Research on the reasons for and the implications of the recent dramatic sociodemographic changes ... more Research on the reasons for and the implications of the recent dramatic sociodemographic changes in most parts of the world has increased in several disciplines such as sociology, anthropology, and demographics. In psychology, however, this topic has only recently been rediscovered and is presently gaining increasing importance in the area of applied psychology. Recently a special section on this topic was
Recent data on fertility rates indicate tremendous differences between Palestine and Turkey: wher... more Recent data on fertility rates indicate tremendous differences between Palestine and Turkey: whereas the total fertility rate has decreased remarkably over the last few decades in Turkey, a rather stable, high fertility rate can be observed for Palestine. This study applies a reconceptualization of the value of children approach to explain this difference. Analyses were performed using a sample of 249 Palestinian and 622 Turkish mothers from the 2002 international Value of Children study. In a first step, it is revealed that in Palestine children are more important for parents' comfort and social esteem than in Turkey, while only slight country differences are found with respect to children's affection value. This is in line with the study's hypotheses. However, in a second step, the countryspecific value of children is proved to be of only very limited predictive power with regard to the birth of children of different parity, which contradicts the expectations. A more detailed analysis suggests that it is rational to follow cultural routines with respect to children in Palestine but not in Turkey.
The paper describes the origins of the Value of Children (VOC) approach to the cross-cultural res... more The paper describes the origins of the Value of Children (VOC) approach to the cross-cultural research on fertility behavior around the Pacific Rim, and critically discusses its shortcomings at this stage.
What Narrows the Stepgap? Closeness Between Parents and Adult (Step)Children in Germany
Journal of Marriage and Family, 2013
ABSTRACT Using data from the German Family Panel (pairfam) based on 11,746 intergenerational fami... more ABSTRACT Using data from the German Family Panel (pairfam) based on 11,746 intergenerational family relationships, the present study examined differences in parental closeness across relations with multiple, coresidential, and non-coresidential adolescent and adult children. Replicating previous research in a multilevel analysis across families, the authors found a strong positive effect of biological descent on closeness in comparison to adoptive and steprelations; this parental favoritism toward biological offspring was partly explained by selection via parental resources and attitudes. Supplemental within-parent fixed effect analyses suggested that the relative disadvantage of stepchildren was offset by longer duration of the stepparent–stepchild relationship, lower household income, fewer children in the household, and high parental affirmation of familism.
This tutorial describes demographic changes and their implications for parent ing and parent -chi... more This tutorial describes demographic changes and their implications for parent ing and parent -child relationships. First, we discuss 2 major sociodemo graphic changes -declining fertility and increasing longevity -from the point of view of social demography. Second, we elaborate on implications of de mographic changes for parenting and intergenerational relationships from so ciolOgical and psychological perspectives. This discussion of parenting and parent -child relationships addresses changes from a life-span perspective, tak ing into account contextual factors. Finally, we present examples of empirical investigations of relations among sociodemographic changes, parenting, and parent -child relationships.
KZfSS Kölner Zeitschrift für Soziologie und Sozialpsychologie, 2001
Zusammenfassung: Demographische und mikro-ökonomische Ansätze haben die Erklärungsprobleme des ge... more Zusammenfassung: Demographische und mikro-ökonomische Ansätze haben die Erklärungsprobleme des generativen Verhaltens und von Generationenbeziehungen nicht zureichend lösen können. Der "value-of-children-approach" bietet eine vielversprechende Möglichkeit zur Schließung wichtiger Erklärungslücken insbesondere im Hinblick auf interkulturelle Unterschiede. Hierzu wird dieser Ansatz im Rahmen der Theorie sozialer Produktionsfunktionen als spezielle Handlungstheorie neu konzipiert. Kinder sind demnach strategische Zwischengüter zur Befriedigung der Grundbedürfnisse von (potenziellen) Eltern: 1. Ihr Arbeits-und Einkommensnutzen, 2. ihr Versicherungsnutzen steigert das physische Wohlbefinden, 3. ihr Statusnutzen und 4. ihr emotionaler Nutzen steigert die soziale Anerkennung. Im Hinblick auf sechs konstitutive Dimensionen des familiären Handlungssystems (Größe, Dauerhaftigkeit, Kontextopportunitäten und -restriktionen, Ressourcen, Generationenbeziehungen und Geschlechterverhältnisse) wird das Erklärungspotenzial der speziellen Handlungstheorie systematisch entfaltet. Abschließend werden die Implikationen für den sozialen Wandel von Generationenbeziehungen in deszendenz-und affinalverwandtschaftlich organisierten Gesellschaften aufgezeigt. Seit Thomas R. Malthus 1798 seinen berühmten "Essay on the Principle of Population, as it affects the Future Improvement of Society" veröffentlichte, haben Ökonomen, Bevölkerungswissenschaftler ebenso wie Familiensoziologen und -psychologen immer wieder eine Antwort auf die Frage gesucht: Warum haben manche Menschen viele
Although intergenerational transmission is one of the major mechanisms of cultural continuity, it... more Although intergenerational transmission is one of the major mechanisms of cultural continuity, it has hardly been studied in migration research, where cohort analyses of differences in the assimilation of different immigrant generations prevail; moreover, it has never had a systematic place in theoretical models about the incorporation of immigrants in the receiving society. The following empirical analyses examine the role of intergenerational transmission processes in the social incorporation of second generation adolescents. The extent of intergenerational transmission is seen in this context as a major mechanism by which the adolescents' intra-and interethnic social contacts are shaped and their social identification is structured.
