A cross-cultural perspective on continuity and change in social relations in old age: introduction to a special issue

The four articles that make up this special issue represent a sample of the stimulating work being done with longitudinal studies of social relationships in Europe, Israel, and the United States. A Dutch article examines support to fathers and mothers by their sons and daughters; an Israeli article finds some differences in family relationships among three national origin groups; a Swedish article finds that life satisfaction is associated with sibling contact; and an American article describes differences between casual and close friends, and between the friendships of very old men and women. This essay introduces these articles and comments on cultural similarities and differences that have been found in the broad field of social relationships.