Families and intergenerational relationships in aging societies: comparing the United States with German-speaking countries.

Industrialized nations have experienced many demographic changes favoring older adults during the last few decades of the 20th century. This article is a comparative examination of current and future trends in intergenerational relationships and aging in two societies: the United States and German-speaking countries. While comparing similarities and significant differences between the cultures, we examine five issues related to these trends for families and intergenerational relationships in the 21st century: (1) consequences of population aging for family structures and relationships--the emergence of the beanpole family structure and the longer years of linked lives across generations; (2) the debate about the decline of the family; (3) intergenerational solidarity over the life course; (4) intergenerational conflict across the life course; (5) prospects for solidarity and conflict between generations in the 21st century. Similarities between cultures include the demographic realities of population aging, the shift from pyramids to beanpoles, more years of shared lives between and across generations, more non-traditional family forms, and intergenerational conflicts in families. Differences include diverse replacement fertility rates, alternative approaches to governmental supports for families and aging members, and possible differences in cultural values regarding individualism.

Age and emotional response to the Northridge earthquake: a longitudinal analysis.

Cross-sectional studies have found older adults to have lower levels of emotional distress after natural disasters. The maturation hypothesis suggests that older adults are less reactive to stress events, whereas the inoculation hypothesis argues that prior experience with disaster is protective. One hundred and sixty-six adults aged 30 to 102 were interviewed regarding the 1994 Northridge earthquake. Longitudinal data were available on depressed mood before and after the earthquake. The maturation hypothesis was generally not supported. The young-old were least depressed; however, this age difference was present prior to the earthquake. The old-old showed lowest levels of earthquake-specific rumination, but age did not buffer the relationship between damage exposure and rumination. The inoculation hypothesis was supported for depressed mood. Prior earthquake experience was related to lower postearthquake depression scores.

Types of conflicts and tensions between older parents and adult children.

What are the most common themes of conflict between aging parents and their adult children? Six types emerged in a qualitative analysis of Longitudinal Study of Generations survey data: conflicts over (1) communication and interaction style; (2) habits and lifestyle choices; (3) child-rearing practices and values; (4) politics, religion, and ideology; (5) work habits and orientations; and (6) household standards or maintenance. There were generational differences: parents most often listed conflicts over habits and lifestyle choices, whereas children cited communication and interaction style. These results suggest a new agenda for gerontological research: intergenerational conflict in the context of solidarity within aging families.

Theory, explanation, and a third generation of theoretical development in social gerontology.

Efforts at cumulative knowledge building in social gerontology have been lax, judging from research articles published in journals between 1990 and 1994. Too little attention has been paid to the cumulative development of theory; readers are left with many empirical generalizations but underdeveloped explanations by which to interpret findings and build upon them in subsequent research. To assist future theory development in social gerontology, we review seven theoretical perspectives referenced most frequently in recent journals: (1) social constructionist, (2) social exchange, (3) life course, (4) feminist, (5) age stratification (age and society), (6) political economy of aging, and (7) critical theory. We suggest that, taken together, these represent a "third generation" of explanation in social gerontology, noting their debt to older and more established traditions in social science theory. We argue that authors and journal reviewers should place more emphasis on theory development - which means, most simply, the construction of explicit explanations in accounting for empirical findings - if knowledge development about social aspects of aging is to be cumulative, systematic, and incremental.

Geographic distance and contact between middle-aged children and their parents: the effects of social class over 20 years.

This research derives and tests hypotheses from two alternative conceptual models: the modified extended family model, and the changing family constraints model, which takes into account recent changes in work and family life. The hypotheses address social class differences in geographic distance and contact frequency between middle-aged children and their parents over time. Simultaneous probit models are used to analyze distance and contact as jointly determined outcomes with data from the USC Longitudinal Study of Generations and Mental Health. Results from these analyses indicate that children's 1971 educational aspirations and social class positions predict 1991 distance and contact between generations. Parents who have lower 1991 incomes, however, live farther from children and talk with them on the telephone less frequently than higher-income parents. Thus, the effects of early social class position support the modified extended family model, whereas the effects of current social class position support the changing family constraints model.

Progress and pitfalls in gerontological theorizing.

Since 1988, there has been a commendable increase in concern for explicit theory development in gerontology. However, this has not been reflected in recent journal articles reporting empirical research. We summarize some central issues in the recent history of gerontological theory-building, noting both "progress" and "pitfalls." Have there been paradigmatic shifts in biogerontological, psycho-gerontological, and social-gerontological theories of aging during the past decade? We think not, though advocates of particular theoretical perspectives may disagree.

Ageing in the United States at the end of the century.

