Receipt of assistance by elderly people: hierarchical selection and task specificity.

We studied the relative importance of family members, friends, neighbors, and others in the support networks of elderly people. A hierarchical compensatory model contends that kin, particularly spouse and children, are of primary importance, followed by friends and neighbors and formal organizations in a well-ordered hierarchical selection process. In contrast, a task specificity model emphasizes differences in the ability of particular groups to offer various forms of support. Data drawn from interviews with 1,284 elderly respondents in Winnipeg, Manitoba offer limited support for the hierarchical compensatory model.