Family and friend relationships among older and younger adults: interaction motivation, mood, and quality.

This research examined relationships and life satisfaction among older and younger adults. Eighty-two independently-living older adults and ninety-one younger adults completed a variety of measures of their relationships with family and friends. For both groups the quality of relationships was a stronger predictor of life satisfaction than frequency of contact. For elderly people the quality of their relationships with friends was more important to life satisfaction than the quality of their relationships with children. However, in contrast to a common assumption in the literature, relationships with friends were not perceived to be more positive or intrinsically motivated than relationships with children. It was also found that experiences of criticism and intrusion are particularly important to the family relationships of both older and younger adults. The discussion focuses on how elderly people may have overly positive perceptions of their family relationships.