The construct of intergenerational solidarity in a lineage perspective: A discussion on underlying theoretical assumptions

Although the construct of intergenerational solidarity has been crucial in analyses of relationships between family generations and contradictory results are obtained, the theoretical assumptions underlying the construct have not been discussed. The present aim is to make this construct of intergenerational solidarity a subject of debate, primarily focusing on the assumed connections between the dimensions of the construct and the theoretical presumptions found in Durkheim's concept of mechanical solidarity. The discussion relies on various empirical studies of family generations. It is concluded that the theoretical assumptions underlying the construct do not seem to be adequate for describing family relations across generations, and an alternative theoretical approach is suggested as a basis for further discussion.     

Parent child relations among very old parents in Wales and the United States: A test of modernization theory

This study contrasts the structure of parent-child relationships of older parents living in Wales, U.K. with those of older parents living in the United States. Specifically, we examine whether the principal dimensions of intergenerational solidarity and their associations with each other, are invariant across two national cultures. Comparable measures are assessed from the responses of older parents participating in three surveys: Bangor Longitudinal Study of Ageing (N = 139), USC Longitudinal Study of Generations (N = 129) and AARP Study of Intergenerational Linkages (N = 102). Overall, there were fewer differences than expected among the samples. Although proximity and contact with adult children were higher among older parents in the Wales sample, there were no appreciable differences in emotional closeness and receipt of help. However, there was a significantly higher correspondence between proximity and emotional closeness among Welsh parents than among both samples of American parents, suggesting that parents in North Wales forge more intimate ties with local children. Moreover, older Welsh parents were more likely than older parents in the American samples to receive help from children who were both proximate and emotionally close. The results are interpreted in terms of the greater importance that neolocality plays in promoting inter generational integration within more traditional cultures and more rural societies.     

Do close parent-child relations reduce the mortality risk of older parents?

This analysis examines the association between affectional solidarity in older parent-child relationships, and the parents' length of survival over a 14-year interval. It is hypothesized that close intergenerational relations have the capacity to reduce pathogenic stress among elderly parents, thereby enhancing their ability to survive. Direct and buffering effects of affectional solidarity, as expressed by 439 elderly parents, are tested using data from the U.S.C. Longitudinal Study of Generations collected between 1971 and 1985. Buffering effects are examined in the context of social decline and social loss experienced by the older parent. Hazard regression models indicate that greater intergenerational affect increases survival time among parents who experienced a loss in their social network, particularly among those who were widowed less than five years. Neither a direct effect of affection nor a buffering effect in the presence of social decline were found. It is concluded that the mortal health risks associated with the stress of being widowed can be partially offset by affectionate relations with adult children.     

Bindung(en) in der Arbeitswelt

Vanishing or decreasing attachment is an indicator for changes within a work-oriented society. This particularly affects employment and our organizational commitment as well as bonds that are established in the context of professional relationships. This text provides a comparative analysis of two attachment-theoretical approaches that have developed simultaneously but independently from one another: commitment research into organizational psychology on the one hand and attachment theory based on developmental psychology on the other. Both are to be examined for their potential, their theoretical and empirical response to current dynamics in the world of work.     

Intergenerational solidarity: the paradox of reciprocity imbalance in ageing welfare states

In this article a new theoretical framework is applied to a research field that is somewhat fragmented, namely that of intergenerational solidarity in ageing welfare states. Inspired by utilitarian considerations many scholars tend to problematize the lack of reciprocity characterizing intergenerational exchanges. As some generations are longer old and more numerous they may receive excessive state‐administered support of the younger generations, especially in a democratic setting. However, in reality there is limited empirical evidence of intergenerational conflict and theoretical explanations of this paradox are rare. An integrated and dynamical approach that incorporates Durkheim's solidarity theory, Honneth's intersubjective recognition theory, and the current work on reciprocal exchange is necessary in order to understand the survival of intergenerational solidarity in ageing welfare states. According to this model reciprocal recognition leading to the empathization of exchanges is the driving force of intergenerational solidarity in a prefigurative and democratized culture where the status of the young has risen dramatically. Hence, we come to the paradoxical conclusion that attempts to preserve intergenerational solidarity by openly denouncing excessive transfers and trying to bypass them institutionally sometimes might be counterproductive because they may erode their empathic underpinnings.     

