Because relationships with family and friends may cause stress for women, the effects of interactions with family, friends, and community on women's adaption to the experiences of aging are important. Interviews were conducted with 75 women between the ages of 44 and 77 who were educated, relieved of child-rearing responsibilities, and relatively unemcumbered by income and social restraints. The late parental years, when children no longer live at home and husbands are still working, were investigated. Of the eight typologies of life-style orientations developed from data analysis, four typologies emerged most often: Paid Worker, Volunteer Worker, Uncommitted Worker, and Family Woman. The Paid Worker, Volunteer Worker, and Family Woman were deeply involved in their activities and scored high in life satisfaction. The Uncommitted Worker, in contrast, was less involved and scored lower in life satisfaction. Informal relationships correlated most significantly with life satisfaction; husbands, friends, children, siblings, parents, and grandchildren all played major roles in the women's lives. Most women viewed the late parental years as satisfying years of self-development. (NRB)