The Impact of Life Events on Networks of Personal Relationships: A Comparison of Widowhood and Caring for a Spouse with Alzheimer's Disease

Abstract

This article investigates the effects of different life events on networks of personal relationships through a comparison of recent widows and caregivers of a spouse with Alzheimer's disease. In both cases, we collected qualitative data from focus groups and coded each mention of another person according to their relationship to the widow or caregiver and whether the person was mentioned positively, neutrally or negatively. The results show that there were notable differences between widows' networks of relationships and those of caregivers. Widows not only mentioned more people in their networks, but also mentioned these relationships in a more positive or a negative fashion, while caregivers made fewer mentions of other people and in a more neutral fashion. Comparing the effects of the two life events shows that widowhood generates changes that have impacts throughout the social network, while caregiving leads to a life that is centered on the intense demands of caring for the spouse. This difference suggests the importance of studying changes in relationships and networks across a broad range of life events. As individuals move through the life course, life events that create change are a certainty, and we need to learn how such changes affect social networks and personal relationships.