[Social environment and social network: extent and resources of the daily life of elderly persons].

The study asks for factors determining the activity space of the aged. Indicators of old people's activities space are the number of their outdoor activities and their use of the local supply of public facilities. Controversial hypothesis are won from ecological gerontology and psychological attachment theory. At issue in the first place is how personal social networks mold older people's outdoor behavior. Another hypothesis assumes social support of the elderly to be exposed to the laws of reciprocity. The study makes use of a poll titled "life-organization of older people" that was conducted by the German Youth Institute in 1993. Respondents were German 55- to 79-year-olds (N = 4130). Analyses rely on multifactorial analyses of variance. Results back attachment theory and the reciprocity thesis.