scholarly journals Ambivalence Among Intergenerational Relationships In Old Age

2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 792-792
Author(s):  
Sofia von Humboldt ◽  
Andrea Costa ◽  
Sara Silva ◽  
Isabel Leal

Abstract Objective This study aims to analyze the perspectives of intergenerational relationships between older adults and adult children. For this purpose, a qualitative research was carried out, which analyzes these relations at a cross-national level. Methods Four hundred and twenty four older participants aged 65-97 years, were interviewed. Participants were of three different nationalities and lived in the community. All the interviews went through the process of verbatim transcription and subsequent content analysis. Results Two dimensions of generational ambivalence were revealed from the study; support and the conflict dimensions. Findings of content analysis produced six themes, which represent intergenerational relations between older adults and adult children: older adults-adult children interaction quality; family integration; care and support; definition of limits; distance and alienation; and communication difficulties. Conclusions This study highlighted the diversity of experiences in old age, in relation to intergenerational relationships and underlined the conflicting expectations from older adults in relation to their adult children. Keywords: Adult children, ambivalence; conflict; intergenerational relationships; older adults; support.

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 313-313
Author(s):  
Sofia von Humboldt ◽  
José Alberto Ribeiro-Gonçalves ◽  
Andrea Costa

Abstract Objective: This study aims to analyze how older adults express themselves sexually. For this purpose, a qualitative research was carried out, which analyzes their perspectives at a cross-national level. Methods: Four hundred and ninety five older participants aged 65 to 98 years, were interviewed. Participants were of three different nationalities and lived in the community. All the interviews went through the process of verbatim transcription and subsequent content analysis. Results: Results of content analysis produced nine themes: Tender and care (k = .91, p < .01); altruism and gratitude (k = .81, p < .01); attractiveness (k = 94, p < .01); positive communication (k = .89, p < .01); sexual activity (k = .88, p < .01); good health and physical condition (k = .96, p < .01); supportive relationship (k = .84, p < .01); eroticism (k = .94, p < .01); and feeling active and alive (k = .92, p < .01). Conclusions: This study stressed different ways on expressing sexuality in old age and underlined the importance of tender and care and eroticism for older adults who are sexually active. Keywords: Content analysis; older adults; qualitative study; sexual expression.


2020 ◽  
pp. 088626052094370
Author(s):  
Sofia von Humboldt ◽  
José Alberto Ribeiro-Gonçalves ◽  
Isabel Leal

Significant demographic changes and a growing aging population increasingly emphasize the importance of assessing phenomena of violence against older adults, who constitute a vulnerable population. Therefore, bullying in old age is a poorly studied phenomena, but of growing importance. This study aims to analyze the perspectives of bullying in old age, using qualitative research at a cross-national level. We interviewed 173 older participants aged 65–91 years. Participants were Portuguese and English and lived in the community. Participants were subjected to semi-structured interviews. All the interviews went through a process of content analysis. Sample recruitment occurred through initial telephone contact, followed by a request to participate. Outcomes of content analysis produced seven themes, all of them associated with bullying experiences such as compromised learning capacity, loss of sense of agency and decision-making, asexuality, less attractive appearance, less social skills, gender discrimination, and less financial resources. Portuguese older adults felt mostly bullied for their loss of sense of agency and decision-making, less attractive appearance, less social skills, and less financial resources, while English participants mostly felt bullied for their compromised learning capacity, gender discrimination, and asexuality. The themes identified as being the most prominent in bullying are valuable guidelines for social policies and interventions toward bullying among older adults. Considering the scarcity of studies on bullying in older adults, this study is relevant for understanding the experience of older adults in relation to being bullied and for implementing psychosocial intervention programs including bullying situations that affect community-dwelling older adults.


2019 ◽  
Vol 3 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. S179-S179
Author(s):  
Sofia von Humboldt ◽  
Ana Monteiro ◽  
Isabel Leal

Abstract Objectives: To analyze how older adults conceptualize these intergenerational relationships. Methods: In this qualitative study, in-depth interviews were carried out with 316 older adults, aged 65-102, from three different nationalities who lived at home. Verbatim transcripts were examined. Results: Data analysis generated six themes representing intergenerational relationships: affection and reward; interest and integration; grandparent-grandchild interaction quality; privacy and boundaries definition; provision of support; and obligation of providing childcare, on two dimensions of ambivalence concerning their intergenerational relationships (supportive and conflictual). Conclusions: The empirical findings from this research indicate how ambivalence in intergenerational relationships is experienced by older adults and stress the contradictory expectations of older adults with grandchildren. Keywords: Ambivalence; conflict; intergenerational relationships; older adults; support.


Author(s):  
Lee Greenblatt-Kimron ◽  
Miri Kestler-Peleg ◽  
Ahuva Even-Zohar ◽  
Osnat Lavenda

Death anxiety and loneliness are major issues for older people. The present study aimed to broaden the understanding of factors that are linked with increased loneliness in old age by examining the association between death anxiety and loneliness, and the role of an unexplored variable among older adults, namely, parental self-efficacy. A convenience sample of 362 Israeli parents over the age of 65 was recruited through means of social media. Participants completed self-reported questionnaires, which included background characteristics, death anxiety, parental self-efficacy, and loneliness measures. The findings showed that death anxiety was positively associated with loneliness among older adults. The findings also confirmed that parental self-efficacy moderated this association in this population. We concluded that the combination of death anxiety and low parental self-efficacy identified a group of older adults that are at higher risk of developing increased loneliness levels. Mental health professionals should consider intergenerational relationships as a fundamental component of older adults’ daily lives, focusing on parental self-efficacy in old age, as this appears to be a resilience resource.


