Costs of Raising Grandchildren on Grandmother-Adult Child Relations in Black and White Families

The cost of raising grandchildren on grandmothers’ mental and physical health has been well-documented; however, little is known about whether raising grandchildren also has a cost on grandmothers’ relationships with the adult children whose children the grandmothers have raised. Drawing from theories of exchange and affect, stress process model, and racial differences in intergenerational solidarity, we tested how raising grandchildren affects grandmother-adult child relations. Further, we explored the extent to which these patterns differed by race. To address this question, we used mixed-methods data collected from 553 older mothers regarding their relationships with their 2,016 adult children; approximately 10% of the mothers had raised one or more of their grandchildren “as their own.” Data were provided by the Within-Family Differences Study-I. Multilevel analyses showed that raising grandchildren was associated with greater closeness in grandmother-adult child relationship in Black families; however, in White families, raising grandchildren was associated with greater conflict in the grandmother-adult child relationship. Further, the differences by race in the effects of raising grandchildren on closeness and conflict were statistically significant. Qualitative analyses revealed that race differences in the association between raising grandchildren and relationship quality could be explained by mothers’ reports of greater family solidarity in Black than White families. Our findings highlight the ways in which race and family solidarity interact to produce differences in the impact of raising grandchildren on Black and White mothers’ assessment of the quality of their relationships with their adult children, consistent with broader patterns of racial differences in intergenerational cohesion.

Caring Beyond the Challenges: Grit in Dementia Family Caregivers

Scholars and practitioners recognize the importance of family caregivers for persons with dementia (PwD) persevering through difficulties and remaining committed to providing care (i.e., possessing grit). Based on Pearlin’s stress process model, we examined how grit is associated with stressors and strains that interfere with caregiver well-being and jeopardize continued caregiving. The sample included 158 family caregivers of PwD from rural Appalachia. SEM analysis revealed that grit and family and friend affectual solidarity contributed significantly to mastery. Grit and family solidarity were associated indirectly with role overload through their effect on mastery. Results demonstrate the value of acknowledging the role of grit in enhancing caregivers’ confidence about managing difficulties they face and reducing their sense of being overwhelmed by caregiving responsibilities. Thus, strengthening dementia caregivers’ commitment to and perseverance in their role is crucial for sustaining their motivation to provide care, despite the challenges they face.

Possibilities of Family Solidarity and Civic Participation of Actors in the Implementation of Social Services of Self-government

From our point of view, the need for community planning as one of the new possibilities for improving social services in self-government is extremely important. We see the importance and contribution of the planning process for the whole local policy in the active involvement of all citizens and participants in community planning. Only if the citizens are sufficiently informed and involved in the whole process not only community planning makes sense, but also establishing cooperation and creating a network of mutual assistance in the village.

The Possibility of Solidarity or Broken Relationship Between Social Relatives and Women Prisoners in Tunisia

Confronted with a body of research conducted in different contexts, the results obtained in the present study showed great similarities. Inspired by the work that analyzed the plurality of family solidarity, a set of studies focusing on prison relationships focused on the commitment of relatives to the prisoner. These different works have sought to specify the different forms of solidarity that the family brings to the detainee. Family solidarity is manifested, in a functional dimension, through material assistance and visits. In an emotional dimension, it reflects the psychological support provided by the family to the detainee relative. Beyond the material support that the immediate family provides to the inmates, emotional assistance and emotional support remain very important to ease prison constraints. The emotional closeness of families is meant to be protective. Again, this issue is under-documented, making any confrontation of the results impossible. Without specifying the emotional support of the family, family solidarity is advanced as very strong support to the prisoner during incarceration but also after release. Indeed, the question of family solidarity in the face of incarceration aroused the interest of sociological research very early on. In addition, the need to preserve family-prisoner ties is currently considered an essential means of reintegration. For many researchers, maintaining family relationships during incarceration is a very important factor in the decline in the recidivism rate. The role of the family is now considered essential to maintaining prison balance. In a gendered dimension, the results obtained also reflect less family solidarity towards women prisoners.

Family Protection in the United States of America

In the United States, mandatory family protection is often subordinated to freedom of testation. Although spousal protection provisions exist, the content of these laws often differs dramatically from state to state. By contrast, children and other descendants of the deceased have little or no protection against disinheritance except in Louisiana. Related legal doctrines, such as the law of undue influence do, however, often serve some protective role against the unreasonable omission of descendants from a testator’s will. Even in Louisiana, which still maintains a doctrine of forced heirship, the content of the protection has changed from a law providing for family solidarity to one imposing n alimentary obligation upon the deceased in favour of limited classes of descendants.

Compulsory Portion in Germany

The compulsory portion of the German law of succession is a personal claim by a close family member of the deceased against the deceased’s heir, or heirs, to receive the value of one-half of his or her intestate share. The range of persons entitled to a compulsory portion is limited to the deceased’s descendants, his parents, and his surviving spouse. The right to a compulsory portion can be lost as a result of having been deprived of it by the deceased (which is possible in a limited number of situations), as a result of being ‘unworthy’ to receive a benefit from the deceased’s estate, or as a result of having waived the right. All in all, the system enacted in the German Civil Code (BGB) in 1900 has proved to be comparatively stable; even the amendments of 2010 as a result of the Act on the Reform of the Law of Succession and Prescription were rather modest and have shifted the balance between freedom of testation and family solidarity only very slightly in the direction of freedom of testation. This is often seen as confirmation that, essentially, the rules of the BGB provide a solution that is both pragmatic and reasonable. The Federal Constitutional Court has even, in 2005, ruled that a certain minimum participation for children in a deceased’s estate not only does not contravene the constitutional guarantee of ‘property and the right of inheritance’ in Article 14(1) GG, but is itself protected by that provision.

Doing Family Memory in the Case of Emigration Experience

This chapter present the importance of memory making in migrant families lives and how emigrants ‘do’ family memory. A representative survey of Lithuanian residents shows that those with emigration experience since 1990 participate in family memory construction more actively. The development of such communicative family memory is family work which demonstrates family solidarity and occurs between and within generations. However, this research shows that gender, age and location influence who is involved in this process with men and younger family members less likely to participate.