Social Networks and Social Exclusion Sociological and Policy Perspectives

How important are social networks to daily life? There is now substantial evidence that attachment to a network may be vital in securing employment, in promoting good health, in maintaining positive relationships, and in supporting people in transitions through the life course. Equally, lack of access to networks may lead to problems of various kinds, such as poverty, lack of support in old age, and social isolation. Providing an overview of the social network literature with a particular focus on the USA and Britain, this illuminating volume reviews the range of social issues and concerns associated with the social network perspective. Examples of quantitative and qualitative studies are given using a broad network approach, and the volume concludes with a discussion of the implications for social and public policy of a network perspective.

Contents: Introduction, Chris Phillipson, Graham Allan and David Morgan; Social networks and social exclusion: an overview of the debate, Graham Crow; Measuring social networks and assessing their benefits, James Lubben and Melanie Gironda; Social networks and social support in later life, Chris Phillipson; Networks and neighbourhoods: children's accounts of friendship, family and place, Virginia Morrow; Capturing personal communities, Ray Pahl and Liz Spencer; Cultural capital, social networks and social contexts: cultural orientations toward spare time practices in a new town, Dale Southerton; Diversity in partnership histories: implications for older adults' social integration, Pearl A. Dykstra; Social networks as mediators between the harsh circumstances of people's lives, and their lived experience of health and well-being, Vicky Cattell; Older people in urban neighbourhoods: addressing the risk of social exclusion in later life, Thomas Scharf and Allison E. Smith; Can government influence our friendships? The range and limits of tools for trying to shape solidarities, Perri 6; Community issues and social networks, Marilyn Taylor; Public policy and social networks: just how 'Socially Aware' is the policy-making process?,Vicki Nash; Bibliography; Index.

Chris Phillipson is Professor of Applied Social Studies and Social Gerontology at the School of Social Relations, Keele University; Graham Allan is Professor of Sociology also at the School of Social Relations, Keele University; Professor David Morgan is Professor of Sociology within the Department of Sociology, University of Manchester.