| Abstract: | The power reversal experienced by families of dependent elders may prove more important and difficult to negotiate than widely recognized transition such as divorce and retirement. Elders who must depend on their children for assistance fall from a position of power, independence and relatively high status to a dependent, inferior status in relation to their children. Family power traditions define the types of compliance that are expected of dependent numbers and the prerogatives accorded those with more power. Knowledge olf these and power dynamics will enable the social worker to conceptualize and intervene in problems of intergenerational conflict. |