Farewell to Moms? Maternal Contact for Seven Countries in 1986 and 2001

Challenging the popular narrative of the long‐run decline of the extended family, contemporary studies of intergenerational relations insist that the ties between adult children and their parents are increasing in importance. Although research documents a decline in multigenerational households, there is little empirical evidence on changes over time in other dimensions of intergenerational solidarity. Drawing on 1986 and 2001 data from the International Social Survey Programme, the authors analyzed trends in maternal contact in 7 Western countries: (a) Australia, (b) Austria, (c) Germany (West), (d) Great Britain, (e) Hungary, (f) Italy, and (g) the United States (N = 7,578). They found no evidence that adult children's contact with mothers became less frequent. In particular, contacts that do not require face‐to‐face interaction increased, consistent with the diffusion of cell phones and Internet use over the period. Although theorizing points to demographic developments as driving trends in intergenerational cohesion, changes in population composition played only a minor role.     

Relationships between grandchildren and grandparents in skipped generation families in Thailand

Grandchildren are sometimes left in the care of their grandparents when parents migrate to find work. Using open-ended interviews with 48 grandparents, this study examines intergenerational relationships in “skipped generation households” in rural Thailand. The qualitative analyses identified several ways in which intergenerational relationships were characterized by solidarity (i.e., emotional closeness, instrumental helping, and financial assistance) as well as conflict (i.e., financial tension, grandchildren’s misbehavior, role confusion). These findings have important implications for practitioners and policymakers that could improve intergenerational relationships in skipped generation households.     

Extending the Intergenerational Stake Hypothesis: Evidence of an Intra‐individual Stake and Implications for Well‐being

The intergenerational stake hypothesis suggests that parents are more invested in their children and experience better quality parent–child ties than do their children. In this study the authors examined variation in reports of relationship quality regarding parents and children intra‐individually (do people report better quality ties with their children than with their parents?) and whether within‐person variations have implications for well‐being. Participants age 40–60 (N = 633) reported on their relationship quality (importance, positive quality, and negative quality) with their parents and adult children. Individuals reported their relationships with children were more important and more negative than relationships with parents. Individuals with feelings that were in the opposite direction of the intergenerational stake hypothesis (i.e., greater investment in parents than children) reported poorer well‐being. The findings provide support for the intergenerational stake hypothesis with regard to within‐person variations in investment and show that negative relationship quality may coincide with greater feelings of investment.     

Attachment issues and the cocaine exposed dyad

Through the theoretical lens of attachment theory, the relationship between substance abusing parents and their children exposed prenatally to drugs is explored. Attachment theory, the quality of attachment, attachment classifications, internal working models of attachment, and correlates of attachment classifications are discussed. Case studies of two schoolaged children exposed prenatally to cocaine are presented and interpreted in light of attachment theory set within a social-ecological perspective. Implications for practice and the use of federal policy for this population are explored.     

Keynote 2. Viewing Participants as Resources for One Another,Communities and Societies

Abstract

The new millennium has heralded fundamental shifts in our sense of security and solidarity. Systemic changes are warranted to restructure human relationships both within and between diverse communities. The call for establishing ‘resilient’ communities is becoming a common theme as governments worldwide struggle to maintain social cohesion. The primary purpose of this paper will be to advance the proposition that communities are strengthened economically and socially through the creation of strategic initiatives that foster the establishment and ongoing maintenance of intergenerational solidarity. Intergenerational solidarity is described as an effective vehicle for converting life into a dynamic learning laboratory with mutual benefits for individuals, groups and society. Ageist attitudes and aged-based stereotypes, particularly as applied to older adults and aging, are seen as a threat to intergenerational solidarity. The conventional solidarity model requires comparison and challenge from a framework that incorporates the possibility for negative tensions arising from intergenerational competition for scarce resources and services. A lifespan development perspective is offered as an effective means for viewing how socio-economic conditions and the policy agenda influence interactions between the generations. Core ingredients for developing and sustaining meaningful interaction between generations are proposed and a view of the future is given where aging and the social roles of older adults are transformed.     

