An Intergenerational Perspective on Grandparent Roles

Abstract

This study provides an intergenerational perspective on grandparent roles. Data was collected from young parents (N = 105) and middle-age and older adults (N = 105). Both groups identified multiple roles as important for grandparents to initiate with young grandchildren: these included being a playmate as well as a friend, teacher, and role model. Intergenerational differences were also found with middle-age and older adults more likely than young parents to rank religious guide (p < .001) and family historian (p < .05) as important roles to enact with young grandchildren. However, the young parents were more likely than the older participants to predict that grandparents would be remembered by their grandchildren as fun, having high values, being a role model, and financially supportive (p < .001). Recommendations for future intergenerational research are recommended.     

Alcohol and drug abuse among young adults who grew up in substitute care — Findings from a Swedish national cohort study

To what extent substitute long term care modifies intergenerational transmission of substance abuse has rarely been investigated. Using register data, we followed a national cohort born 1973–1985 consisting of 1012 national adoptees, 2408 former children from long term foster care, 348/846 environmental siblings of adoptees/foster children, and 952,935 majority population peers, from their 15th birthday to age 27–35. Using Cox regression, we calculated hazard ratios (HR) for hospital care and criminality associated with illicit drug/alcohol abuse, with adjustments for socio-demographic indicators of caring families, and substance abuse in caring and birth parents.     

中国代际收入传递趋势及教育在传递中的作用

本文利用中国健康营养调查（CHNS）数据,实证检验了出生于1949-1990年男性是否存在代际收入传递,并分析了其变化趋势和教育在代际收入传递中的作用机制。估计结果表明,1949- 1990年代际收入传递程度总体上不断加强,其中60年代初期和80年代初期出现两次传递高峰。中等收入水平者受父辈的影响及加强趋势均最高,呈现双倒“U”特征。城镇传递加强趋势约是农村2倍,城镇高收入水平者受父辈的影响更强,农村则低收入水平者所受影响更强。对教育作用机制分解发现,教育对代际收入传递的解释程度在农村达到26%,城镇则达到36%。家庭环境导致的子女教育机会不平等是影响代际收入传递趋势变化的最主要原因。随着国民教育水平提高,在中国教育的作用也出现了”组合效应”特征。     

“穷二代”与“富二代”:贫富差距的代际传承

财富差距的代际转移形成了较有典型性的"贫二代"和"富二代"社会分层。基于不同的出生背景和成长环境,"贫二代"和"富二代"们各自表现着不同的行为特征。但共通的是,他们所具有的一些特质潜藏着众多危及社会的隐患,极端化的案例已频频发生。"问题"语境下的"贫二代"和"富二代"们对于社会的危害是双重的,一方面在于他们不同的偏执思想引发反社会行为;另一方面则是源于财富差距的扩大化造成"贫二代"与"富二代"之间矛盾加剧。除了通过合理渠道对他们施以教育社会化等有效措施外,还需从根源处着手化解这种隐忧,即缩小贫富差距,实现共同富裕。     

金融危机下大股东大宗交易行为的实证分析

通过对2006-2008年的138个大股东大宗增、减持公告数据进行实证分析,发现:大股东大宗交易行为能缓解金融危机下投资者羊群行为和过度反应,改善系统性和结构性市场定价效率;股权分置改革后,股权制衡度较高公司的控股股东倾向于增持,说明控制权竞争现象逐渐显现,这有益于外部治理机制改善;外部大股东没有起到被国外实证结果验证的惩罚低效管理的作用.应对大股东,尤其是外部大股东交易行为加强监管,保护中小股东利益.     

机会不等与收入不均:城乡家庭收入的代际流动

文章提出了机会平等的定义,并给出了二阶随机占优条件下的检验方法。在控制子女努力水平后,利用CHNS数据从代际流动的角度考察了基于家庭背景的机会不等对子女收入的影响。分位回归结果表明,随着分位数的提高,城乡子女收入差距越来越小,但由于机会不等而引起的差异却存在扩大的趋势。建议政府加强对农村教育的投入,提供更多就业培训,为农村子女的发展创造更多的机会。     

代际差异视角下的农民工城市适应——基于重庆和珠三角地区的调查

本研究从代际差异视角出发,利用重庆和珠三角地区调查数据,分析了影响两代农民工城市适应水平差异的因素,研究发现,老一代农民工和新生代农民工在城市适应水平方面存在着显著差异,新生代农民工的城市适应水平更低。仅对第一代农民工造成显著影响的因素有教育程度、配偶是否随迁和打工地生活时间长短,而对新生代农民工造成显著影响的因素为收入和找工作途径,对两代农民工城市适应水平均有影响的因素为是否会讲当地话、住房状况和与当地人交往情况,但住房状况和与当地人交往情况对两代农民工的影响程度存在差异。     

Between research and revival. Emerging trends among highly religious young Catholics in Italy

Research shows that Italians’ religiosity is in constant decline. Religious literacy, individual and collective practice, participation in rituals, faith’s transmission and symbols’ sharing seem to be following a slow but inexorable downward trend. Catholic communities are being depopulated and churches are emptying out. These phenomena, already emerging in those generations born during the economic boom, seem to have a greater impact on younger generations: the decline of Catholicism as a socio-cultural phenomenon is characterising our era. Despite those general trends, young generations are not merely abandoning their faith. Even if faith has lost its social function, young Catholics in Italy often cultivate it on an individual level, between the autonomous search for their own spiritual path and the reproduction of forms of high religiosity derived from the family. In some cases, the younger generations show a renewed religiosity, stronger and more secure than that of their parents, which may sometimes involve them in a path of Catholicism’s rediscovery. The article presents and discusses results on highly religious young Catholics deriving from empirical research on intergenerational religious transmission in Italian families, which has been conducted through focus groups and in-depth interviews between 2020 and 2022.     

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.     

Welfare myths: The transmission of values and work among TANF families

Both “welfare culture” arguments and structural explanations of poverty suggest that attitudes may have an effect on work and welfare outcomes. However, most scholars only examine objective behaviors and characteristics despite the fact that values are an underlying mechanism in explanations of the transmission of welfare and work behavior. Using data from a survey of recent welfare recipients in Louisiana and structural equation methods, we analyze causal relationships among family background, socioeconomic characteristics, attitudes, and two outcomes—TANF participation and employment. We find some support for the intergenerational transmission of welfare but not through values; we find no evidence that under the TANF system, values inhibit work.