ABSTRACT
It is now generally accepted that most care, help, and support in old age comes from informal sources. An image of the family as an available and responsible source of support has gradually replaced an earlier stereotype of the fragmented modern family in industrial societies as unavailable and unconcerned with the plight of its older generations (Lebowitz 1980). Despite this realization, however, anxieties have persisted about that minority of old people for whom such help appeared not to be available (for example, Abrams 1978), particularly those who were childless and/or living alone. Recently, more attention has been paid to the potential role of neighbours, i.e. non-kin, in the lives of elderly people (Bulmer 1986).
