老龄化背景下老年人社会支持网络的分化机制研究

Research on the Differentiation Mechanism of Social Support Network for the Elderly under the Background of Aging Population

摘要: 在人口老龄化与社会转型双重背景下，老年人社会支持问题已从“供给不足”转向“结构分化”。既有研究多关注支持的功能效应，对不同社会经济地位群体的网络建构策略差异关注不足。本文基于社会支持、社会网络与社会分层三大理论，构建“结构特征–资源获取–社会后果”分析框架，采用质性研究方法，通过对济南市16位不同阶层老年人的深度访谈，系统考察其支持网络的分化表现与生成机制。研究发现，高低社会经济地位群体分别采取“强关系依赖”与“弱关系延展”的差异化策略，这种分化是多重结构性因素交互作用的结果，且社区服务供给具有阶层选择性调节效应，最终会强化老龄群体内部的社会不平等。本文为优化老年人支持体系提供了理论依据与政策启示。

Abstract: Against the dual backdrop of population aging and social transformation, the issue of social support for the elderly has shifted from “insufficient supply” to “structural differentiation”. Existing research has largely focused on the functional effects of support, paying insufficient attention to differences in network-building strategies among groups of different socio-economic statuses. Based on the three major theories of social support, social networks, and social stratification, this paper constructs an analytical framework of “structural characteristics-resource acquisition-social consequences”, and, using qualitative research methods, systematically examines the differentiated manifestations and generative mechanisms of support networks through in-depth interviews with 16 elderly individuals from different social strata in Jinan. The study finds that groups with high and low socio-economic status adopt differentiated strategies of “relying on strong ties” and “extending weak ties”, respectively. This differentiation results from the interaction of multiple structural factors, and community service provision has a stratified selective moderating effect, ultimately reinforcing social inequality within the elderly population. This paper provides a theoretical basis and policy implications for optimizing the support system for the elderly.