In the current article, the author (a) integrates two major theoretical approaches for the explan... more In the current article, the author (a) integrates two major theoretical approaches for the explanation of inheritance expectations, namely, the institutional approach of cultural anthropology and the interactionist approach of family research and social gerontology; (b) takes into account the institutional settings of kinship systems and inheritance regimes on the societal level; and (c) relates these institutional settings to the intergenerational relationships between parents and parents-in-law and their offspring. At the societal level, these relations are formulated as two hypotheses: The lineage hypothesis refers to the inheritance regime and its impact on individual inheritance expectations, whereas the welfare hypothesis refers to the relation between levels of affluence and quality of inheritance (instrumental or expressive inheritance). The empirical analysis is based on standardized interviews with women from India, China, Palestine, Turkey, Indonesia, Russia, Germany, and the United States (N = 5,282), which were collected for the Value of Children in Six Cultures research project. Descriptive results show strong cross-cultural differences in matrilineal, patrilineal, and bilineal inheritance expectations. In subsequent multivariate logistic regression analyses, the author tested societal, relational, and individual predictors on inheritance expectations. The results support the lineage and welfare hypotheses but provide no evidence for exchange-based assumptions on the effects of the quality of intergenerational relationships on inheritance expectations.
Research on the reasons for and the implications of the recent dramatic sociodemographic changes ... more Research on the reasons for and the implications of the recent dramatic sociodemographic changes in most parts of the world has increased in several disciplines such as sociology, anthropology, and demographics. In psychology, however, this topic has only recently been rediscovered and is presently gaining increasing importance in the area of applied psychology. Recently a special section on this topic was
Recent data on fertility rates indicate tremendous differences between Palestine and Turkey: wher... more Recent data on fertility rates indicate tremendous differences between Palestine and Turkey: whereas the total fertility rate has decreased remarkably over the last few decades in Turkey, a rather stable, high fertility rate can be observed for Palestine. This study applies a reconceptualization of the value of children approach to explain this difference. Analyses were performed using a sample of 249 Palestinian and 622 Turkish mothers from the 2002 international Value of Children study. In a first step, it is revealed that in Palestine children are more important for parents' comfort and social esteem than in Turkey, while only slight country differences are found with respect to children's affection value. This is in line with the study's hypotheses. However, in a second step, the countryspecific value of children is proved to be of only very limited predictive power with regard to the birth of children of different parity, which contradicts the expectations. A more detailed analysis suggests that it is rational to follow cultural routines with respect to children in Palestine but not in Turkey.
The paper describes the origins of the Value of Children (VOC) approach to the cross-cultural res... more The paper describes the origins of the Value of Children (VOC) approach to the cross-cultural research on fertility behavior around the Pacific Rim, and critically discusses its shortcomings at this stage.
What Narrows the Stepgap? Closeness Between Parents and Adult (Step)Children in Germany
Journal of Marriage and Family, 2013
ABSTRACT Using data from the German Family Panel (pairfam) based on 11,746 intergenerational fami... more ABSTRACT Using data from the German Family Panel (pairfam) based on 11,746 intergenerational family relationships, the present study examined differences in parental closeness across relations with multiple, coresidential, and non-coresidential adolescent and adult children. Replicating previous research in a multilevel analysis across families, the authors found a strong positive effect of biological descent on closeness in comparison to adoptive and steprelations; this parental favoritism toward biological offspring was partly explained by selection via parental resources and attitudes. Supplemental within-parent fixed effect analyses suggested that the relative disadvantage of stepchildren was offset by longer duration of the stepparent–stepchild relationship, lower household income, fewer children in the household, and high parental affirmation of familism.
