Studied the aging process and the mechanisms used by the elderly to cope with age in rural Ireland. Reciprocity is identified as one of the major strategies that reinforce independence, manifested in the stem family, sibling relations, pets, neighbors, parental caretakers, financial resources, and family configurations. (JAC)

Analyzed relationships in traditional and caregiving homesharing arrangements. Respondents in both arrangements expressed satisfaction with basic money and service exchanges. For traditional arrangements, client satisfaction was related to lifestyle fit, social interaction desired and received, and lodger access in provider's home. In caregiving…

Surveyed 67 neighbors in retirement housing to identify characteristics and helping styles within an informal support system. Findings confirmed three exchange types: (1) high helpers, who exhibit a quasiprofessional style; (2) mutual helpers, who show an interdependent style; and (3) neighborhood isolates, whose social ties are outside the…

Investigates the person/environment transactional processes of 75 elderly Cuban-Americans, using participant observation to learn about their adjustment to aging. Findings suggest the productiveness of the short-term exchange approach in understanding the older person's creative use of resources. (JAC)

Used interviews and participant observation to obtain an insider's perspective on "helping out" networks of older people in the urban South. Describes the cultural rules directing exchanges of support, and the way older individuals interpret these rules. Reveals the significance of reciprocity for preserving self-esteem. (Author/JAC)

Examines social factors that lead to the development of learned helplessness in elderly persons in the health care setting, including stereotyping elderly by health care professionals, effects of unequal interpersonal exchange, and behaviors associated with sick and healer roles. Discusses programatic and educational prophylaxis and solutions to…