Research on Aging

 

Advanced Search

Journal Navigation

Journal Home

Subscriptions

Archive

Contact Us

Table of Contents

The Diabetes Educator

Click here for more information

Sign In to gain access to subscriptions and/or personal tools.
This Article
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow References
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Right arrow Citation Map
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to Saved Citations
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrowRequest Permissions
Right arrow Request Reprints
Right arrow Add to My Marked Citations
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via HighWire
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Rae, H. M.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us   Add to Digg   Add to Reddit   Add to Technorati  
What's this?
Research on Aging, Vol. 14, No. 2, 226-247 (1992)
DOI: 10.1177/0164027592142004
© 1992 SAGE Publications

Fictive Kin as a Component of the Social Networks of Older People

Hazel Mac Rae

Mount Saint Vincent University

This article discusses the concept of fictive kinship and presents the findings of a qualitative study that investigated the fictive family ties of elderly women. In-depth interviews with 142 respondents revealed that 40% could actually identify a fictive family member. Moreover, it was found that these relationships appeared to be a salient and meaningful component of the social networks of these elderly women. Evidence was found to support the substitution principle, or the notion that individuals who have no kin tend to substitute for missing relatives by converting close friends into quasi-kin. It is argued that fictive kinship ought to be given more research attention. Because current demographic trends indicate that a sizable proportion of future generations of elderly people will have considerably fewer "real" family ties, fictive kin could become a very relevant research focus for social gerontologists in particular.


Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us   Add to Digg Digg   Add to Reddit Reddit   Add to Technorati Technorati    What's this?


This article has been cited by other articles:


Home page
 J Aging HealthHome page
B. R. Williams, P. Sawyer Baker, R. M. Allman, and J. M. Roseman
Bereavement Among African American and White Older Adults
J Aging Health, April 1, 2007; 19(2): 313 - 333.
[Abstract] [PDF]

Home page
 American Behavioral ScientistHome page
W. G. Tierney and K. M. Venegas
Fictive Kin and Social Capital: The Role of Peer Groups in Applying and Paying for College
American Behavioral Scientist, August 1, 2006; 49(12): 1687 - 1702.
[Abstract] [PDF]

Home page
 J. Gerontol. B Psychol. Sci. Soc. Sci.Home page
J. C. Barker
Neighbors, Friends, and Other Nonkin Caregivers of Community-Living Dependent Elders
J. Gerontol. B. Psychol. Sci. Soc. Sci., May 1, 2002; 57(3): S158 - 167.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]