The influence of health on family contacts and family feelings in advanced old age: a longitudinal study.

This study provides a longitudinal analysis of the influences of health, age, gender, and socioeconomic status on family contacts and family feelings in a sample of 62 members of the Berkeley Older Generation Study. Stability in family contacts and in family feelings was observed over 14 years of advanced old age. Of the four predictor variables, health and socioeconomic status accounted for the largest proportion of observed variance. Contrary to our hypotheses, study participants in better health had greater amounts of contact with family than did those in poorer health. The former also had more feelings of closeness to family members, a finding that may reflect greater possibilities for reciprocity between elders in good health and their family members.