Abstract
The use of new communication technologies promotes dynamics with presence between face-to-face and digital ways in transnational families. Relationships are perceived by migrants in these ...families as enriching, but also as points of contradiction and paradox. This study aims to explore, through the dimensions of the intergenerational solidarity (IS) model, how emigrants perceive the interaction with their parental figures in their country of origin and how the digital space impacts family dynamics. Using a qualitative approach, semi-structured interviews were conducted with young Portuguese adults emigrating in the European space (
N
= 22), and thematic analysis was performed under a constructivist perspective, with the support of the
N-Vivo
software. The results suggest the need to understand family cohesion in a continuum between solidarity-conflict-ambivalence and, above all, how family dynamics are altered by the challenges of transnational dynamics. It is important to consider the experience of family rituals in person and digitally. Digital communication mitigates differences and isolation, since it promotes more contact, leading to less cultural shock, which can promote more connection.
In enterprising families, the family, as a social institution, is the foundation of the family business. However, in enterprising families, intergenerational succession remains problematic. Using ...intergenerational solidarity theory, and data from the 2013 Global University Entrepreneurial Spirit Students Survey (GUESSS; N = 18,576), our findings indicate that affective commitment partially mediates the relationship between family business exposure and offspring’s succession intentions. We also find that this relationship is stronger for sons than for daughters, while birth order has no effect. Implications for theory and practice are discussed.
Abstract
Previous research has not considered how digital communication fits with the established intergenerational solidarity paradigm, although the paradigm has undergone other refinements over ...time. Consequently, less is known about how the use of digital communication creates new types of intergenerational solidarity between parents and adult children, and how they are associated with their well‐being. With this foundation, we aimed to identify new dyadic patterns of intergenerational solidarity between parents and adult children during the COVID‐19 pandemic in South Korea, with an emphasis on digital communication (texting, video call, and social media interaction), its intersection with other dimensions of solidarity, and its association with parents' and children's well‐being (depressive symptoms, self‐esteem, and life satisfaction). Using an online survey method, we collected data from 407 parent–adult child dyads between April and June 2022 from the Seoul Metropolitan area in South Korea. Three‐step latent class analysis was used for data analysis. We identified four classes describing intergenerational solidarity between parents and adult children (
tight‐knit
,
distant‐but‐digitally‐connected
,
conflictual
, and
independent
). We found that among dyads of parents and adult children who had
tight‐knit
and
distant‐but‐digitally‐connected
relationships with each other, parents reported better well‐being on all three outcomes, and children reported better life satisfaction compared to dyads who had
conflictual
relationships. Our findings suggest that incorporating digital communication into the intergenerational solidarity paradigm is useful to better understand the multidimensional characteristics of intergenerational relationships between older parents and their adult children.
Few studies have yet investigated how intergenerational solidarity between parents and adult children is associated with intragenerational relations between siblings. Theoretically, one might expect ...compensation between inter- and intragenerational relationship solidarity as well as spillover effects from parent-child solidarity to sibling solidarity. Using data from the German Family Panel (pairfam), this study analyzes 5410 interviews with young adults who provided detailed information on the relationships to their parents and up to four siblings. Focusing on four dimensions of relationships in families (contact, emotional closeness, intimacy, and conflict), hierarchical linear regression results provide general support for the assumption that inter- and intragenerational relations reinforce each other. We also find evidence for the existence of partially compensating relationships: more frequent intergenerational conflicts, for example, not only predict more frequent conflicts between siblings, but also greater intimacy. The results are in line with predictions derived from family systems theory as well as social learning and attachment theories.
Objective
This study contributes in‐depth knowledge about informal childcare and family processes in East Asian families in Hong Kong in a time of rapid economic and social development. We explore ...how families negotiate grandparent childcare and how parents and grandparents manage intergenerational tensions and conflict.
Background
The common way of understanding intergenerational relationships in childcare is to focus on the positive experience of taking care of grandchildren, but there is limited discussion on the tension and conflicts that also occur between the generations.
Method
This qualitative study is based on in‐depth interviews with 14 parents and 12 grandparents about childcare arrangements for 53 children within East Asian families in Hong Kong.
Results
Tensions are found among the parents and grandparents in childcare provision, and considerable negotiation and ongoing emotional management of relationships is required.
Conclusion
Grandparent childcare is an important resource for many families, but it might not suit all. The issues of autonomy, seniority, power, respect, and different expectations of care are embedded in established family dynamics. Some intergenerational problems are unable to be settled by the family members.
