patients residing in various census tracts, and by Hollingshead's (1957) two factor rating of social position. Many explanations have been suggested for this relationship. As previously noted, these include variations in when medical help is sought, in what kind of treatment is given, and differences in the general health and life expectancy of the patients. Summary of findings Despite the obvious complexity of the concept and measurement variation, these reports do suggest a relation- ship between social support and mortality. The findings of studies reviewed suggest an increased rate of mortality for those with little contact with friends and few social connections (Berkman & Syme, 1979), the unmarried (Greer & Morris, 1975), and those reporting poor marital relation- ships (Greer & Morris, 1975) or poor social relationships in general (Weisman & Worden, 1975). Passive, solitary leisure activities, as opposed to more active solitary leisure activities, were also reported to be associated with higher mortality rates for both men and women (House et al., 1982). Although age has not been found to be a statistically significant factor in patterns of social support (Berkman, 1983), the findings of one analysis of this issue among older individuals (Blazer, 1983) suggest that social support in general is impaired among depressed individuals.