In 1985, the average American had three people in who to confide matters that were important to them, says a study in today's American Sociological Review.  In 2004, that number dropped to two, and one in four had no close confidants at all.  "You usually don't see that kind of big social change in a couple of decades," says study co-author Lynn-Smith-Lovin, professor of sociology at Duke University in Durham, N.C.  Close relationships are a safety net, she says.  "Whether it's picking up a child in day care or finding someone to help you out of the city in a hurricane, these are the people we depend on."

The study finds fewer contacts are from clubs and neighbors;  people are relying more on family, a phenomenon documented in the 2000 book "Bowling Alone" by Robert Putnam.  The percentage of people who confide only in family increased from 57 percent to 80 percent, and the number who depend totally on a spouse is up from 5 percent to 9 percent. 

The study is based on surveys of 1,531 people in 1985 and 1,467 in 2004.