Social support networks of the elderly: racial differences and health care implications

Interest in social support networks has increased in recent years. A configuration of family, friendships, neighbors, neighborhood groups, comprise the social support network of individuals and families. Other entities referred to in social network of individuals and families. Other entities referred to in social support literature include self-help and mutual help organizations. Interest in descriptive studies of social support networks includes both structural and interactional factors. In analyses of structural factors in social support networks, the focus is most frequently on size (number of persons), density (proportion of linkages) and centrality (extent of accessibility).