Kin Network Dynamics and Mortality among Older Adults in 19th and Early 20th Century Orkney, Scotland

Julia Jennings, University at Albany

Kin are important sources of social, instrumental, and financial assistance for older adults. Support from kin is associated with longer lives among this age group, yet few longitudinal studies examine information on the composition and structure of kin networks beyond dyadic relationships, such as those between spouses or parents and their children. This study examines the relationships among non-dyadic measures of kin networks and old-age mortality using multiple longitudinal linked data sources from North Orkney, Scotland, 1851-1911. Reconstructed individual life courses and genealogies, in combination in spatial information concerning the proximity non-coresident kin, are used to assess which measures of kin availability and propinquity are associated with adult mortality and whether multiple dimensions of kin networks contribute to improved mortality models. Finally, this paper investigates whether economic indicators, including the receipt of poor relief and the value of landholdings, explain part of the association between kin and mortality.

No extended abstract or paper available

 Presented in Session 219. Kinship and SES Effects on Adult Mortality and Longevity