scholarly journals BLOOD THICKER THAN WATER? STEPGAP IN INTERGENERATIONAL RELATIONSHIPS

2019 ◽  
Vol 3 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. S671-S671
Author(s):  
Peter Öberg ◽  
Torbjorn Bildtgard
Keyword(s):  
Adult Children ◽  
Family Relationships ◽  
Qualitative Interviews ◽  
Intergenerational Relationships ◽  
Equal Treatment ◽  
Emotional Closeness ◽  
Older Parents ◽  
Swedish Study ◽  
The Difference ◽  
Biological Relationships

Abstract The increasing prevalence of ageing stepfamilies and stepchildren’s potential to act as a source of support for older parents has prompted research about intergenerational cohesion in step-relationships. Previous research has hypothesized a qualitative gap (a step-gap) between step and biological relationships to the advantage of the latter. In this Swedish study we compare emotional closeness between older parents and adult children among parents (aged 66-79) who have had both biological and stepchildren, and children (aged X-Y) who have had both biological and stepparents. Qualitative interviews (n=24) of family histories including a hierarchical convoy model of family relationships were collected and analyzed. Results show that with few exceptions biological relationships are rated as emotionally closer than step-relationships, both by parents and adult children, supporting the step-gap hypothesis. While the older parents tend to deemphasize the importance of blood for their ratings, the adult children often emphasize the importance of blood. The difference is explained by a parental adherence to an ideology of equal treatment of children, while the adult children stress the importance of biology for their identity and belonging.

scholarly journals Early Intergenerational Relationships and Later Support Provided to Older Parents: Time-to-Death as a Contingency

2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 320-320
Author(s):  
Merril Silverstein ◽  
Wencheng Zhang ◽  
Douglas Wolf ◽  
Maria Brown
Keyword(s):  
Intergenerational Relationships ◽  
Later Life ◽  
Test Time ◽  
Mortality Data ◽  
Instrumental Support ◽  
Growth Curve Analysis ◽  
Emotional Closeness ◽  
Older Parents ◽  
Time To Death ◽  
The Family

Abstract This paper focuses on whether stronger relationships with parents early in the family lifecycle results in adult children providing more support to them 45 years later, and whether this association is contingent on parents’ remaining years of life. We test time-to-death of parents as an indicator of vulnerability, an easy to ascertain and potentially powerful predictor of support. Data derived from the Longitudinal Study of Generations, a panel of three-generation families, originally fielded in 1971 and continuing to 2016. Focusing on the youngest generation (mean age = 19 in 1971), the analytic sample consists of 356 child-father relationships 473 child-mother relationships. We examined trajectories of instrumental support provided to parents over four waves between 1997 and 2016 as a function of each parent’s remaining years of life (mortality data from the National Death Index). We also examined variation in those trajectories based on frequency of shared activities and intensity of emotional closeness in 1971. Ordinal multi-level growth curve analysis revealed that proximity to death was a significant predictor of instrumental support provided over time. Only in child-father relationships did greater emotional closeness, as expressed in 1971, produce stronger associations between remaining years of life and provision of instrumental support. Findings are discussed in terms of understanding intergenerational dynamics that unfold over many decades and the utility of time-to-death as an alternative metric for assessing vulnerability. This research is timely in light of growing uncertainty about the family as a reliable source of care in later life, particularly for older men.

Intergenerational relationships within families of HIV-infected adults under antiretroviral treatment in Northern Thailand

2011 ◽  
Vol 32 (4) ◽  
pp. 561-585 ◽  
Author(s):  
ÉVA LELIÈVRE ◽  
SOPHIE LE CŒUR
Keyword(s):  
Adult Children ◽  
Antiretroviral Treatment ◽  
Positive Impact ◽  
Intergenerational Relationships ◽  
Intergenerational Relations ◽  
Northern Thailand ◽  
Older Parents ◽  
Social Fabric ◽  
The Social ◽  
Working Age

ABSTRACTThailand has been severely affected by AIDS/HIV. The epidemic has undermined the health of the population of working age, placing stress on intergenerational relations and threatening the social fabric. Older people in families affected by the disease, although not the main victims, have experienced major changes in relationships with their adult children and grandchildren. However, the availability of antiretrovirals has transformed HIV infection from a lethal to a chronic disease. Intergenerational relationships are analysed with data from a quantitative survey of HIV-infected adults currently receiving antiretroviral treatment in Northern Thailand. The introduction of antiretroviral treatment has eased the pressure on families. Where HIV-infected adults are more dependent on their older parents, it is because they are single and childless or single parents. While ageing parents remain a source of support for their adult children, the introduction of antiretroviral treatment has radically changed the prospects for HIV-infected adults and their regained health allows them to work, take care of their family and fulfil their filial duties as expected in Thai society. If Thailand's original aim in introducing health policies in this area was to curtail the HIV epidemic, its positive impact on intergenerational relations is an additional benefit.

scholarly journals The Closeness of Young Adults’ Relationships with Their Parents

2016 ◽  
Vol 42 (1) ◽  
pp. 40-60 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ariane Bertogg ◽  
Marc Szydlik
Keyword(s):  
Young Adults ◽  
Theoretical Model ◽  
Adult Children ◽  
Family Relationships ◽  
Close Relationships ◽  
Intergenerational Relationships ◽  
Insight Into ◽  
Empirical Analyses

Abstracts How close are the relationships between young adults and their parents today? Which factors account for closer or less close relationships between the generations? The theoretical model considers opportunity, need, family and cultural-contextual structures. The empirical analyses draw on the Swiss TREE survey (“Transitions from Education to Employment”). They reveal remarkably close ties between the generations. However, we also find a number of strains, such as the separation of parents and unemployment of adult children, that contribute to family relationships being less close. The findings provide insight into the reality of intergenerational relationships during a dynamic period of life.

