Family And Community Life Of Older People

The Family and Community Life of Older People Family life has changed rapidly over the past fifty years, the growth in the proportion of older people in the population providing a major influence. The Family and Community Life of Older People revisits three areas (Bethnal Green in London, Wolverhampton in the Midlands and Woodford in Essex) which were the subject of classic studies in the late 1940s and 1950s, and explores changes to the family and community lives of older people. The book examines issues such as: • • • • • • • changes in household composition changes in the geographical proximity of kin and relatives the extent and type of help provided by the family contact and relationships with neighbours relationships with friends involvement in social and leisure activities experiences of minority ethnic groups. These questions are explored through a unique set of data including census material and survey data from interviews with over six hundred older people. A key finding is that over the past fifty years we have moved from an old age experienced within the context of the family group to one shaped by personal communities in which friends may feature as significantly as immediate kin and relatives. The Family and Community Life of Older People is a major contribution to the sociology of the family, of ageing, and of urban life, and addresses the key social policy issues for an ageing society. Chris Phillipson is Professor of Applied Social Studies and Social Gerontology, University of Keele, Miriam Bernard is Professor of Social Gerontology and Head of the School of Social Relations, University of Keele, Judith Phillips is Senior Lecturer in Social Work in Gerontology, University of Keele, Jim Ogg is a Research Associate at the Direction des Recherches sur le Vieillissment, CNAV, Paris. The Family and Community Life of Older People Social networks and social support in three urban areas Chris Phillipson, Miriam Bernard, Judith Phillips and Jim Ogg London and New York First published 2001 by Routledge 11 New Fetter Lane, London EC4P 4EE Simultaneously published in the USA and Canada by Routledge 29 West 35th Street, New York, NY 10001 Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group This edition published in the Taylor & Francis e-Library, 2002. © 2001 Chris Phillipson, Miriam Bernard, Judith Phillips and Jim Ogg All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, no