill, both, or neither were directly related to social network characteristics for German and Japanese adults, were differentially related by gender and age for French adults, and were not related to social networks of Americans. Country, gender, and age differences in total network size, proportion of close network members, and frequency of contact with network members are reported. Similarities and differences found in the associations between normative late-life deficits and social network characteristics in the 4 countries point to the importance of investigating sociocultural factors that mediate the impact of resource loss and afford life quality in very old age.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology and Institute for Social Research, University of Michigan, USA. tca@umich.edu
authors.forename: T C
authors.initials: TC
authors.lastname: Antonucci
authors.forename: J E
authors.initials: JE
authors.lastname: Lansford
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Schaberg
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Baltes
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Takahashi
authors.forename: J F
authors.initials: JF
authors.lastname: Dartigues
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Smith
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Akiyama
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Fuhrer
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D017281:Cost of Illness; D003431:Cross-Cultural Comparison; D003469:Culture; D005260:Female; D005602:France; D005858:Germany; D006801:Humans; D007564:Japan; D008297:Male; D011788:Quality of Life; D012944:Social Support; D014481:United States; D017805:Widowhood / Q000523:psychology*