2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 356-356
Author(s):  
Qian Zhang

Abstract Aging is a global trend and China is no exception. Older people in China mostly rely on their adult children for old-age support. This traditional provision pattern of old-age support, however, is challenged by hundreds of millions of internal migrant workers. They relocate from rural to urban regions for better employment and are no longer able to provide old-age support to their older parents in rural areas. The aim of this study was to determine the impacts of China’s public pension program expansion in rural areas on older people’s expectations for old-age support. Utilizing the natural experiment of program expansion, this study identified an instrumental variable as the county adoption of the pension program. In addition, the study analyzed a nationally representative longitudinal dataset CHARLS with fixed effects model. Results from the statistical model showed that given the participation in the pension program, older adults reported more reliance on pension for old-age support financially and less reliance on children. Heterogeneous effects were found for older adults living together with children and older adults living independently. These important findings suggest that the government partially assumes the responsibility for the old-age support of adult children in the traditional sense. The potential benefits of this study provide a policy implication for developing countries to alleviate old-age support problems and enable internal migration for economic development.


1994 ◽  
Vol 8 (3) ◽  
pp. 218-233 ◽  
Author(s):  
Trevor Slack ◽  
Bob Hinings

While it is one of the central topics in the study of organizations, the concept of strategy has received little attention in the sport management literature. This paper is, in part, designed to help fill some of this void. Specifically, the purpose of the paper is to empirically verify a framework proposed by Thibault, Slack, and Hinings (1993) for the analysis of strategy in nonprofit sport organizations and to locate a sample of national level sport organizations within this framework according to their strategic type. The results of the study support the existence and utility of the two dimensions identified in Thibault et al.'s framework. They also reveal that there are common characteristics within the organizations that constitute each of the framework's four strategic types. The identification of these characteristics provides us with a preliminary understanding of the strategic initiatives being pursued by those sport organizations.


2017 ◽  
Vol 39 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-16 ◽  
Author(s):  
CATHERINE ELLIOTT O'DARE ◽  
VIRPI TIMONEN ◽  
CATHERINE CONLON

ABSTRACTIntergenerational projects bringing together older adults and younger adults are increasingly common, but there is little research on unstructured, naturally occurring interaction, and in particular friendship between different generations. The aim of this article is to interrogate why we know so little about adult intergenerational friendship. A systematic literature search on this topic, covering a 30-year period, yielded only six articles which satisfied the inclusion criteria. This prompted us to examine how the topics of intergenerational friendship and friendship in old age have been approached in the literature to date. We argue that the paucity of research on intergenerational friendship reflects the focus of existing research on homophily, and consequently friendships among older or younger adults; and that this in turn reflects a social construction of older adults as unsuited to friendship with younger adults. Investigations of intergenerational friendship can help challenge the images and models of ageing and older adults that both research and societies currently operate with, and are constrained by. We conclude by calling for research that explores the views and experiences of older adults as parties to intergenerational relationships that are non-kin, chosen and based on mutual enjoyment.


Author(s):  
Sharon Ost Mor ◽  
Yuval Palgi ◽  
Dikla Segel-Karpas

This paper attempts to develop a better understanding of the positive solitude (PS) phenomenon and its meaning among age groups, as well as formulate a unanimous definition for PS. A qualitative study ( N = 124) was conducted. Participants were gerontology professionals and laypeople. Interviews were conducted and content was analyzed in order to understand the essence of PS, themes, and subthemes. Two major categories were found: the essence and the components of the PS experience. Seven PS content categories and three meta-themes were raised: (1) PS is a matter of choice; (2) PS is satisfying and enjoyable; and (3) PS is meaningful. Differences in PS categories between younger and older adults were found. The meta-themes served as the foundation of a new definition. PS has different attributes in old age. A unified definition of PS may help distinguishing between PS and other forms of being alone. Recognizing and facilitating the PS experience among older adults might be beneficial and contribute to their quality of life.


2018 ◽  
Vol 88 (1) ◽  
pp. 3-21 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shiri Shinan-Altman ◽  
Perla Werner

The present study evaluates discrepancies in subjective age as reported by middle-age persons (aged 44–64 years) in comparison to older adults (aged 65 years and older), using a multidimensional definition of the concept. A convenience sample of 126 middle-aged and 126 older adults completed subjective age measures (felt age, desired age, and perceived old age), attitudes toward older adults, knowledge about aging, and sociodemographic questionnaires. Overall, participants reported feeling younger than they actually were and wanting to be younger than their chronological age. Perceived mean for old age was about 69 years. Discrepancies in felt age and desired age were significantly larger for the older group compared to the middle-aged group. Regarding perceived old age, compared to the younger group, older adults reported that old age begins at an older age. Findings suggest that middle-aged and older adults’ perceptions regarding themselves and regarding old age in general are independent and need, therefore, separate research and practical attention.


2019 ◽  
Vol 3 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. S179-S179
Author(s):  
Sofia von Humboldt ◽  
Isabel Leal

Abstract Objectives: The relationship of older adults with their adult children involves great emotional complexity and the quality of these relationships is associated with older adults’ well-being. This qualitative study aims to examine how older adults conceptualize intergenerational relationships with adult children. Methods: The present study on qualitative data collected from in-depth interviews was conducted with English and Portuguese older adults living in the community, designed to address their perspectives on intergenerational relations with adult children. 316 older adults participated in our study. The mean age of this group was 71.2 years. 65.3% were women, and a majority (54.7%) had a partner. Results: Content analysis generated four themes: affection and integration; satisfaction in the relationship; privacy and boundaries; financial support. Conclusions: Intergenerational relationships are experienced by older adults with ambivalence and and stress the contradictory expectations of older adults with grandchildren.


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