Providing support outside the household can be considered an actual sign of an active social life for the elderly. Adopting an ego–network perspective, we study support Italian elders provide to kin or non–kin. More specifically, using Italian survey data, we build the ego–centered networks of social contacts elders entertain and the ego–networks of support elders provide to other non–cohabitant kin or non–kin. Since ego–network data are inherently multilevel, we use Bayesian multilevel models to analyze variation in support ties, controlling for the characteristics of elders and their contacts. This modeling strategy enables dealing with sparseness and alter–alter overlap in the ego support network data and to disentangle the effects related to the ego (the elder), the dyad ego–alter, the kind of support provided, as well as social contacts and contextual variables. The results suggest that the elderly in Italy who provide support outside their household — compared to all elders in the sample — are younger, healthier, more educated, and embedded in a more diversified ego–network of social contacts. The latter also conveys both the type and the recipient of the support, with the elderly who entertain few relationships with kin being more prone to provide aid to non–kin. Further, a “peer homophily” effect in directing elder support to a non–kin is also found.

提供家庭以外的支持可以被认为是老年人积极社交生活的实际标志。采用自我网络视角，我们研究意大利长者向亲属或非亲属提供的支持。更具体地说，使用意大利调查数据，我们建立了以自我为中心的老年人社交联系网络，以及老年人向其他非同居亲属或非亲属提供支持的自我网络。由于自我网络数据本质上是多层次的，我们使用贝叶斯多层次模型来分析支持关系的变化，控制老年人及其联系人的特征。这种建模策略能够处理自我支持网络数据中的稀疏和改变重叠，并解开与自我（长者）、二元自我改变、提供的支持类型相关的影响，以及社会联系和上下文变量。结果表明，与样本中的所有老年人相比，在家庭以外提供支持的老年人更年轻、更健康、受过更多教育，并且融入了更多样化的自我社会联系网络。后者也传达了支持的类型和接受者，与亲属关系很少的老年人更倾向于向非亲属提供帮助。此外，还发现了将老年人支持引导给非亲属的“同龄人”效应。后者也传达了支持的类型和接受者，与亲属关系很少的老年人更倾向于向非亲属提供帮助。此外，还发现了将老年人支持引导给非亲属的“同龄人”效应。后者也传达了支持的类型和接受者，与亲属关系很少的老年人更倾向于向非亲属提供帮助。此外，还发现了将老年人支持引导给非亲属的“同龄人”效应。