HEALTH-SEEKING BEHAVIOR AND SOCIAL NETWORKS OF THE AGED LIVING IN SINGLE-ROOM OCCUPANCY HOTELS

ABSTRACT: The elderly who reside in single‐room occupancy (SRO) hotels often have been depicted as “isolates,” lacking the interest or ability to engage primary or secondary support systems. This characterization has not enhanced understanding of how the SRO aged are able to survive in the community. With the use of network analysis techniques, this study demonstrates the inaccuracy of the assertion that these old persons lack significant social support. The data pointed to differences in network size, complexity, intensity, connectedness, and directionality in relation to varying degrees of physical and psychiatric health. 1979 The American Geriatrics Society