The social aspects of aging include the interactions you have with others such as family, friends, and community on a personal or professional level. In the form of providing assistance or comfort to others, social support is one of the most important functions of social relationships. The social support we receive from family, friends, and our community, helps us cope with a variety of biological, psychological, and social stressors.
 
As a functional concept, social supports comprise 4 types of relational supportive behavior: emotional support, instrumental support, informational support, and appraisal support. Spouses, adult children, siblings, and friends are the most common members in the elderly person’s support network.
 
Staying socially active through your elderly years is very important. Consistent empirical evidence notes, people who maintain strong, positive social relationships are healthier and live longer. Regularly visit, interact, and attend to your most important relationships. Nurture positive relationships and minimize contact with people who are consistently negative. 
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​Social Support Network: Family, Friends & Community


​Social support is crucial to elderly well-being. As a web of social relationships that surround the elderly individual, social networks play an important role in elderly health from physical to mental to spiritual health and well-being.  ​


Social Support Deficit as a Risk Factor for Depression

Social support influences health-related quality of life, however, this association is strongly mediated by depressive mood. Those elderly who have a greater number of physical ailments and low levels of social support are at increased risk for depression. 


​Social Isolation and
​Elderly Loneliness


Loneliness associated with social isolation results from a deficiency in familial contact; a separation from social and community involvement; a lack of access to services, and a lack of sufficient interactions with other people.
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