As we move through the 21st century one of the most dramatic demographic changes is the increasing population of elderly people (Stansfeld, 1998). Loneliness, lack of social support and isolation are identified as major risk factors that combined increase the risk of stressful life events in old age. For this reason a variety of new methods of measuring stress have been developed and refined. Much research indicates that a wide availability of social resources help people cope with stressful life events (Stansfeld, 1998).

Social support refers to the perceived comfort, caring, esteem, or help a person receives from significant others or community organizations. It is of importance for people undertaking successful social support to believe they are loved and cared for, and part of a social network (Martin, Grunendahl and Martin, 2001). However, both informal and formal systems encounter the difficult task of providing efficient emotional assistance. To foster a more effective system in the face of the increasing demand for eldercare, social workers need to better understand the extent socia

Gender differences in social support find a consistent finding that social support on health status is greater for women than for men. Interestingly, Reevy and Maslach (2001) discovered that gender, not sex, correlated with patterns of social support. There study on gender and personality differences found that femininity, apparent in both sexes, was associated with seeking and giving emotional support. And that masculinity was correlated with seeking tangible support. In past research sex was often used as an alternative for gender because they are highly correlated. However, this assumption has now been found to not always be valid. Today, both sexes are viewed as being capable of having both masculine and feminine qualities.

Past findings also indicate that human companionship is critical for physical and emotional well-being. Unfortunately due to the substantial amount of elderly that live alone and often in isolation, loneliness is common. Research from the university of Buffalo in New York posited that elderly people attached to their pets derives physiological benefits that are similar to those derived from human companionship. Marble (1997) tested this theory between middle aged and elderly women. Results portrayed that elderly women with systolic blood pressure who were pet owners were 20 percent lower than those without pets. It can be seen from these findings that for people with few human contacts, pets can play an important role in moderating physiological well being. Although, this area of research has not been widely explored in other such areas, such as depression, studies on other physical illnesses seem promising.

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