Which term describes the family members, friends, acquaintances, and even strangers who move through life with an individual?

• A. Fictive Kin
• B. Social Convoy
• C. Elderspeak
• D. Empty Nest

Answer: (B)

The concept being tested is the social convoy: the network of relationships that travels through life with a person, including family members, friends, acquaintances, and even strangers who provide support and companionship. This convoy offers emotional, instrumental, and informational help as life unfolds, and it isn’t fixed—people move in and out, new connections form, and some bonds strengthen while others fade. That dynamic, lifelong support system best matches the description in the question.

Fictive kin refers to people who aren’t related but are treated as family, which is a part of social networks but doesn’t capture the ongoing, life-spanning convoy concept. Elderspeak is a communication style used with older adults, not a network of relationships. Empty Nest describes a life stage after children leave home, not the surrounding web of social connections.