This tutorial describes demographic changes and their implications for parent ing and parent -chi... more This tutorial describes demographic changes and their implications for parent ing and parent -child relationships. First, we discuss 2 major sociodemo graphic changes -declining fertility and increasing longevity -from the point of view of social demography. Second, we elaborate on implications of de mographic changes for parenting and intergenerational relationships from so ciolOgical and psychological perspectives. This discussion of parenting and parent -child relationships addresses changes from a life-span perspective, tak ing into account contextual factors. Finally, we present examples of empirical investigations of relations among sociodemographic changes, parenting, and parent -child relationships.
KZfSS Kölner Zeitschrift für Soziologie und Sozialpsychologie, 2001
Zusammenfassung: Demographische und mikro-ökonomische Ansätze haben die Erklärungsprobleme des ge... more Zusammenfassung: Demographische und mikro-ökonomische Ansätze haben die Erklärungsprobleme des generativen Verhaltens und von Generationenbeziehungen nicht zureichend lösen können. Der "value-of-children-approach" bietet eine vielversprechende Möglichkeit zur Schließung wichtiger Erklärungslücken insbesondere im Hinblick auf interkulturelle Unterschiede. Hierzu wird dieser Ansatz im Rahmen der Theorie sozialer Produktionsfunktionen als spezielle Handlungstheorie neu konzipiert. Kinder sind demnach strategische Zwischengüter zur Befriedigung der Grundbedürfnisse von (potenziellen) Eltern: 1. Ihr Arbeits-und Einkommensnutzen, 2. ihr Versicherungsnutzen steigert das physische Wohlbefinden, 3. ihr Statusnutzen und 4. ihr emotionaler Nutzen steigert die soziale Anerkennung. Im Hinblick auf sechs konstitutive Dimensionen des familiären Handlungssystems (Größe, Dauerhaftigkeit, Kontextopportunitäten und -restriktionen, Ressourcen, Generationenbeziehungen und Geschlechterverhältnisse) wird das Erklärungspotenzial der speziellen Handlungstheorie systematisch entfaltet. Abschließend werden die Implikationen für den sozialen Wandel von Generationenbeziehungen in deszendenz-und affinalverwandtschaftlich organisierten Gesellschaften aufgezeigt. Seit Thomas R. Malthus 1798 seinen berühmten "Essay on the Principle of Population, as it affects the Future Improvement of Society" veröffentlichte, haben Ökonomen, Bevölkerungswissenschaftler ebenso wie Familiensoziologen und -psychologen immer wieder eine Antwort auf die Frage gesucht: Warum haben manche Menschen viele
Although intergenerational transmission is one of the major mechanisms of cultural continuity, it... more Although intergenerational transmission is one of the major mechanisms of cultural continuity, it has hardly been studied in migration research, where cohort analyses of differences in the assimilation of different immigrant generations prevail; moreover, it has never had a systematic place in theoretical models about the incorporation of immigrants in the receiving society. The following empirical analyses examine the role of intergenerational transmission processes in the social incorporation of second generation adolescents. The extent of intergenerational transmission is seen in this context as a major mechanism by which the adolescents' intra-and interethnic social contacts are shaped and their social identification is structured.
In the current article, the author (a) integrates two major theoretical approaches for the explan... more In the current article, the author (a) integrates two major theoretical approaches for the explanation of inheritance expectations, namely, the institutional approach of cultural anthropology and the interactionist approach of family research and social gerontology; (b) takes into account the institutional settings of kinship systems and inheritance regimes on the societal level; and (c) relates these institutional settings to the intergenerational relationships between parents and parents-in-law and their offspring. At the societal level, these relations are formulated as two hypotheses: The lineage hypothesis refers to the inheritance regime and its impact on individual inheritance expectations, whereas the welfare hypothesis refers to the relation between levels of affluence and quality of inheritance (instrumental or expressive inheritance). The empirical analysis is based on standardized interviews with women from India, China, Palestine, Turkey, Indonesia, Russia, Germany, and the United States (N = 5,282), which were collected for the Value of Children in Six Cultures research project. Descriptive results show strong cross-cultural differences in matrilineal, patrilineal, and bilineal inheritance expectations. In subsequent multivariate logistic regression analyses, the author tested societal, relational, and individual predictors on inheritance expectations. The results support the lineage and welfare hypotheses but provide no evidence for exchange-based assumptions on the effects of the quality of intergenerational relationships on inheritance expectations.
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Papers by B. Nauck