Empty-nesters In Rural Areas' Social Support Net

As China's urbanization and industrialization process accelerated, More and more young people began to migrant workers in rural, migrant settlers, followed by more and more rural elderly pepole become empty nesters.Both the number of empty-nesters in rural areas and imperfect the social security system in rural areas make rural old-age empty-nesters even more severe. Since the formation of the empty nest elderly in rural areas is a personal, family and social results of the combined effects of a number of reasons, and the function of family care is increasingly weakened, so the strength of the family aloney can not solve the problem of empty-nesters. For a comprehensive understanding of the real life of the empty-nest elderly in rural areas.So the paper have a study on 28 empty nester eldery from a village in shandong province which is one of the highest rate of empty nest provinces ,and analysis these social support networks and compare with non-empty nest elderly .On the basis of social capital theory and social network theory, the paper study three aspects of social support of the empty nest elderly incluing: emotional support, instrumental support, social activities support. On this basis, select the village, some non-empty-nesters contrast, comparative analysis of both in support of the existence of these three differences, and differences in the kind of support.Finally, the research results obtained include:1, Empty-nesters between spouse's emotional support as a major partner. Empty-nesters of gender differences in emotional support network there. Empty nest elderly women than men tend to seeking emotional support from her daughter . compared with non-empty-nesters, empty nesters's emotional support network is smaller and the members of the network categories is less.2,The son mainly provide economic support, the daughter mainly provide emotional support and other supports. There is no difference about the source of financial support between empty nesters and non-empty nesters, but the number and periodicity of financial support are different. The number of empty-nesters's financial support is bigger than non-empty nesters , the cycle of empty nesters's is more stable than the non-empty nesters . Empty-nesters to borrow money in the support network, the relative are more improtant than neighbors and friends.3, The social activitives network of empty nesters is larger and wider than non-empty-nesters.But in absolute sense, their network is small.4, The relative is the main relationship in the social support network of empty nest elderly.Whether it is emotional support, instrumental support or social support, strong ties have played a major role. Strength of weak ties hypothesis does not apply the village empty-nesters's social support network.