Consanguinity and kin level: their relative importance to the helping network of older adults.

The purpose of this research was to examine the help received by older rural-transitional adults from seven levels of consanguineous and affinal kin and to determine the correlates of help received according to kin type. The sample consisted of 321 working class adults, aged 65 to 96 years, selected by a compact cluster sampling procedure. The data showed that kin beyond the child, child-in-law levels was of little functional importance in the helping network of older adults. Proximity to kin was the only common denominator of help received across all levels of kin. Results of the study appear to support, in part, the kin-selection theory in that helping behaviors were usually based upon degree of consanguinity (and associated marriage tie) and extent of dependency of older adults as measured by their health status or age.