Implications
Grandparent childcare should be a care option provided for families with young children. However, it should not be a substitute for childcare services and supports outside the home. Professional family services also should be sensitive to intergenerational family dynamics.
Socioecological crises, such as the climate crisis, place a heavy burden on young and future generations. However, these generations have less influence on political and economic decisions. Older ...generations will be less affected by most socioecological crises but have a greater impact in terms of contribution and resolution. Therefore, young and future generations depend on older generations to act in solidarity. In a preregistered online survey study, we examined the political solidarity of older adults with young people in three countries (US, N = 399; Germany, N = 401; and Brazil, N = 403). Results show that affinity with young people and legacy motivation directly explained intergenerational political solidarity in all three countries. In the US and Brazil, quantity and quality of intergenerational contact with young people indirectly explained political solidarity through affinity. These findings suggest that increasing the closeness between generations may be a promising lever for intergenerational solidarity.
Single-parent families have become increasingly prevalent in modern times, with approximately one in five children being raised in such households in the Republic of Serbia. The reasons behind the ...emergence of single-parent families have changed throughout history, and society has treated these families differently. Divorces occur more frequently in modern living conditions, and extramarital births are not as rare as they were in the past. This paper presents the results of an empirical study conducted in the AP Vojvodina on a sample of 200 single-parent families. The focus is on the analysis of the financial status of single-parent families, intergenerational relationships, parenting practices, and the potential for forming new, recombined families. The conclusion is that financial hardship is a significant issue for these families, with no significant difference in their status between rural and urban areas.
Abstract
With our analysis of the Korean society we intend to make an innovative contribution to research on intergenerational solidarity by examining how the introduction of welfare policies has ...changed patterns of intergenerational solidarity. Using aggregated data from the Korean Longitudinal Study of Aging, the Korean General Social Survey, and the Korean Social Survey, we examine the changing character of intergenerational solidarity by focusing on national trends in both societal practice and intergenerational norms from 2002 to 2018. Our findings show that patterns of Korean intergenerational solidarity have modified in various respects. The normative dimension of the familial/filial contract has profoundly changed along with the developing welfare state, shifting from a dominantly filial piety‐centric character to more complementarity contract‐based norms in which children, welfare state and society are all assigned responsibility for the well‐being of parents. Intergenerational “functional” solidarity, however, in terms of the exchange of money and practical support has not de‐filialized.
Abstract
Objectives
Popular responses to the pandemic illustrate ageism’s pervasiveness and the extent of collective acquiescence to its newest expressions. We explore these themes by analyzing ...Twitter reactions to “calculated ageism”—a term we use to refer to a political figure’s edict that older adults should sacrifice their lives if it will mitigate the pandemic’s economic damage to younger people.
Method
Using thematic analysis, we examine tweets (n = 188) responding to Texas Lt. Governor Dan Patrick’s March 23, 2020, statement that encouraged generational self-sacrifice. Themes that emerged included positions of support or opposition and tweeters’ critiques.
Results
The large majority of tweets—90%—opposed calculated ageism, while only 5% supported it and 5% conveyed no position. Opposition centered on moral critiques, political-economic critiques, assertions of older adults’ worth, and public health arguments. Support centered on individual responsibility and patriotism.
Discussion
While prior research reveals ageism’s entrenchment in popular culture, our study finds that it has limits and identifies the reasons underlying them. The most common reasons for opposing calculated ageism center on its immorality and on its privileging of the economic interests of the powerful few over the many, patterns suggesting that the boundaries of ageism are influenced by core beliefs about fairness. They also are shaped by a bedrock conviction that older lives have value. This intergenerational solidarity could be leveraged to reduce ageism during the pandemic and beyond.
We aimed to identify intergenerational solidarity (emotional closeness, in-person contact, phone contact, geographic proximity, consensus, and conflict) with digital communication (texting, video ...call, and social media interaction) with adult children among older parents during the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition, we aimed to investigate whether intergenerational solidarity with digital communication latent classes were associated with older parents' psychological well-being. We used the 2022 survey of the Longitudinal Study of Generations (LSOG). The sample consisted of 519 older parents who reported about 1245 adult children. Two-level latent class analysis identified six classes at the child level (Level 1: distant but digitally connected, tight-knit and digitally connected, tight-knit traditional, detached, intimate but distant, and sociable). In addition, the analysis identified three classes at the parent level (Level 2: digitally connected, mixed, and intimate but distant). Results of multivariate regression showed that older parents in the digitally connected latent class had better psychological well-being than those in the mixed latent class. Consequently, our finding indicates that digital solidarity with adult children can be beneficial for older parents' psychological well-being during the COVID-19 pandemic.
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