Older Gay Men and Their Support Convoys.

OBJECTIVE: We used the convoy model and the network type construct to identify the relationship quality profiles found among older gay men and to examine how they define a satisfactory network. METHOD: We used a network mapping strategy and in-depth qualitative interviews with 20 participants in Atlanta. During the interviews, all network members were discussed, regardless of relationship or map position. RESULTS: For participants, having people in their lives with whom they could fully be "out" as gay men (authenticity) was at the root of a quality network. This allowed them to develop emotional closeness (intimacy), which, in part, provided a foundation of social support. Participants' discussion of network quality, which reflected authenticity, intimacy, and social support, revealed high, moderate, and low quality network types. DISCUSSION: Our findings diversify knowledge of the network type construct, provide a deeper understanding of its qualitative features, and give voice to this often-invisible group, situating meaning within their social-historical context. The findings suggest that the meaning of a quality network is contextual and culturally specific, varying across groups of older adults.

Sense of place among Atlanta public housing residents.

For almost two decades now, cities around the country have been demolishing traditional public housing and relocating residents to subsidized private market rental housing. In this paper, we examine sense of place, consisting of both community and place attachment, among a sample of Atlanta public housing residents prior to relocation (N = 290). We find that 41% of the residents express place attachment, and a large percentage express some level of community attachment, though residents of senior public housing are far more attached than residents of family public housing. Positive neighborhood characteristics, such as collective efficacy and social support, are associated with community attachment, and social support is also associated with place attachment. Negative neighborhood characteristics, such as social disorder and fear of crime, are not consistently associated with sense of place. We argue that embodied in current public housing relocation initiatives is a real sense of loss among the residents. Policy makers may also want to consider the possibilities of drawing upon residents' sense of place as a resource for renovating and revitalizing public housing communities rather than continuing to demolish them and relocating residents to other neighborhoods.