The implications of today's family structures for support giving to older parents

Abstract

There is considerable debate about the effects of today's family structures on support arrangements for older people. Using representative data from The Netherlands, the study reported in this paper investigates which sociodemographic characteristics of adult children and their elderly parents, and which motivations of the adult children, correlate with children giving practical and social support to their parents. The findings indicate that the strongest sociodemographic correlates of a higher likelihood of giving support were : having few siblings, having a widowed parent without a new partner and, for practical support, a short geographical distance between the parent's and child's homes. Single mothers were more likely to receive support than mothers with partners, irrespective of whether their situation followed divorce or widowhood. Widowed fathers also received more support, but only with housework. A good parent-child relationship was the most important motivator for giving support, whereas subscribing to filial obligation norms was a much weaker motivator, especially for social support. Insofar as demographic and cultural changes in family structures predict a lower likelihood of support from children to elderly parents, this applies to practical support, and derives mainly from increased geographical separation distances and from the growing trend for parents to take new partners. Social support is unlikely to be affected by these changes if parents and children maintain good relationships.

Challenges in moving from macro to micro: Population and family structures in ageing societies

“…Finch and Mason (1993) have described in detail how family responsibilities are negotiated over time, and how some children in the family end up committing themselves to taking care of parents, while others do not. Earlier research has demonstrated, perhaps contrary to common belief, that having fewer siblings increases the probability of providing help (Spitze and Logan 1991;Stuifbergen et al 2008;Brandt, Haberkern, and Szydlik 2009) and keeping in touch with parents (van Gaalen, Dykstra, and Flap 2008). Having many siblings may make it easier to avoid care responsibility by passing it on to brothers, and in particular to sisters.…”

Factores de riesgo de la dependencia funcional en las personas mayores chilenas y consecuencias en el cuidado informal

“…Estos resultados son concordantes con la evidencia internacional, donde también se encuentra que el número, tipo y calidad de las relaciones familiares y personales difieren claramente entre hombres y mujeres, resultado de los diversos roles que cada uno desarrolla en la sociedad (Guzmán, Huenchuan y Montes de Oca 2003). Las mujeres siguen siendo las principales cuidadoras de las personas en edad avanzada, a pesar de que en la actualidad hay más hombres que participan en el cuidado de familiares (Herrera y Kornfeld 2008;Stuifbergen, Van Delden y Dykstra 2008). En particular, son las hijas quienes con mayor frecuencia asumen el cuidado diario de los padres enfermos, mientras que los hijos más bien se responsabilizan de la toma de decisiones y apoyo financiero, dando así ayuda específica en ciertas situaciones (Finch y Maison 1991;Ingersoll-Dayton, Starrels y Dowler 1996;Spitze y Logan 1990).…”

The intermediate effect of geographic proximity on intergenerational support

“…Some studies have asserted that there is a relationship between poor health status and proximity, as having a greater need for support can induce family members to move closer to each other (Hank 2007). With respect to gender, women are likely to receive and give more support, as the daughter-mother bond tends to be stronger (Igel et al 2009;Stuifbergen, Van Delden, and Dykstra 2008). This stronger bond would also be related to closer geographic proximity (Shelton and Grundy 2000).…”