Family, social networks and health among Spanish elderly

Maria Dolores Puga, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC)

Functional and cognitive deterioration that can be reached in advanced moments of the life course does not associate only with the ageing, but also with the way of life and the characteristics of the environment of the individual. Recent investigations have shown that beyond the biological specific conditions, factors as the social network, social integration and participation, affect the social vulnerability, acting like predictors of personal situations relative to the health and the functional autonomy of the elderly. The aim of this study is to analyze the effect of the social networks of Spanish older adults on their level of autonomy (in terms of instrumental and basic disability) and self-perceived health.