“They’re in My Heart, Mind, and Cells”: What Continuing Bonds Reveal About Social Networks

Background and Objectives Research suggests that robust social networks have positive effects on peoples’ well-being. An instrumental methodology for studying networks is the social convoy model, a diagram of concentric circles that illustrate network size, structure, and satisfaction. Convoys have been described as dynamic. Specifically, as people age, their convoys become stronger and smaller due to focusing on what matters most and accumulating losses. Therefore, convoys only include meaningful, living persons. The continuing bonds model posits that it is normal for people to maintain connections with the deceased. The objective of the current study was to integrate the social convoy and continuing bonds models in order to examine the presence of deceased loved ones in convoys. Research Design and Methods Eighteen individuals (M = 66 years), recruited via fliers and snowball sampling, participated in one semistructured interview regarding the death of a loved one and their convoy. Participants also completed a convoy model, identifying where the deceased fit (if anywhere) when they were alive and at present. Interviews were transcribed, coded, and analyzed for themes. Results Three themes emerged: communication (i.e., writing or speaking to the deceased), continuity (i.e., a continuing relationship), and reciprocity (i.e., perceived exchange of support(s)). Eighty-nine percent of participants felt their loved one’s death did not change their convoy presence and 88% reported that their positioning in the convoy remained unchanged. Discussion and Implications This research offers a new way to think about convoys and may prompt the development of supportive interventions for bereaved individuals.

Change and stability in loneliness and friendship after an intervention for older women

ABSTRACTIn this study we examine patterns of change and stability in loneliness among 108 women who had participated in a friendship enrichment programme during the year after the programme. We distinguished seven groups of participants in which different levels of loneliness significantly declined, remained stable or increased. These were reduced to the following groups: those recovered, significantly improved and not improved. We then examined whether resources such as age, education, partner status, health, initially available friendships and developments in friendships were related to these loneliness patterns. The data were collected using face-to-face semi-structured interviews, a loneliness scale and the personal convoy model. The results indicate that none of the demographic characteristics, nor health, were associated with the patterns of loneliness. Friendship availability and development did differ among the groups. Recovery from loneliness after a year was associated with the presence of a friend in the outer circle of the convoy and having more variation in one's friendships initially and one year later. It was also associated with the presence of a friend in the inner circle and reporting improvement in friendship later. The absence of these qualities initially or subsequently was more characteristic of those whose loneliness was stable or increased. Thus, the maintenance of companionate friendship and the development of intimacy in one's friendships seem advantageous for recovery from loneliness. While this study illustrates that recovery from, and significant reduction of loneliness are possible, we are not yet able to predict who will benefit and who will not benefit from a friendship enrichment programme.

Modelo comboio para suporte familiar pelo enfermeiro na atenção básica: estudo descritivo

Aim: investigate the exchange of related support health care between the family, inserted in the center of the convoy model, and nurses of primary care. Method: descriptive study, conducted with 30 users of Primary Care of Maracanaú/CE in July 2014. Appealed to the Collective Subject Discourse to organize the data and the convoy model for visualization of the support exercised by the nurse. Results: the nurse is a secondary source of support to families; their actions are restricted to health facilities, demonstrating the mistaken role of their duties, and have focused on the orientation activities. Discussion: There are nurse's detachment regarding the assisted families, as well as influences of the hegemonic medical model, which distances the nurse from the carrying out of their real duties. Conclusion: nurses are undervalued and pointed as a secondary reference in relation to families solving health problems.