South African social workers' knowledge of attachment theory and their perceptions of attachment relationships in foster care supervision

Despite the prominence of attachment theory in international foster care literature and the importance of attachment relationships in successful foster care, attachment theory and practices do not feature prominently in South African foster care research. Against this backdrop, we interviewed twenty South African social workers' about their knowledge of attachment theory and their perceptions of attachment relationships in their own foster care work. Thematic analysis was used to analyse the interviews. We found that the social workers had limited knowledge of attachment theory and interventions; experienced most biological parents as unmotivated to improve their circumstances and attachment relationships with children; indicated that family reunifications were rare occurrences; reported foster parents were mostly kin; and experienced constraining contextual factors that hindered optimal consideration of attachment relationships in foster care supervision.     

Der Wert von Kindern für ihre Eltern

Demographic and micro-economic approaches have not sufficiently resolved the explanation of fertility behavior and intergenerational relationships. The “value-of-children-approach” promises a possibility to solve these problems especially with regard to cross-cultural differences. The approach is re-conceptualized in the framework of the theory of social production functions as a special theory of action. Children are seen as strategic intermediate goods to fulfil basic needs of their (potential) parents: Their (1) work and income utility and their (2) insurance utility increases physical well-being, their (3) status utility and their (4) emotional utility increases social recognition. The explanatory potential of this special theory of action is systematically unfolded for six essential dimensions of the action system of the family (size, durability, context opportunities and restrictions, resources, intergenerational relationships, and gender). Finally, the implications for the modernization and social change of intergenerational relationships in societies with different kinship systems are discussed.     

Where is the exit? Intergenerational ambivalence and relationship quality in high contact ties

We challenge the common idea that solidarity has positive, whereas conflict has negative implications, by investigating intergenerational ambivalence – defined as the co-occurrence of solidarity and conflict – and relationship quality. We use representative data on non-coresident adult children and parents with high levels of contact (weekly or more; N = 2,694 dyads). Results show that over half of high contact parent–child ties can be characterized as ambivalent and of high-quality. The likelihood of negative instead of positive ambivalent ties is greater if adult children have few exit options because they are socially isolated or have a small number of siblings. Ties between fathers and sons, and those between caring daughters and aging parents also have a high probability of belonging to the negative ambivalent type.     

Beyond the Nuclear Family: The Increasing Importance of Multigenerational Bonds

Family relationships across several generations are becoming increasingly important in American society. They are also increasingly diverse in structure and in functions. In reply to the widely debated “family decline” hypothesis, which assumes a nuclear family model of 2 biological parents and children, I suggest that family multigenerational relations will be more important in the 21st century for 3 reasons: (a) the demographic changes of population aging, resulting in “longer years of shared lives” between generations; (b) the increasing importance of grandparents and other kin in fulfilling family functions; (c) the strength and resilience of intergenerational solidarity over time. I also indicate that family multigenerational relations are increasingly diverse because of (a) changes in family structure, involving divorce and stepfamily relationships; (b) the increased longevity of kin; (c) the diversity of intergenerational relationship “types.” Drawing on the family research legacy of Ernest W. Burgess, I frame my arguments in terms of historical family transitions and hypotheses. Research from the Longitudinal Study of Generations is presented to demonstrate the strengths of multigenerational ties over time and why it is necessary to look beyond the nuclear family when asking whether families are still functional.     

Constructing family relationships: Intimacy, harmony and social value in accounts of sheltered retirement community residents

This research was undertaken at a West Coast USA sheltered retirement community where fifteen able elder residents were interviewed about their personal relationships and communication with peers, family and younger people. This paper focuses on respondent's discursive constructions of their relationships with family—particularly adult grandchildren. The analysis shows how respondents' talk about family relationships is largely positive and discusses how respondents build an image of intergenerational solidarity through their accounts of frequency and quality of contact with grandchildren. Some of the ways that intergenerational solidarity is communicated in the context of the interview are: discounting of family problems; cataloguing achievements and talking about grandchildren with pride; demonstrating that they–the elder–are valued; and accounts of how problematic aspects of their relationships are avoided in intergenerational talk.     

