Satisfying Relationships for the Elderly and Their Patterns of Disengagement

In interviews with 263 persons over 55 years old, the association between disengagement and satisfaction was studied. In general, respondents tended to disengage from contacts which were not totally satisfying and to maintain those that were. They tended not to disengage from members of their immediate families (descendants), however, regardless of satisfaction. While the elderly may choose to disengage in connection with specific nonsatisfying contacts, they apparently do not prefer it as a total life style.