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... that large in number with a weaker linkage then that person resides in a low-density grouping. Within a low density group there are abundant opportunities to receive material goods and tangible resources but emotional support is low. According to Wagner (1989) social networks in the west are loosely knit, despite this most of the people in the group have ties to either, or both, family and friends. What that member of the social support group does is what he or she is to the person receiving help. Linkage is the levels upon which one person knows anther, there are two types of linkages a multiplex linkage and unisex linkage.
A unisex link, for example, would be a cousin who is only known as just that, a cousin, and a multiplex link would be a cousin, shopper, laundress, and a source of transport. Multiplex relationships are extremely dependent, they are found in relationships that are highly reciprocal. Multiple linkages are stronger, the support network of the elderly is constructed of several highly multiplex relationships and a border of less multiplex relationships. These ties are capable only if the person is in good physical and mental health, because the multiplex relationship is based upon the exchange of tangible objects and emotional support. In this society linkages tend to be more beneficial for the party who requests help more often, they tend to be one sided.
When a person is physically incapacitated they tend to solicit help more often, this help usually comes from family members. Family aid is requested in the necessary circumstance of sickness. The family members who respond to the call for help are for the most part within the nuclear family, a son or daughter, brother or sister. Their help is generally reliable. With increasing age / or dependency, more reliance on the family develops. A study by Wenger showed that there are five categories that are identified as social networks: Local integrated, Local self-contained, Wider-community-focused, local family dependent, and private restricted support networks.
The two most defenseless groups; local self -contained and private restricted networks, are represented heavily by widowed men. Support networks not only show the amount of support one receives but they also shed light upon the lifestyle one leads. The Local integrated support network involves family, friends, and the surrounding community. Those who fall into this group are either currently involved in a community activity or have recently completed one. Due to their activities their linkages are usually multiplex and their networks usually dense. The members of this group have a highly active support network consisting of friends, family, and neighbors.
They rarely relied upon social services unless their condition was debilitating. Those who are more likely to enter into assisted living are the people who fit under the heading of local self-contained support network. These are the people who are content with being solitary. They lead privatized lifestyles they neither expect nor demand help from outside sources during atypical times of need, i. e. food shopping, laundering, or basic transportation.
When asked to participate in community functions they played a passive, low key role. The role played by family members in the life of a person in the self contained network is minimal. People within the study had no support from their family members. Their social network density was extremely low they relied on their neighbors for the most assistance because they focused on a household orientation.
In contrast to the self contained support network the people in the wider community based network focused upon whom was around them. This group takes advantage of local organizations as well as neighbors and other members of the community. The linkage of their support networks are remarkably complex multiplex relationships. For the most part these networks are found in areas that are highly populated with retirees. Independence was jealously protected, but help was accepted when they decided that it was necessary (Wegner, 1989). Those who do not have the luxury to decide whether or not they need assistance are the people who fall under the heading of the local family support network.
The people in this group relies on family members for most of their needs, emotional and otherwise. The linkage of this network is remarkably high due to the low number of people caring for the individual and the proximity of those individuals performing that care. The people in this category are the most dependent. For some there is no one to be dependent upon. The lives of the people who fall under the heading of private restricted networks are one of forced independence. In some instances they have out lived their cohorts in others they have out lived their children.
Their social contacts are almost absolutely nonexistent, their networks are sparse and linkages are few and far between. Their support comes from outside sources such as meals on wheels or contracted domestic help. These people are the most vulnerable to social isolation. Although these people are not active in the social world they still are part of a family.
What if one were to lose that companionship, if they were to be isolated from the one closest to them a husband of thirty years or a devoted wife of twenty-five years? No one ever told me that grief felt so much like fear. I am not afraid, but the sensation is like being afraid. The same fluttering in the stomach, the same restlessness, the yawning. I keep swallowing (C. S.
Lewis 1961). There are five phases of guilt alarm and panic, searching, mitigation, anger, guilt and depression, and acceptance and reorganization. The phases of grief not only carry psychological burdens but also causes a lot of somatic stress. In the first stage, although there is no stage theory for grief, if alarm and panic bereavement is a time of high physical stress the initial response is fight or flight. They sometimes suffer from feelings of panic, restlessness, and irritability. The impact of grief can lead to actual physical change such as loss of weight, digestive disturbances, headaches, and muscle aches and pains.
As well as feelings of anxiety the bereaved person may keep sighing or loosing his or her concentration. They may drop normal personal hygiene routines and even at times feel guilty for feeling pleasure. They keep rehashing the events that led up to the deaths of their spouses. To ease the pain of grieving the survivor maintains a feeling that the deceased person is somehow nearby. It is also common for the bereft to dream about their dead spouse. The loss of this spouse is more than just the loss of a partner it is the loss of a part of ones self.
The person who recently lost a loved one will at times avoid people or places that remind them of their lost loved one. The grieving person is a sea of emotion ebbing from sheer and utter depression to flowing rage. Anger is a natural part of grief. Anger, irritability, and bitterness are usually associated with early grieving. These feelings tend to give way to a pervasive depression that is riddled with questions of how could this happen?
Why did it have to be her? It is common to want to find a place to lay blame even if that place is within that person. Everything in life is temporary, even life itself is temporary. The feelings of alarm, searching, mitigation, and anger are also just temporary the only loss that is grieved for is the loss of the role that one played, i. e. daughter, son, husband, wife, mother, father.
Almost everything about us is based upon the roles we play in everyday life and when a major character is lost that sends the rest of the roles into upheaval. Bibliography:
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Research essay sample on Family Members Support Network
