Friendship and Social Support: The Importance of Role Identity to Aging Adults

This article proposes role identity theory as a means of integrating the diverse frameworks and findings that populate the social support literature, and it highlights the importance of the friendship role on life satisfaction for aging adults. A sample of 800 preretirement-age working men and women...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Social work (New York) 1999-11, Vol.44 (6), p.522-533
Main Authors: Siebert, Darcy Clay, Mutran, Elizabeth J., Reitzes, Donald C.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adult
Age
Age groups
Aged
Aging
Aging (Individuals)
Aging - physiology
Care and treatment
Elderly
Evaluation
Factors
Family Involvement
Family Relationship
Female
Females
Follow-Up Studies
Friendship
Friendships
Gender identity
Gender roles
Human relations
Humans
Identity
Identity theory
Interpersonal Relations
Life Satisfaction
Longitudinal Studies
Male
Males
Marital Status
Men
Middle Aged
Networks
North Carolina
Older Adults
Older people
Physical Health
Psychological aspects
Quality of life
Researchers
Role identity
Roles
Self Concept
Sex roles
Social aspects
Social Identification
Social Identity
Social interaction
Social life and customs
Social networks
Social Support
Social Support Groups
Social work
United States
Wellbeing
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Description
Summary:This article proposes role identity theory as a means of integrating the diverse frameworks and findings that populate the social support literature, and it highlights the importance of the friendship role on life satisfaction for aging adults. A sample of 800 preretirement-age working men and women were surveyed as part of a longitudinal study, Roles and Self: Factors in Development and Retirement. The results include differences in social support by gender, no significant influence of structural support variables, and the significant effect of the role of friendship on respondents' life satisfaction. Hierarchical regression analysis showed that commitment to the role of friend is significant in predicting life satisfaction when controlling for background variables, and friendship identity meanings emerged as the strongest predictor—stronger than income or marital status—when predicting well-being. Integration of theory with current and previous research, implications for practice, and directions for future research are discussed.
ISSN:0037-8046
1545-6846
DOI:10.1093/sw/44.6.522