Perceptions of Friendship in the Third Age: Retirees in Kolkata.

ABSTRACT

Having close friends in the third age as in any other period of life consistently corresponds with happiness and satisfaction. Friends provide support, companionship, and acceptance, which are crucial to older adults' sense of self-esteem. Having close friends positively affects the psychological well-being of older adults. Friends are named as the people with whom older adults enjoy spending time, engage in leisure activities, and have daily or frequent contact and who have the most positive and significant impact on well-being. Research suggests that adults' views of social relationships are likely to vary with age. As friendship patterns are affected by age, perceptions of friendship also get affected with it. Gender is the other important factor affecting the perceptions of friendship. This paper seeks to understand the elements involved in older adults’ perception of friendship relationships by analysing the definitions of. Friendship provided by the participants. The research also explored the problems affecting the friendship relationships of the elderly and the factors causing such problems.