FAMILY, FRIENDS, STRESS, AND WELL-BEING - DOES CHILDLESSNESS MAKE A DIFFERENCE

Data from the Survey on Ageing and Independence are employed to test t he relationship between stress, integration in close family and friend networks, and well-being with a particular emphasis on parent status. The dependent variables used in this analysis are, whether individual s have a close family member or a close friend, the number of reported close relatives and friends, life stress, and the affect balance scal e. It is hypothesized that the zero order relationship often found bet ween parent status and well-being may be due to (1) a fundamental diff erence in the social support experiences of older parents and older ch ildless individuals, (2) different levels of stress among these groups , or (3) the potential of friends to be of greater importance in assur ing well-being in older age than family. Results show that childless p ersons are less likely than parents to have at least one close family member and they have fewer close relatives. No parent status differenc es are found regarding the likelihood of having a close friend or in t he number of close friends individuals have. Compared to parents, chil dless individuals experience less life stress and similar levels of we ll-being. Finally, the nature oi. the stress-support-well-being relati onship appears to be the same regardless of parent status.