Intergenerational relationships and food consumption: the stories of young adults leaving home

2015 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
pp. 71-84 ◽  
Author(s):  
Malene Gram ◽  
Margaret Hogg ◽  
Bodil Stilling Blichfeldt ◽  
Pauline MacLaran
Keyword(s):  
Young Adults ◽  
Food Consumption ◽  
Family Relationships ◽  
Quantitative Methods ◽  
Qualitative Interviews ◽  
Intergenerational Relationships ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Family ◽  
The Status ◽  
The Relationship

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to address the meaning of food consumption practices in maintaining intergenerational relationships between young university students and their parents. Design/methodology/approach – Student food consumption has been mainly studied through quantitative methods, treating students as a homogenous group, more or less living in a vacuum, and often with the focus on nutrition. This paper gives voice to young adults to unpack the significance of cooking and food consumption in relation to maintaining or changing family ties. The study is based on 12 qualitative interviews, five focus groups and a workshop, with Danish and international students in Denmark. Theoretically, the study draws on family, consumption and transition research. Findings – The authors identify four realms of intergenerational relationships in the context of food. The relationships range from a wish either to maintain the status quo in the relationship, or to change and rethink the relationship, and importantly, the act of maintaining or changing the family relationships may be initiated either by the grown-up child or by the parent. The study concludes that the act of moving away from home is a period of intense (re)construction of food consumption habits and skills, which draw several threads back to the family home, and relationships undergo change in various ways. Research limitations/implications – The limitations of this study are that it has been carried out only in a Danish context. Originality/value – The contributions of the study are capturing the children’s view of this transition, and providing insights into how apparently mundane consumption can be full of symbolic meaning. The paper will be of interest for researchers and practitioners seeking to understand intergenerational relations and consumption.

Wellbeing of adult children and ageing parents: associations with intergenerational support and relationship quality

2009 ◽  
Vol 29 (5) ◽  
pp. 783-802 ◽  
Author(s):  
EVA-MARIA MERZ ◽  
NATHAN S. CONSEDINE ◽  
HANS-JOACHIM SCHULZE ◽  
CARLO SCHUENGEL
Keyword(s):  
Relationship Quality ◽  
Adult Children ◽  
Panel Study ◽  
Adult Child ◽  
Intergenerational Relationships ◽  
Intergenerational Support ◽  
High Quality ◽  
Older Parents ◽  
Parent Relationships ◽  
Parents And Children

ABSTRACTThe current study describes from an attachment-theoretical viewpoint how intergenerational support in adult child-parent relationships is associated with wellbeing in both generations. The attachment perspective and its focus on affective relationship characteristics is considered as an important theoretical framework for the investigation of special relationships across the life span. Data from the Netherlands Kinship Panel Study (N=1,456 dyads) were analysed to investigate if relationship quality moderated the association between providing intergenerational support to parents and wellbeing in adult children, on the one hand, and receiving intergenerational support from children and wellbeing of older parents on the other hand. The perspectives of both relationship partners were taken into account to allow for dependence within dyads. Intergenerational support, in terms of instrumental help provision, was negatively associated with the child's and parent's wellbeing. Being the stronger and wiser partner in adult-child parent relationships, as reflected by giving advice and being the initiator within the relationship, was beneficial for the wellbeing of both generations. Additionally, relationship quality was the strongest predictor of wellbeing in both generations. Parental wellbeing was benefited by filial support in high quality relationships. If an intergenerational relationships was of high quality, the challenges of intergenerational support provision and receipt were easier to deal with for both generations, parents and children.

Providing instrumental support to older parents of multi-child families in China: are there different within-family patterns?

