A cross-cultural study of intergenerational relations

Sociological Research Online, 2003

This paper focuses on ‘beanpole’ families, that is those with several living generations; it analyses patterns of care and paid work across the generations and the resource transfers which take place between generations. Drawing on a small-scale study of four generation families, it provides a typology of intergenerational relations with respect to the transmission of material assets, childcare and elder care, sociability, emotional support, and values. It examines two a fortiori conditions which are considered to shape intergenerational relations: (a) occupational status continuity/ mobility and (b) geographical proximity/ mobility. Four types of intergenerational relations are generated by this examination: traditional solidaristic; differentiated; incorporation of difference; and reparation in estrangement. The paper looks at families holistically and draws on the concept of ambivalence to describe the forces which push family members to carry on family patterns and those which p...

Routledge eBooks, 2016

2000

Empfohlene Zitierung / Suggested Citation: Tesch-Römer, C., Motel-Klingebiel, A., & Kondratowitz, H.-J. v. (2000). Securing solidarity between generations: intergenerational cohesion in the face of demographic change, with particular focus on individual and familial factors and their relation to societal development ; preparatory expertise for the International Plan of Action on Ageing 2002. (DZA Diskussionspapiere, 34). Berlin: Deutsches Zentrum für Altersfragen. https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:0168ssoar-370082

2009

Journal of Women & Aging, 2015

Urbani izziv, 2016

This article explores the factors behind young adults living in shared households with their parents for an extended period of time. We were interested in finding out if they think the state should implement regulatory measures to help them become independent. Our hypothesis is that the young and old living together as an extended family is not an indicator of intergenerational symbiosis and solidarity, but rather a reflection of wider social and cultural processes regulating the life of society as a whole and the lives of individuals. The study was carried out in three different cultural environments: Slovenia, Serbia and Japan. The study showed that, despite the fact that they get along relatively well, young people living in a shared household with their parents still want to "go it alone" and they expect greater help from the state, through regulatory measures and fair distribution of social assistance between the "young" and the "old" generations, to create social and housing policies that are fairer and friendlier to young families. This would reduce the pressure on the family and the potential for conflict within it, as well as

Palgrave Macmillan US eBooks, 2014

Practitioners and researchers alike struggle with getting it right, and there is an enormous flow of ideas on how different generations, and other dimensions based on which individuals could be categorized, could be dealt with. The classical text of Mannheim (1952/1928) on the subject compares and contrasts a positivist concept of generation (Hume, Comte, Mentré) with a romantic-historical one (Dilthey, Heidegger, Pinder) and seeks a kind of conceptual compromise avoiding the shortcomings of both the approaches. For the American discussion of generations until the mid-1970s see Bengtson et al. (1974). Generational explanations compete with other accounts of sociocultural change and can be contrasted with theories of sociocultural reproduction. These deal with aspects of the social and cultural orders that are reproduced over generations, that is, that only change very slowly. The most important focus of related research is on families, where cultural or economic resources are transmitted between genealogical generations (see, e.g., Bertaux & Thompson, 1997; Scherger & Savage, 2011).

Demographic Research, 2012

This publication is part of the proposed Special Collection "Intergenerational family ties in Europe: Multiple linkages between individuals, families and social contexts", edited by Pearl Dykstra.

2000

2010

Preface In the region of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE), population ageing is the dominant demographic trend of this century. Simultaneously, other pertinent demographic developments such as declining fertility, increasing age at family formation, and changing family patterns also challenge many areas of public policy. The policy responses have to include reconciliation of work and family life

K. Lüscher, M. Sánchez, A. Klimczuk (eds.), Generations, intergenerational relationships, intergenerational relationshipspolicy: A multilingual compendium, 12 languages, Universität Konstanz, Konstanz 2016, 300pp. Kurt Lüscher, Andreas Hoff, Andrzej Klimczuk, Giovanni Lamura, Marta Renzi, Paulo de Salles Oliveira, Mariano Sánchez, Gil Viry, Eric Widmer, Ágnes Neményi, Enikő Veress, Cecilia Bjursell, Ann-Kristin Boström, Gražina Rapolienė, Sarmitė Mikulionienė, Sema Oğlak, Ayşe Canatan Generationen, Generationenbeziehungen, Generationenpolitik. Ein mehrsprachiges Kompendium Generations, intergenerational relationships, generational policy: A multilingual compendium Générations, relations intergénérationelles, politiques de générations. Un abrégé multilingue Generaciones, relaciones intergeneracionales, política generacional. Un compendio multilingüe Generazioni, relazioni intergenerazionali, politica generazionale. Un compendio multilingue Pokolenia, relacje międzypokoleniowe, polityka relacji międzypokoleniowych. Wielojęzyczne kompendium Gerações, relações intergeracionais, política geracional. Um compêndio multilíngue Nemzedékek, nemzedékek közötti kapcsolatok, nemzedéki politika. Többnyelvű kompendium Generații. Politici generaționale și relații intergeneraționale. Un compendiu multilingvistic Generationer, relationer mellan generationer, generationspolicy. Ett mångspråkigt kompendium Kartos, kartų santykiai, kartų politika. Daugiakalbis kompendiumas Kuşaklar, kuşaklararası ilişkiler, kuşak politikas. Çok dilli bir Rehber

