Ambivalence and Living Apart Together in Later Life: A Critical Research Proposal

Most unattached older persons who would like an intimate partnership do not want to remarry or be in a marriage‐like relationship. A growing trend is to live apart together (LAT) in an ongoing intimate relationship that does not include a common home. We address the debate about whether LAT constitutes a new form of intimate relationship in a critical assessment of research on LAT relationships that applies ambivalence and concepts from the life course perspective. We conclude that among older but not younger adults, LAT relationships are generally a stable alternative to living with a partner, negotiated in the context of current social institutions and arrangements. We propose research questions that address later life living apart together as an innovative alternative intimate relationship. We encourage comparative work on the unique challenges of later life living apart together, their implications for other family ties, and their connection to social and cultural arrangements.     

Ambivalence in Later‐Life Family Networks: Beyond Intergenerational Dyads

In later life, changing conditions related to health, partnership, and economic status may trigger not only support but also conflict and ambivalence, with the consequent renegotiation of family ties. The aim of this study is to investigate both conflict and emotional support in the family networks of older adults, taking the research beyond the level of intergenerational dyads. We used a subsample of 563 elders (aged 65 years and older) from the Swiss Vivre/Leben/Vivere survey. Multiple correspondence analysis and in‐depth case studies were used to identify the key social conditions that relate to the prevalence of conflicted and supportive dyads in family networks. Findings showed that the balance of conflict and emotional support in older adults' family networks varied according to the composition of their family network as well as their age, health, income, and gender.     

Ambivalence in Older Parent–Adult Child Relationships: Mixed Feelings,Mixed Measures

This research compared direct and indirect measures of ambivalence, 2 commonly used strategies for measuring intergenerational ambivalence between older parents and their adult children. Directly and indirectly measured ambivalence, corresponding to felt and potential manifestations of the construct, were contrasted with each other and across generations. Data were derived from 253 older parent–adult child dyads participating in the Longitudinal Study of Generations in 2005. Direct and indirect measures of ambivalence were moderately correlated with each other within each generation. Children expressed greater indirect ambivalence than their parents but were no different than their mothers or fathers in their levels of direct ambivalence. Multivariate regression analyses examining the relationship between each type of ambivalence with individual and relationship characteristics found differences in associations across equations. The results suggest that direct and indirect measures are related but represent 2 distinct conceptions of ambivalence. This research highlights the challenges in understanding the full complexity of intergenerational relations and suggests that both generational perspectives be considered in future research.     

Ambivalence in the Relationship of Adult Children to Aging Parents and In‐Laws

The concept of ambivalence emphasizes the complexity of family relations and the potential for individuals to evaluate relationships as both positive and negative. Using multilevel models, we investigate ambivalence in adult children's relationships with their aging parents and in‐laws (N= 1,599). We focus on factors predicting adult children's ambivalence toward parents and in‐laws within a gendered kinship structure that shapes these relations. We conclude that ambivalence is a useful concept for representing the complexity of parent‐child relationships and is produced within the context of social relations structured by gender and kinship. Results show greater ambivalence among dyads of women, toward in‐laws, among those in poor health, for daughters providing assistance, and for adult children with poor parental relations in early life.     

Parenting in Later Life: A Cross-Cultural Study

This study explored older parents’ beliefs about their parental role with their adult children, their perceptions of intergenerational conflicts between themselves and their adult children, and the negotiation of autonomy versus dependence with adult children in later life. The influence of cultural norms and mutual dependence on these intergenerational relationships was also evaluated. Focus groups were conducted with two groups of older adults attending a senior center in New York City—one who identified as American and the other as Asian Indian. Implications of the findings and recommendations for social workers are highlighted.     

Intergenerational Activities that Promote Engaging Conversations are Preferred among Young and Older Adults

ABSTRACT

Loneliness negatively affects young and older adults. Intergenerational activities foster social connectedness. Using quantitative and qualitative methods, this study explored which intergenerational activities are most enjoyable for college students and retirement community residents. Demographics, loneliness, enjoyment, conversation level, and type of activity were analyzed. The enjoyment and conversation variables were positively correlated (r = .59, p < .001) which was supported by participants’ narratives. Both populations most enjoyed the activities with higher conversation levels, with the first being committees, followed by meals, one on one activities, and transportation. Retirement communities and universities should promote intergenerational activities, which include meaningful conversations.     

Sociological Ambivalence and Family Ties: A Critical Perspective

We develop the concept of ambivalence as structurally created contradictions that are made manifest in interaction. We discuss how our reconceptualization enhances the relevance of ambivalence to sociological analyses of family ties. Ambivalence is a particularly useful concept when imbedded in a theoretical framework that views social structure as structured social relations, and individuals as actors who exercise agency as they negotiate relationships within the constraints of social structure. The strengths of conceptualizing ambivalence within this framework are illustrated with examples of caring for older family members and of balancing paid work and family responsibilities.     

Ambivalence in Gay and Lesbian Family Relationships

Intergenerational ambivalence—the simultaneous presence of both positive and negative dimensions of a parent–child tie—is a concept widely used in family studies. Scholars have clarified the measurement of psychological ambivalence, or an individual's own feelings of ambivalence toward others. Yet research has yet to demonstrate whether—and, if so, how—individuals characterize others as ambivalent. Moreover, relatively little is known about ambivalence in gay and lesbian families. In the present study 60 in‐depth interviews were analyzed to identify what the author calls perceived ambivalence in the parent, sibling, extended kin, and “in‐law” relationships of gay and lesbian adults. Perceived ambivalence is revealed through gay and lesbian adults' characterizations of family members' simultaneous positive and negative overt and covert beliefs and behavior. In addition, the author refines the concept of collective ambivalence, wherein perceived ambivalence typifies an entire family unit. The findings further revealed the importance of broader sociological factors, such as homophobia, in structuring perceived ambivalence.     

