This section ('Support from others') assessed the social support and network characteristics in the LBC1936. The structural characteristics of the participant's social network were first assessed; they were asked about their current living arrangement and how long they had lived in this situation, and the number of 'close' friends and relatives they could depend on. The latter item was adapted from previous research [69-71]. The presence or absence of a confidant (providing emotional support), and the presence or absence of someone to provide practical support/assistance was then assessed, with the adequacy of the latter item also recorded. These 3 items were adapted from a previous study [69]. Participants were then asked to indicate whether they had had social interaction with a family member and a friend in the past 2 weeks, how often they themselves felt lonely at the present time and whether or not they felt they had someone they could talk to when they had problems. The perceived availability of, and satisfaction with, six specified types of social support received were then assessed. These items were adapted from
