Family Support and Social Adjustment of Elderly in Later Life: A Case of Rural India

The present paper focuses on family support and social adjustment of elderly in rural Maharashtra. Issues like adjustment in various stages of life regarding self, health and social matters are explored and discussed under the sub domain of social adjustment. Further, the impact of various socio-economic factors on social adjustment is discussed in detail. Data for this study was collected from rural areas of Amravati district, Maharashtra using semi-structured interview schedule. 600 males and females were interviewed using systematic sampling technique. Multinomial logistic regression was applied to analyse the data collected from the field. The higher proportion of elderly living in joint families shows better social adjustment than those living in nuclear families or living alone. Marital status has significant influence on their social adjustment. The elderly who get family support and care are more socially adjustable than the elders with no family support. The family support system and level of social adjustment of elderly in rural Maharashtra seems to be good. However, there are elders who are not getting any kind of support from either from family or from the government and for them we need to have some sort of policy or support system to secure their welfare.