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The intimate relationships of the older population have seldom been analyzed from a sociological perspective. This study provides novel information on what is desired in a partner after the age of 50 in Spain. The academic debate on this topic has been limited. Therefore, the contribution of this article is mainly an exploration of the empirical data. The database used is the Spanish General Social Survey prepared by the Sociological Research Center. The results indicate that personality is the most valued factor, followed by values and physical appearance. The variables with the greatest explanatory power in the estimated multinomial logit model are age, sex, level of education and cohabitation status. Educational homogamy appears among those with higher levels of education, with men more interested in physical appearance and women more interested in values and education. These last two characteristics are also more highly valued among those who are older. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research investigates individual expectations of economic support from different sources: partner, family, friends and formal help. Using data from the International Social Survey Programme (ISSP) the study compares Norway, as representative of the Scandinavian model, and Spain, as representative of the Mediterranean model. The findings confirm that family plays a more important role as a source of economic support in Spain while formal help is far more important in Norway. Moreover, gender and life course have a significant impact on expectations of economic support in both countries, although the differences do not go in the same direction. Women expect more financial support from their partners than men do in Norway, while Spanish women tend to rely more on support from their families. Regarding life course, although expectations of economic support from the family are higher for young and older people in both countries, the life-cycle effect is stronger in Spain. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The main goal of this article is to understand social support models in Spain from the perspective of an individual facing a situation of need, whether domestic, economic or emotional. The data used come from the 2001 ‘Social Networks II’ survey of the International Social Survey Programme (ISSP). The study shows clear family-oriented models of preference, primarily between the closest members of the nuclear family of origin. The partner is especially important when domestic and emotional help are required, but parents come first when the need is economic. People’s behaviour also shows both traces of the more recent process of individuation in western society and differences based on the variables studied. The explanatory variables par excellence are gender, age, marital status and geographical distance. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]