Ambivalence, Family Ties, and Doing Sociology

Abstract

ࡗ Ambivalence, Family Ties, and Doing SociologyWe are excited and encouraged by the enthusiasm that our work on ambivalence has generated. Considering the comments in confidential reviews and, now, the public responses that you have just read has been intellectually stimulating. We thank all of the reviewers for the time and effort that they spent reviewing and responding to our work, especially Sara Curran for her innovative and challenging feedback. Like our colleagues, we commend Alexis Walker for proposing this opportunity for open debate and exchange. The willingness to publish theoretical work and to foster discussion supports the goal of articles such as ours to move the understanding of family relations forward by building ideas.Clearly, we are not the first to suggest ambivalence as a useful concept in the study of family relations. However, ours is among very few attempts to develop ambivalence as a distinctly sociological concept connected to strong theoretical traditions in our discipline. Our response addresses four key issues. First, we hope to put to rest the notion that ambivalence can somehow be subsumed within the solidarity model. Then we discuss three interlocking issues related to our thinking about family relationships: assumptions about ''science,'' the distinction between theory and ideology, and views about what constitutes the ''stuff'' of sociology. We use this approach to highlight fundamental differences (and sometimes, parallels) between our views of theory, so-

Structured ambivalence in grandchild care and the quality of life among European grandparents

“…According to Luescher and Pillemer (1998), ambivalence originates from emotional contradictions at the individual level, such as the coexistence of positive and negative feelings toward a close person. Connidis and McMullin (2002a) expand the concept of ambivalence to capture a mismatch between individual behaviour and the societal context, such as social norms and welfare state policies, which they call ''structured ambivalence''.…”

Age Relations and Family Ties Over the Life Course: Spanning the Macro–Micro Divide

“…The concept of ambivalence serves a significant sensitizing and linking function in stressing the contradictory social expectations of different social groups (e.g., the old and the young) and demands of social institutions (e.g., work and family)-sociological or structural ambivalence-and the mixed emotions of close relationships-psychological ambivalence (Connidis, 2010(Connidis, , 2012Connidis & McMullin, 2002a, 2002bLüscher, 2002Lüscher, , 2004Lüscher & Pillemer, 1998). When we consider our own close family relationships, we have a strong intuitive and experiential understanding of their inherent paradoxes.…”

J’arrête ou tu continues? L’ambivalence intergénérationnelle lors du passage des 16-25 ans à la formation générale des adultes

“…Ce concept suscite rapidement l'intérêt et de stimulantes discussions ont lieu sur sa définition et son articulation dans la recherche empirique (Bengtson et al, 2002;Connidis et McMullin, 2002a, 2002bCurran, 2002;Lüscher, 2002). D'ailleurs, de récentes recherches continuent de mobiliser ce concept (Dolbin-MacNab et al, 2009;Hebblethwaite et Norris, 2010;Kiecolt et al, 2011), dont l'une, québécoise, portant sur les jeunes adultes et leurs parents (Molgat, 2007).…”