Bridging the Intergenerational Gap: Reflections for the Field

In this paper, the authors describe the first year of a project and the process undertaken to implement intergenerational (IG) programs in two sites: a continuing care retirement community and an early care and education center, which are located geographically close to one another in a small Midwestern town in the United States. The authors discuss the application and results based on the management framework for IG programming articulated by Jarrot and colleagues (2006) and its utility for planning and implementing IG programming in both sites. Reflections about the planning and implementation and outcomes of IG programs are also included.     

Cambodian Refugee Families: Impacts of Immigration-Related Stressors on Intergenerational Relationships

The purpose of this study was to elucidate Cambodian refugees’ perceptions of immigration-related stressors and their impacts on intergenerational relations during the processes of immigration and settlement. We used narrative analysis to evoke older immigrants’ voices as they transitioned to the United States. Thirty-one Cambodian immigrants were interviewed using open-ended interview guides informed by ethnographic tenets of data collection. Participants expressed (a) changes in family structure and elder isolation and (b) intergenerational ambivalence and elder’s dependence on adult children as products of immigration-related stressors. Implications of these results for refugee and immigrant mental health research are discussed.     

The Intergenerational Transmission of Union Instability in Early Adulthood

Research on the intergenerational transmission of divorce should be expanded to incorporate disrupted nonmarital cohabitations. This study (a) examined the transmission of union instability from parents to offspring using data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health, (b) replaced binary variables (divorced vs. nondivorced) typically used in this literature with count variables (number of disrupted unions), (c) relied on independent sources for data on parents' and offspring's union disruptions to minimize same‐source bias, (d) assessed the mediating role of theoretically derived variables (many not previously considered in this literature), and (e) incorporated information on discord in intact parental unions. Parent and offspring union disruptions were positively linked, with each parental disruption associated with a 16% increase in the number of offspring disruptions, net of controls. The mediators collectively accounted for 44% of the estimated intergenerational effect. Parent discord in intact unions was associated with more offspring disruptions.     

Long‐Term Influences of Intergenerational Ambivalence on Midlife Parents' Psychological Well‐being

We investigated changes in midlife parents' intergenerational ambivalence toward a focal child and its influence on their psychological well‐being over 14 years, as the focal child moved from adolescence into young adulthood. We estimated growth curve models using three waves of data from the National Survey of Families and Households (N = 1,510 parents aged 35–54 years at Time 1). Parental ambivalence declined over time, equally among mothers and fathers. The prediction from ambivalence theory that children's attainment of adult statuses reduces parental ambivalence received only modest support. Only the focal child's marriage reduced parental ambivalence. The focal child's lifestyle–behavioral problems during adolescence still elevated ambivalence 14 years later, albeit less so. For its part, intergenerational ambivalence counteracted trends toward declining depressive symptoms and greater happiness for mothers and fathers alike, and its effects remained constant over time.     

Claymation for Collective Intelligence and Intergenerational Learning in an Educational Environment

Elementary students, volunteering older adults, and university students use their collective intelligence as they engage in intergenerational learning during an after-school enrichment activity producing Claymation videos. Participant reflections, completed questionnaires, and candid photos document learning and relationship building, suggesting intergenerational visual art engagement as a replicable method of lifelong learning for multiages in a school environment.     

Process of Intergenerational Ambivalence: A Qualitative Inquiry

The phenomena of intergenerational ambivalence are often explained in terms of autonomy versus dependency, conflicting norms between generation regarding role expectation in intergenerational relations, and there has been a tendency to believe these factors lead to intergenerational ambivalence. This article intends to explain the family interaction processes that leads to the ambivalence type of relationships. A purposive sample of 185 respondents from 48 families was randomly selected from urban and rural area. The sample comprised father, son, mother-in-law, and daughter-in-law within the joint family. Data were collected through a narrative method and analyzed with a structure model analysis. The data reveal that in the process of interaction, generations have similarities in functional process (physical, economic, and emotional support) but have differences in normative (fulfillment of familial obligation, role, and responsibility) and consensual processes (differences in values and attitude). These differences can lead to negative subjective experiences in terms of stress and strain. Thus, to avoid such situations, participants often used emotion-focused coping approaches also maintaining ambivalence with respect to their intergenerational relationships.     

Families in Later Life: A Decade in Review

Later-life families encompass the legal, biological, romantic, and kin-like relationships of persons ages 65 and older. Research on older families has flourished over the past decade, as population aging has intensified concerns regarding the capacities of families to care for older adults and the adequacy of public pension systems to provide an acceptable standard of living. Shifting patterns of family formation over the past half-century have created a context in which contemporary older adults' family lives differ markedly from earlier generations. Decreasing numbers of adults are growing old with their first and only spouse, with rising numbers divorcing, remarrying, forming non-marital romantic partnerships, or living single by choice. Remarriage and the formation of stepfamilies pose challenges and opportunities as older adults negotiate complex decisions such as inheritance and caregiving. Family relationships are consequential for older adults' well-being, operating through both biological and psychosocial mechanisms. We synthesize research from the past decade, revealing how innovations in data and methods have refined our understanding of late-life families against a backdrop of demographic change. We show how contemporary research refines classic theoretical frameworks and tests emerging conceptual models. We organize the article around two main types of family relationships: (1) marriage and romantic partnerships and (2) intergenerational relationships. We discuss how family caregiving occurs within these relationships, and offer three promising avenues for future research: ethnic minority and immigrant families; older adults without close kin (“elder orphans”); and the potentials of rapidly evolving technologies for intergenerational relationships and caregiving.