[Social relations in old age: the how and pros and cons]

In this article we stress three different aspects of the social relations of older people. First: the existing social relationships of older people with their children are an expression of a spontaneously grown contact as well as an expression of the societal expectations or social norms. Second: these societal expectations are in a state of transition, not only because of changes in the family system, but, third, also by important demographic changes in the structure of the population. The changes of and around marriage and sexuality are in the centre of these trends. One of the consequences is the following. The inter-generational relationships should be at least partly replaced and completed by more intra-generational relations (friends, acquaintances). An additional problem is, how to develop a program to improve the social skills of older people themselves.