Social Support Patterns among Elderly People in European Countries

Elvira Pelle , University of Modena and Reggio Emilia
Emanuela Furfaro, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore
Giulia Rivellini, Università Cattolica, Milan
Susanna Zaccarin, Dipartimento di Scienze Economiche, Aziendali, Matematiche e Statistiche 'B. de Finetti'

Using data from SHARE, Wave 7, this contribution aims at analysing patterns of social support – provided and received- among elderly people in European countries, adopting an ego-centered network perspective. By means of multivariate analysis techniques, suitable to deal with categorical data expressing social support, we intend to map in a synthetic way the relationship among egos, their network structure, and the functional content of provided/received support. In interpreting results, we will also consider the different countries' welfare models. For instance, with respect to Northern European countries, Southern European countries are characterised by a "familistic'' regime where people rely more on support from their family and personal social network rather than on public welfare state. We will expect the detected social support patterns might reflect such differences across countries.

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 Presented in Session 57. Social Networks and Social Support among Older People