Abstract
This paper aims to present and discuss the family models that prevail among the elderly who attend the Program for the Elderly in Action (PTIA) at FUPI, pointing out family arrangements and types of informal support within the family. It is a quantitative-qualitative study which used a questionnaire to collect data on 80 elderly, who were interviewed and agreed to release information.Results show a large difference in the family model and family arrangements according to the socio-economic level of these elderly. However, the forms of informal support in the two models occur more frequently from the elder to the younger generation, although it also occurs from the younger to the elder one. The conclusion is that there are important changes in the social roles of the elderly inside the family with access to income that comes from pensions or retirement funds, as well as in the family arrangements where the elderly is in charge of the household, what explains the direction of informal support within the families.
Key Words
Aged; Family Relations; Family Characteristics; Socioeconomic Factors; Family Models; Elderly; Family Arrangements