Introduction: This research aimed to examine the perception of support from family and friends in immigrant elders from Bulgaria and the size of their social network. Support from fam- ily and friends scores of immigrant elders from Bulgaria were compared with the size of their social network and their sociodemographic characteristics. Materials and Method: The descriptive study was conducted between October and December 2008. The study sample consisted of 300 volunteer elders among 332 elders over 65 years of age, living in &#8249;zmir, Görece, a district where many Turkish citizens who came from Bulgaria after 1989 have settled. Socio-demographic Form, Perceived Family Support Scale, Perceived Friends Support Scale and Social Network List were used for data collection. Results: The mean age of immigrant elders was 73.0±5.94. The mean family support score was 28.38±8.91, while the mean friends support score was 18.41±11.33. The size of the social network was 13±4.48 people. There was a positive and significant relation between the size of the social network of elders and the mean perceived family and friend scores (p<0.05). Conclusion: According to these findings, we suggest reinforcing the social support struc- tures and developing new service models for a better and happier life in order to enable social integration of the immigrant elders to the family and the society,

Girifl: Bu araflt›rmada, Bulgaristan göçmeni yafll›lar›n alg›lad›¤› aile ve arkadafl deste¤ini, sos- yal a¤lar›n›n büyüklü¤ünü belirlemek amaçlanm›flt›r. Bulgaristan göçmeni yafll›lar›n aile ve arkadafl deste¤i puanlar›, sosyal a¤ büyüklü¤ü ve sosyodemografik özellikleri ile karfl›laflt›r›lm›flt›r. Gereç ve Yöntem: Tan›mlay›c› tipteki araflt›rma, Ekim-Aral›k 2008 tarihleri aras›nda yürütül- müfltür. Araflt›rma örneklemini, 1989 y›l›ndan sonra Bulgaristan’dan göçle gelen Türk vatandaflla- r›n ço¤unlukta yaflad›¤› ‹zmir ili, Görece Beldesi’ndeki 65 yafl üstü 332 yafll›dan araflt›rmaya kat›l- mada gönüllü 300 yafll› oluflturmaktad›r. Veri toplamada Sosyodemografik Form, Alg›lanan Aile Deste¤i Ölçe¤i, Alg›lanan Arkadafl Deste¤i Ölçe¤i ve Sosyal A¤ Listesi kullan›lm›flt›r. Bulgular: Göçmen yafll›lar›n yafl ortalamas› 73.0±5.94, yafll›lar›n aile deste¤i puan ortalama- s› 28.38±8.91, arkadafl deste¤i puan ortalamas› 18.41±11.33’dür. Sosyal a¤ büyüklü¤ü ise orta- lama 13±4.48 kifliden oluflmaktad›r. Yafll›lar›n sosyal a¤›n›n büyüklü¤ü ile alg›lanan aile ve arka- dafl deste¤i puan ortalamas› aras›nda pozitif yönde ve anlaml› bir iliflki bulunmufltur (p<0.05). Sonuç: Bulgular do¤rultusunda göçmen yafll›lar›n aile ve topluma entegrasyonunu sa¤lamak için sosyal destek yap›lar›n›n güçlendirilmesi ve daha iyi ve mutlu bir yaflam için yeni hizmet mo- dellerinin gelifltirilmesi önerilebilir.