The demographic change which has taken place in recent decades, and in particular the considerable increase in life expectancy, has resulted in intergenerational relationships that are lasting much longer. Despite the increase in people's median age at fi rst child birth, members of different generations now have the opportunity to live together for periods that are unparalleled in human history. Especially the medical and technical progress has led to grandparents being increasingly capable in both health and cognitive terms at an advanced age that they provide active support for their children and grandchildren in many ways. This article addresses the question to what extent the relationship potentials -also against the background of modernisation processes within society (e.g. increasing demands as to mobility, problems in reconciling family and work) -are transformed into actual support by grandparents for the grandchildren's generation. The analyses are based on data from the parents of the primary respondents ("anchor persons") in the German Family Panel (Beziehungs-und Familienpanel -pairfam, 2nd wave 2009/2010, parents' questionnaire) with a grandchild aged between 8 and 15. The signifi cance of various factors infl uencing the strength of relationships between grandparents and their grandchildren is empirically examined. Firstly, social-structural characteristics and family-related attitudes on the part of the members of the various generations are considered, and secondly, various family members' personal and social resources. All in all, it is revealed that grandparent-grandchild relationships are largely independent from personal resources such as employment status, but that they are associated with social resources, that is the relationships between grandparents and parents, as well as with grandparents' partnership status. Moreover, there are pronounced regional differences (i.e., stronger grandparent-grandchild relations in Eastern Germany) and a positive impact of familialism.

One of the important social issues attracting the attention of social thinkers in post WWII era has been the issue of intergenerational conflict. Presented by scholars such as Karl Manheim and Margaret Mead, it was thought that in post WWII era intergenerational conflicts or gap rose to a degree that it made the communication and understanding between pre and post WWII generations very difficult. It was theorized that this unbridgeable gap between the two generations was due to grave and rapid social changes that occurred in that era, so that these two generations experienced and lived in two totally different worlds. Although this thesis was criticized in the west with later studies, the issue of generation gap continues to be one of the cross culturally studied subjects. It is claimed that in the developing countries, such as Iran, which experience rapid social change in their transformation from traditional to modern societies, a high level of generation gap has emerged. Focusing on the studies carried out in Iran by the author and others, this paper proposes that in order to acquire deeper understanding of the phenomenon, and the way to encounter it, generation gap should be analyzed into value-oriented and norm-oriented types. The findings in this research revealed that both value-oriented and norm-oriented generation gaps in Iran were considerably wide.

2009

ii Disclaimer: This document represents part of the author’s study programme while at the Institute of Social Studies. The views stated therein are those of the author and not necessarily those of the Institute. Research papers are not made available for circulation outside of the Institute. Inquiries:

SHS Web of Conferences, 2014

The article deals with the issue of relationships among contemporary generations. It is devoted to the specific communication and relationships development between today's children and their grandparents. What is the role played by grandparents in lives of their grandchildren? Is the generation gap so powerful to destroy the traditionally strong relationships in families? Our text stresses the importance of an intergenerational socializations influence and its positives for individuals and the whole family system. The article is based on the empirical survey among the 202 respondents in the age group 12-17. The data tried to show that there are differences in relationships in families where the generations are living together and the families with separate living of generations. However, this presumption was not confirmed and our data show that there is no difference in frequency and quality of relationships between both groups of families. The important question is, if the face-to-face communication has been replaced by other means of communication, especially through modern media, or not. The data show the intensity and content of intergenerational meeting in family. It brings some view on the attitudes of young Czech people towards their grandparents. The results show the mostly positive intergenerational relationships and the value of older generations for young people. Interesting are expressions of appreciation of grandmothers and grandfathers from their grandchildren. The relationships to grandparents are mostly influenced by the whole family climate and are closely connected with the parental attitudes toward the older generations.