Continuity in Social Support, Political Interest, and Voting in Old Age

This study examines the effects of continuity in social support on voting and political interest among tha aged. Data based on interviews with 209 persons, 60 to 94 years old, in Detroit show that discontinuity in social support brought about by widowhood and divorce leads to felt desolation and subsequent diminished political activity. Implications of the findings for existing statements and data about the relationship between aging per se and political behavior are discussed