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Ethnic differences in patterns of social exchange among older adults: the role of resource context

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  03 November 2008

KATHERINE L. FIORI ,
NATHAN S. CONSEDINE  and
CAROL MAGAI
KATHERINE L. FIORI*
Affiliation:
Intercultural Institute on Human Development and Aging, Long Island University, Brooklyn, New York City.
NATHAN S. CONSEDINE
Affiliation:
Intercultural Institute on Human Development and Aging, Long Island University, Brooklyn, New York City.
CAROL MAGAI
Affiliation:
Intercultural Institute on Human Development and Aging, Long Island University, Brooklyn, New York City.
*
Address for correspondence: Katherine Fiori, Intercultural Institute on Human Development and Aging, Long Island University, 191 Willoughby Street, Suite 1A, Brooklyn, NY 11201, USA. Email: katherine.fiori@liu.edu
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Abstract

Using social capital and social exchange theories, this investigation examined ethnic variation in patterns of social exchange in two heterogeneous racial groups, Blacks and Whites in the United States, and the effects of education and income on these patterns. The sample was 1,043 people aged 65–86 years from four ethnic groups (US-born European-Americans, immigrant Russians/Ukrainians, US-born African-Americans, and immigrant English-speaking Caribbeans) who had provided details of their instrumental and advice exchanges with kin and non-kin. Hierarchical multinomial logistic regressions were used to predict patterns of social exchange, variations by ethnicity, income and education, and the interactions. Ethnic differences in patterns of social exchange were found, but almost all were qualified by interactions. Those with income showed within-group heterogeneity: African-Americans and Russians/Ukrainians with higher income were more likely to engage in reciprocal instrumental kin exchange, whereas among English-speaking Caribbeans and European-Americans such exchanges were not associated with income. Unlike among European-Americans and English-speaking Caribbeans, Russians/Ukrainians with higher income and education were more likely to engage in reciprocal non-kin exchange. The findings suggest that ethnic variation in social exchange reflects both aspects of ethnic group membership and the relational context, as well as the enactment of reciprocity values in varying resource contexts.

Keywords

reciprocitysocial relationsincomeeducationethnicityNew York
Type
Research Article
Information
Ageing & Society , Volume 28 , Issue 4 , May 2008 , pp. 495 - 524
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2008

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