Just Being Friendly Means a Lot - Women, Friendship, and Aging

Lewittes, Hedva

doi:10.1300/j013v14n03_10

Cited by 17 publications

(14 citation statements)

References 20 publications

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“…Armstrong and Goldsteen (1990) analyzed the influence of past experiences of friendship on people's late life patterns and found that people with social support networks of friends have developed the resources and skills to maintain new friends in later life. Lewittes (1989), studying the role of friends in maintaining a sense of continuity, found that friends contribute an ongoing sense of rootedness and help to maintain a connection to the past and to oneself at various stages of life.…”

Section: Identity Formation and The Making Of Meaningmentioning

confidence: 99%

Continuity in the Lives of Elder Catholic Women Religious

Melia

1999

Int J Aging Hum Dev

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Data from life review interviews with thirty-nine elder Catholic women religious (68-98) show these women's lives do not conform to a sequential pattern of late life developmental stages. Their lives can best be understood in terms of continuous themes throughout individual lives. The majority of the women reach ego integrity in young old age and continue to reestablish this by adhering to themes in their life stories. Themes serve as a framework of the self. The main themes of the participants are: faith, family, education, friends, community, caring for others, and prayer. Communal aspects of religious life support the women in their continuous development of identity. Generativity is evidenced in their lives as an ongoing component of self-identity. These data show the continuous process of establishing ego integrity throughout late life. The life review data can best be explained using the continuity theory of identity development.

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Section: Identity Formation and The Making Of Meaningmentioning

confidence: 99%

Continuity in the Lives of Elder Catholic Women Religious

Melia

1999

Int J Aging Hum Dev

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“…Social relationships, including both family relations and friendships, are very important to middle-aged and older persons as sources of social interaction and support (Lewittes, 1988;Antonucci & Akiyama, 1995). An understanding of how quilting activity enhances women's relationships in specific cultural contexts contributes to an understanding of women's personal and social development throughout the life course.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Tending and Befriending: The Intertwined Relationships of Quilters

Piercy

Cheek

2004

Journal of Women & Aging

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Using the convoy model of social relations, we explored the contributions of quilting activities to the relationships of middle- and older-aged women in three distinct groups: Amish, Appalachian, and Latter Day Saints. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with ten women from each group and analyzed qualitatively using McCracken's five-step method for analysis of long interviews. We found that these women had considerable horizontal and vertical connections to others. Specifically, they exhibited generativity by teaching their skills to others, building bonds with grandchildren through quilting, and leaving legacies through their quilts. Many developed friendships with other quilters that provided social support to deal with life challenges. Additional study of the contributions of mid-late life women's leisure activities to their social milieu, personal development, and well-being is needed.

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“…Despite the unique contingencies that can threaten the friendship network, quite a number of studies (Powers & Bultena, 1976;Cantor, 1979;Jerrome, 1981;Matthews, 1986b;Lewittes, 1989;Roberto & Kimboko, 1989;Connidis & Davies, 1990;Armstrong, 1991) indicate that, for many, meaningful friendships do exist in later life. In addition, while older persons may indeed lose friends, they may also acquire new ones (Jerrome, 1981;Adams, 1987).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…An intimate friendship can serve as a "buffer against such decrements as loss of role or reduction of social interaction" (Lowenthal & Haven, 1968, p. 27). Friends have been frequently identified as important sources of both instrumental and emotional support (Lowenthal & Haven, 1968;Cantor, 1979;Strain & Chappell, 1982;Lewittes, 1989;Crohan & Antonucci, 1989;Connidis & Davies, 1990;Armstrong, 1991). They can play a role in helping older persons accept aging and successfully manage the transitions and changing circumstances often associated with later life (Jerrome, 1981;Blieszner, 1989).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…They can play a role in helping older persons accept aging and successfully manage the transitions and changing circumstances often associated with later life (Jerrome, 1981;Blieszner, 1989). Friends can, for example, be a particularly important resource for widows, providing companionship and opportunities for activity which help in overcoming loneliness and contribute positively to psychological well-being (Lopata, 1973;Lewittes, 1989;Babchuk & Anderson, 1989). Other studies have shown that friendship can contribute positively to the maintenance of identity in old age (Jerrome, 1981;Matthews, 1986b;MacRae, 1987;O'Connor, 1993).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

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Strong and Enduring Ties: Older Women and Their Friends

MacRae

1996

Can. J. Aging

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RÉSUMÉCet article examine l'amitié dans les dernières années de l a vie et repose sur les données obtenues par des entrevues en profondeur de 152 aînées d'une petite ville des Maritimes. On examine la nature et la signification de l'amitié dans les dernières années de la vie, selon le point du vue de femmes âgées. Les résultats indiquent que la plupart des personnes interrogées ont un nombre important d'amis et qu'elles font la distinction entre «amis», «amis proches», «amis de longue date» et «amis récents». Tout en insistent sur la notion d'actualisation de soi et de réciprocité, on tente d'expliquer pourquoi les aînés accordent vraisemblablement plus d'importance à leurs amis de longue date plutôt qu'aux plus récents.

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Just Being Friendly Means a Lot - Women, Friendship, and Aging

Cited by 17 publications

References 20 publications

Continuity in the Lives of Elder Catholic Women Religious

Continuity in the Lives of Elder Catholic Women Religious

Tending and Befriending: The Intertwined Relationships of Quilters

Strong and Enduring Ties: Older Women and Their Friends

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