Resource Theory and Power in Families: Life Cycle Considerations

Abstract

We begin our discussion by outlining the usefulness of "resource theory" as a theoretical framework for the study of family power. This framework is then used to analyze changes in the balance of power between elderly parents and their middle-age children. With respect to intergenerational power relationships, we argue that the autonomy of elderly parents has increased, but their power and influence over adult children has decreased. This trend is likely to continue in coming decades. Resource theory is then utilized to analyze changes in marital power relationships as couples age. Most studies of power relationships between elderly spouses have an important limitation--they tend to reflect yesterday's definitions of male and female roles. Recent changes in these roles may significantly alter the social meanings of aging for both men and women in coming years.

The Problem of Gender in Family Therapy Theory

“…The idealization and blaming of the mother are two sides of the belief in the all-powerful mother (9). Paradoxically, with the birth of each child, the mother's power in the family diminishes relative to her husband's (29). Society is beginning to espouse equality for women, but not yet for mothers (26,27).…”

Gezinstherapie en de belangen van vrouwen

“…Het is begrijpelijk dat de belangen van degene die dit eindbeslissingsrecht heeft goed gewaarborgd zijn (Komter, 1985(Komter, , 1990. Dit verschil in macht tussen vrouw en man neemt toe bij de geboorte van een eerste kind en bij ieder volgend kind (Hesse-Biber & Williamson, 1984).…”

Women Growing Stronger with Age: The Effect of Status in the United States and Kenya

“…Studies of interpersonal powerthe social control an individual has over others, or more simply, the ability to get one's way-also contradict negative stereotypes about older women. Gutmann (1987), Neugarten (1968), and others (Friedman, 1987;Hesse-Biber & Williamson, 1984;Levinson, 1978;Todd & Friedman, 1979;Vaillant, 1977;Veroff, Reuman, & Feld, 1984) reported studies that demonstrate an increase in the perceived strength, confidence, and interpersonal power of women relative to men in the second half of life. In a series of cross-cultural studies utilizing the Thematic Apperception Test (TAT), Gutmann (1987) found that both older women and older men tell stories in which the female character is as strong as or stronger than the male character, as compared to the stories of younger men and women, who see the female as relatively powerless.…”

“…The more biological views, such as Gutmann's, ignore the cultural, social, and economic context in which aging takes place. They fail to consider the possibility that interpersonal power requires a resource base in the form of economic resources, social status, or other variables such as attractiveness (Hesse-Biber & Williamson, 1984). Much of the previous research has been conducted in the .United States, where middle-class women have a relatively secure economic base and can expect to grow more prosperous with age, a social condition that may account for their shift in power with age.…”