Objectives:

to investigate the aspects that characterize Family Insufficiency Syndrome (FIS) in the elderly community population.

Method:

Scoping Review, with a search in the PUBMED, SCOPUS, APA PSYCNET, CINAHL, LILACS and EMBASE databases. Documents were selected in Portuguese, English and Spanish, without restriction on year of publication. 467 documents had their titles and abstracts read, 180 of them being selected for full reading. After full reading, 79 documents were selected to compose the review.

Results:

social support in old age is influenced by macro to microsystemic elements that are dynamic and guide the elderly person's expectations of support, support-seeking and support-accepting behaviors. These expectations and behaviors also change depending on the type of support required and the availability of the support figure(s). With a multifactorial etiology, FIS is characterized by a mismatch between the support needs of the elderly person and the existence or availability of a social support network to serve them. FIS is established in situations where support networks are not activated to meet the needs of the elderly person or are activated inappropriately in terms of quality and/or intensity of support, compromising the autonomy and/or independence of the elderly person.

Conclusion:

macrosystemic changes have impacted different systemic dimensions of the elderly and contributed to the weakening of their social support. Investigating the elements that influence and characterize FIS will enable its adequate assessment and favor the development of effective interventions aimed at its management.

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