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-18
Author(s):  
Jia Chen ◽  
Xiaochen Zhou ◽  
Nan Lu
Keyword(s):  
Adult Children ◽  
Latent Profile Analysis ◽  
Profile Analysis ◽  
Multinomial Logistic Regression ◽  
Adult Child ◽  
Instrumental Support ◽  
Older Parents ◽  
Older Mothers ◽  
Family Patterns ◽  
Using Data

Abstract Older parents in China rely heavily on their adult children for instrumental assistance. In different multi-child families, multiple offspring may co-operate in providing instrumental support to older parents in distinct ways in terms of how much support they provide on average and how much differentiation exists between them when they provide such support within a family. We aimed to identify different within-family patterns in relation to multiple offspring's instrumental support to an older parent in Chinese multi-child families, and to investigate potential predictors for different within-family patterns. Using data from the China Family Panel Studies (2016), we had a working sample of 5,790 older adults aged 60+ (mean = 68.54, standard deviation = 6.60). We employed latent profile analysis (LPA) to classify within-family patterns and multinomial logistic regression to investigate predictors. Our findings identified three within-family patterns: dissociated (59.10%), highly differentiated (29.60%) and united-filial (11.30%). Older parents in the highly differentiated families tended to be older, mothers, divorced/widowed and to have poorer physical health compared to their counterparts in the dissociated families. In contrast, the composition characteristics of multiple adult children played more important roles in determining the united-filial within-family pattern. The united-filial families were more likely to have fewer adult children, at least one adult daughter and at least one co-residing adult child.

scholarly journals Grandparenting and the Receipt of Filial Piety From Adult Children in Chinese American Families

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 345-346
Author(s):  
Jeung Hyun Kim
Keyword(s):  
Social Exchange ◽  
Adult Children ◽  
Filial Piety ◽  
Social Exchange Theory ◽  
Role Theory ◽  
Intergenerational Relationships ◽  
Chinese American ◽  
Chinese American Families ◽  
Grandparent Caregiving ◽  
American Families

Abstract The current study explores the association between grandparent caregiving by Chinese American elders and their perceived receipt of filial support from their adult children, called filial piety (xiao). Many studies find a correlation between grandparent caregiving and filial behaviors from their adult children, which is notably higher among minority families, especially among Asians than among white families, stimulated by the norm of reciprocity, familism, and extended kinship. Drawing from the theory of intergenerational relationships, social exchange theory, and the role theory, this study questions whether a more active engagement in grandparenting renders higher levels of filial piety returns from adult children. It uses the PINE data, a survey on the wellbeing of Chinese American elders in Chicago. The results show that more hours of grandparent caregiving relate to higher returns of filial piety perceived by older parents. Correspondingly, though with a marginal significance, more pressures to take care of a grandchild from adult children reduce the elders’ perception of filial piety receipt. No interaction effect is found between the grandparenting hours and the pressure from adult children. Additionally, Chinese American elders possessing higher levels of education, mastery, and longer stays in the US perceive lower levels of filial piety receipt from adult children. Discussion will focus on how grandparent caregiving can be mutually beneficial and strengthen intergenerational relationships among Chinese American families.

How left behind are rural parents of migrant children? Evidence from Thailand

2010 ◽  
Vol 30 (5) ◽  
pp. 811-841 ◽  
Author(s):  
JOHN KNODEL ◽  
JIRAPORN KESPICHAYAWATTANA ◽  
CHANPEN SAENGTIENCHAI ◽  
SUVINEE WIWATWANICH
Keyword(s):  
Adult Children ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
Living Arrangements ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Extended Family ◽  
Age Groups ◽  
Social Contact ◽  
Migrant Children ◽  
Older Parents ◽  
Economic Changes

ABSTRACTThe consequences of adult children's migration from rural areas for older parents who remain behind are keenly debated. While the mass media and international advocacy organisations favour an ‘alarmist’ view of desertion, the academic literature makes more sanguine assessments using the ‘household strategy’ and ‘modified extended family’ perspectives. We examine the relationship between the migration of adult children and various dimensions of older parents' wellbeing in Thailand using evidence from a survey that focused on the issues. The results provide little support for the alarmist view, but instead suggest that parents and adult children adapt to the social and economic changes associated with development in ways not necessarily detrimental to intergenerational relations. The migration of children, especially to urban areas, often benefits parents' material support while the recent spread of cell phones has radically increased their ability to maintain social contact. Nevertheless, changing living arrangements through increased migration and the smaller family sizes of the youngest age groups of older people pose serious challenges for aspects of filial support, especially at advanced ages when chronic illness and frailty require long-term personal care. Dealing with this emerging situation in a context of social, economic and technological change is among the most critical issues facing those concerned with the implications of rapid population ageing in Thailand and elsewhere.

A Comparison of Adult Attitudes Toward Their Parents' Sexuality and Their Parents' Attitudes

1994 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 96-103 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicole Poulin ◽  
Brian L. Mishara
Keyword(s):  
Adult Children ◽  
Cohort Effect ◽  
Negative Attitudes ◽  
Older Parents ◽  
Sexual Behaviours ◽  
Item Questionnaire ◽  
Positive Attitudes

ABSTRACTThis study compared the attitudes of adult children toward the sexuality of their older parents with their parent's own attitudes toward sexuality. A 56-item questionnaire was given to 41 family pairs consisting of a parent over age 65 and his or her son or daughter. Questions were based upon previous studies and involved six point Likért ratings. In general, attitudes toward sexuality were positive among parents and their adult children. However, adult children had significantly more positive attitudes than their parents. This difference was primarily due to more positive attitudes toward physical aspects of sexual behaviours. Overall, the disapproval and negative attitudes of adult children reported in previous research were not found in this study. Adult children had positive attitudes, much more positive attitudes than their parents, possibly due to a cohort effect

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