TY - JOUR
T1 - Relationship between parents and their adult children: a west European typology of late-life families
AU - Dykstra, P.A.
AU - Fokkema, C.M.
N1 - Reporting year: 2011
PY - 2011
Y1 - 2011
N2 - Following Reher’s (1998) seminal paper on family ties in western Europe, the perspective that family solidarity patterns are divided between an individualistic north and a famialistic south has dominated the literature. We challenge this view and address the variability in intergenerational family solidarity within and across countries. Using multiple dimensions of intergenerational solidarity drawn from the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe, we develop a typology of late-life families which is robust across northern, central and southern regions.The four types are: (a) descending familialism : living nearby, frequent contact, endorsement of family obligation norms, and primarily help in kind from parents to children, (b) ascending familialism : living nearby, frequent contact, endorsement
of family obligation norms, and primarily help in kind from children to parents, (c) supportive-at-distance: not living nearby, frequent contact, refutation of family obligation norms, and primarily financial transfers from parents to adult children, (d) autonomous : not living nearby, little contact, refutation of family obligation norms, and few support exchanges. The four types are common in each European country, though the distributions differ. The findings suggest that scholars should abandon the idea that a particular country can be characterised by a single dominant type of late-life family. Socio-demographic differentials in family type follow predictable patterns, underscoring the validity of the developed typology.
Keywords: family typology, intergenerational support, familialism, crossnational
differences, Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe.
AB - Following Reher’s (1998) seminal paper on family ties in western Europe, the perspective that family solidarity patterns are divided between an individualistic north and a famialistic south has dominated the literature. We challenge this view and address the variability in intergenerational family solidarity within and across countries. Using multiple dimensions of intergenerational solidarity drawn from the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe, we develop a typology of late-life families which is robust across northern, central and southern regions.The four types are: (a) descending familialism : living nearby, frequent contact, endorsement of family obligation norms, and primarily help in kind from parents to children, (b) ascending familialism : living nearby, frequent contact, endorsement
of family obligation norms, and primarily help in kind from children to parents, (c) supportive-at-distance: not living nearby, frequent contact, refutation of family obligation norms, and primarily financial transfers from parents to adult children, (d) autonomous : not living nearby, little contact, refutation of family obligation norms, and few support exchanges. The four types are common in each European country, though the distributions differ. The findings suggest that scholars should abandon the idea that a particular country can be characterised by a single dominant type of late-life family. Socio-demographic differentials in family type follow predictable patterns, underscoring the validity of the developed typology.
Keywords: family typology, intergenerational support, familialism, crossnational
differences, Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe.
U2 - 10.1017/S0144686X10001108
DO - 10.1017/S0144686X10001108
M3 - Article
SN - 0144-686X
VL - 31
SP - 545
EP - 569
JO - Ageing & Society
JF - Ageing & Society
IS - 4
ER -