This article uses data on 'network instability'to show how differences across multiple
measurements on the membership of personal networks can yield important insights into the
nature of these networks. The data come from a sample of 234 recent widows, aged 59–85,
who completed seven interviews about their networks over a 1-year period. We use these
data to investigate the stability of both overall networks and individual ties, as well as the
linkage between the stability of individual ties and the stability of the network's aggregate …