The Effects of Ageing on Intergenerational Support Exchange: A New Look at the Hypothesis of Flow Reversal

Abstract

There has been debate about whether the flow of intergenerational support reverses as parents age. One view is that in western countries, parents remain ‘net donors’ to children, even in very old age. Such a conclusion coincides with notions of parental altruism and would be in contrast to notions of exchange and reciprocity over the life course. This paper examines the thesis of flow reversal in a new way: it uses prospective longitudinal data, it combines data from samples of ageing parents and samples of adult children, it develops a way to create measures of balance from frequency items on support exchange, and it combines objective measures of support exchange with subjective perceptions of symmetry. The focus is limited to support that involves time and effort. The support that parents give to children declines with age, the support they receive increases, and at around age 75–76, parents become ‘net receivers’. The decline in downward support is stronger than the increase in upward support, suggesting that declining parental opportunities to give plays an important role in the flow reversal. In sum, the analyses provide evidence for what we can call delayed and parent-driven flow reversal. Evidence for flow reversal is stronger in the sample of adult children, pointing to the limitations of sampling ageing parents. Finally, there is correspondence between objective measures of support exchange and perceptions of symmetry, although on the whole, few parents regard themselves as ‘net receivers’.

The Demography of Multigenerational Caregiving: A Critical Aspect of the Gendered Life Course

“…Downward transfers are the most common across the life course in Europe (Albertini et al 2007;Daatland and Lowenstein 2005) but decline as age increases (Kalmijn 2019). Providing personal care and financial transfers upward to parents is uncommon (Albertini et al 2007;McGarry and Schoeni 1995) except when parents are at the oldest ages and adult children increase their giving to parents (Kalmijn 2019). Caring for a spouse is especially common as people age (Glauber 2017), as are increases in care for siblings (Connidis 1994).…”

“…The types of care given also may depend on the direction of caregiving. Downward transfers are the most common across the life course in Europe (Albertini et al 2007;Daatland and Lowenstein 2005) but decline as age increases (Kalmijn 2019). Providing personal care and financial transfers upward to parents is uncommon (Albertini et al 2007;McGarry and Schoeni 1995) except when parents are at the oldest ages and adult children increase their giving to parents (Kalmijn 2019).…”

The Effect of Social Communication on Life Satisfaction among the Rural Elderly: A Moderated Mediation Model

“…Intergenerational support is a variety of help provided for the elderly by their children or grandchildren in the family, including financial support, life care, and emotional support [33]. In the study, we mainly focused on emotional support which is the emotional comfort that the children provide to the elderly by talking, sharing, and caring.…”

Parental Financial Transfers: Do They Vary by Children’s Sexual Orientation?

“…A minimum age of 15 years was chosen because this is the point at which the HILDA Survey begins collecting information from household members. A maximum age of 50 years was chosen because parental financial support to their adult children drops dramatically in their 40s (Cooney and Uhlenberg 1992), and because the intergenerational flow of financial help reverses at older ages-i.e., children become more likely to send money to elderly parents, than the other way around (Kalmijn 2018).…”

“…Specifically, previous research documents a comparatively higher prevalence of parental financial transfers when children are in the late teens and early 20s, followed by a sharp and sustained decline during middle and late adulthood (Cooney and Uhlenberg 1992). This pattern emerges due to a combination of increasing financial independence as children grow older and attain better-paying and more secure jobs, and a reduced capacity of ageing parents to provide financial help-due to reduced labor income, poor health, or the experience of separation, divorce or widowhood (Cooney and Uhlenberg 1992; Kalmijn 2018;Leopold and Schneider 2011). Further, the life-course trajectories and circumstances of LGB and 'straight' individuals may be very different-for example, due to differences in their propensities to have long-term partners, marry and have children (Peplau and Fingerhut 2007;Rothblum 2009).…”