The Legacy of Leaving Home: Long‐Term Effects of Coresidence on Parent – Child Relationships

This study investigated how early, “on‐time,” and late home leavers differed in their relations to parents in later life. A life course perspective suggested different pathways by which the time spent in the parental home may set the stage for intergenerational solidarity in aging families. Using fixed‐effects models with data from the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (N = 14,739 parent – child dyads), the author assessed the effects of previous coresidence on intergenerational proximity, contact frequency, and support exchange more than 5 years after children had left home. The results indicated that, compared with siblings who moved out “on time,” late home leavers lived closer to their aging parents, maintained more frequent contact, and were more likely to be providers as well as receivers of intergenerational support. Overall, this evidence paints a positive picture of extended coresidence, revealing its potential to promote intergenerational solidarity across the life course.     

An Attachment Primer for Couple Therapists: Research and Clinical Implications

According to attachment theory, humans are relational beings and even a child's earliest experiences with caregivers have a profound effect on emotional development and an overall approach to relationships. With increasing regularity, couple therapy has utilized attachment language as a conceptual tool, but more work is needed to understand the full clinical implications of attachment theory. These include understanding the intergenerational nature of attachment and adapting the delivery, timing, and pace of interventions to client attachment strategies. In this article, we summarize the origins of attachment theory, its measurement, the role of attachment in couple relationships, attachment stability and change, and ways that attachment informs therapy process and intervention. We hope that this article will provide an impetus for couple therapists to expand their conceptualization and use of attachment in their clinical work and for couple researchers to conduct more clinically relevant, attachment‐oriented process research.     

Case management with borderline children: Theory and practice

Case management with borderline children requires collaborative work with parents and teachers in which the focus is on the child's needs and relationships with others. Understanding of borderline pathology from the perspectives of developmental psychology and object relations theory can be used implicitly in management planning and explicitly in enabling parents and teachers to comprehend the issues and goals of the child's therapy.     

Reflections on the Work of Professor Selma Fraiberg

This paper reviews the work of Professor Selma Fraiberg who became a leading figure in the field of infant mental health. Born in 1918 she first received an MSW in Social Work and then undertook her Analytic Training in Detroit Michigan. While she maintained her identity as a social worker throughout her life, she integrated insights from the fields of social work, psychoanalysis and developmental and ego psychology in her research and practice. This paper traces her development as a clinician, researcher, and educator. Three cases describe her ability to integrate social work methodologies with analytic insights. The cases describe the treatment of a latency age child at a time of social change, a clinical research study of the developmental risk of children blind from birth, and a groundbreaking study in the field of infant mental health. Her study of infants at developmental risk focused on the parent /infant relationship and parents were included in the treatment process so that they could become more attuned to their young child. Her work highlighted the intergenerational issues that shaped the parental capacity for empathic nurturance between parent and child. The article Ghosts in the Nursery incorporated the major theoretical concepts of the new theoretical approach to treatment and is still much read in graduate programs today. Although extensive new research has added to the field of infant mental health, her contributions are still relevant to research and practice today.     

Intergenerational solidarity between parents and adult children: a qualitative research among cohabiting and married children in Italy

The objective of this article is to compare the patterns of intergenerational solidarity between adult children who cohabit or are married and their own parents or their partner's parents through the analysis of 50 in-depth interviews. The research did not reveal any different behavioural patterns between cohabiting and married couples. Financial support provided by own parents or partner's parents and the presence of small children constituted positive factors which intensified the frequency of contacts and improved the quality of the relationship. In the event of illness of a parent, both the married and cohabiting couples provided assistance, especially when the illness was not disabling and there were no other kin relatives. When this was not possible, a private caregiver was hired or close family members provided assistance. Only those respondents who cohabited with a partner awaiting divorce were less willing to maintain contacts with their partner's parents. The presence of a family formed by previously married partners and the old age of the parents of the latter compromised the quality of the relationship and the willingness to provide assistance.