| The programme aims at identifying the determinants and consequences of older adults social networks. The focus of the research programme is on individual-level outcomes and determinants of social networks, but also goes beyond the individual level as well, including the family-level and the neighbourhood-level. The structure and content of social networks and their antecedents or consequences are likely to vary over times and places, since social networks are created and maintained within a specific social and historical context. The overarching research question of the programme is: What are the individual and contextual determinants and consequences of variations in older adult s social networks and how do they vary over time and place? The programmes heuristic framework builds upon the model of successful ageing within gerontology and the life course perspective within sociology. The dynamic perspective and the combination of the individual and contextual level are distinctive features of the research programme. |