"The belief that America is a ¿young' nation is widely held by many individuals in the United States. Historically, individualism, self-reliance, and an orientation towards youth have been cherished values reflecting...our national heritage and tradition dating from the 18th through the mid-20th century. However, America is no longer a ¿young' nation. Rather, we are an ¿aging' population, as we show in our analysis of demographic transitions reviewed in this paper. The phenomenon of ¿cultural (or structural) lag' is discussed in two different contexts: first--the context of the aging family; and second--the context of ethnic/racial minority groups. Finally, some of the relevant public policy responses to aging are described. We look at government programs in four major categories, namely, (1) income; (2) health care; (3) social services; and (4) housing."

Division of household labor and the well-being of retirement-aged wives.

A model specifying that certain subjective beliefs and structural conditions affect the symbolic meaning wives give to their household labor divisions was tested on 144 retirement-age married women. Results indicate that perceptions of spousal support mediate the relationship between a couple's division of household labor and the wife's well-being. Wives perceive less spousal support when housework divisions are more unequal favoring husbands. Lack of spousal support in turn leads to wives' lower marital happiness and increased depression. This relationship is stronger for employed wives than homemakers, but is not diminished either by a wife's traditionalism or by her husband's employment.

Re-engaging the disengagement theory of aging: on the history and assessment of theory development in gerontology.

While "disengagement theory" is today largely discounted, it has an important place in the history of gerontological explanation. First we analyze the historical context of this theory. Second, we examine its long-term contributions and deficiencies in terms of finer criteria--standards which we suggest should be used in evaluating current, and future, theories in social gerontology.

Does intergenerational social support influence the psychological well-being of older parents? The contingencies of declining health and widowhood.

This study investigates whether social support from adult children improves the psychological well-being of elderly parents. Support is studied as a direct influence on emotional distress and as a moderator of the distressing consequences of health problems and widowhood. Research questions are addressed using data from elderly parents participating in 1985 and 1988 surveys of the U.S.C., Longitudinal Study of Three Generation Families. Results from multiple regression analyses indicate that instrumental and expressive forms of social support are weakly related to 3-year change in positive and negative aspects of psychological well-being. However, both types of support moderate declines in well-being associated with poor health and widowhood. We conclude that the psychological benefits of intergenerational social support are contingent on the vulnerability of the older parent, when expectations for assistance are at their greatest. This finding has considerable implications for family theory and policy.

Salient life events in three-generation families.

A short, simple procedure for eliciting salient life events is reported in this article. Respondents from three-generation families were asked to list events that had had an impact on them and their families. Responses were examined for content, criterion, and construct validity. The 10 events listed by 10% of at least one generation were major life cycle markers: Six (marriage, childbirth, divorce, retirement, widowhood, and ill health) pertained to the individuals, and four (marriage, birth, divorce, and ill health) pertained to their extended family networks. The expected relationship between events and depression (CES-D) was observed: The importance of low frequency events was reflected in their relationship to depression in the middle-aged and youngest generations. The importance of network events was reflected both in their presence on the lists of all age groups, and in their relationship to depression in the youngest generation.

Do close parent-child relations reduce the mortality risk of older parents?

This analysis examines the association between affectional solidarity in older parent-child relationships, and the parents' length of survival over a 14-year interval. It is hypothesized that close intergenerational relations have the capacity to reduce pathogenic stress among elderly parents, thereby enhancing their ability to survive. Direct and buffering effects of affectional solidarity, as expressed by 439 elderly parents, are tested using data from the U.S.C. Longitudinal Study of Generations collected between 1971 and 1985. Buffering effects are examined in the context of social decline and social loss experienced by the older parent. Hazard regression models indicate that greater intergenerational affect increases survival time among parents who experienced a loss in their social network, particularly among those who were widowed less than five years. Neither a direct effect of affection nor a buffering effect in the presence of social decline were found. It is concluded that the mortal health risks associated with the stress of being widowed can be partially offset by affectionate relations with adult children.

Is intergenerational solidarity a unidimensional construct? A second test of a formal model.

Results from a second empirical test of a theory of intergenerational family relations, as an example of empirically driven theory construction in social gerontology, are presented. The theory we tested reflects an attempt to explain later-life patterns of affection, association, and consensus between parents and children as interdependent components of a meta-construct--family intergenerational solidarity. The theoretical model also identifies variables that are expected to predict variations in levels of solidarity. A recent empirical test (Atkinson, Kivett, and Campbell, 1986) offered little support for the central proposition of the model: that solidarity can be indexed by a linear-additive composite of affection, association, and consensus. The replication analysis reported here is based on a different sample, as well as alternate measures and statistical methods. The convergent results suggest that (a) later-life intergenerational solidarity is not a unidimensional construct, and (b) different variables predict each component. This exercise of theory statement, testing, and retesting leads us to suggest several refinements to the theory acknowledging a more complex relationship between dimensions of intergenerational relations in old age.

Sociological functionalism, exchange theory and life-cycle analysis: a call for more explicit theoretical bridges.

There has been a notable lack of articulation between mainstream sociological theory and the work of social gerontologists. This paper suggests four reasons for this, and reviews the basic assumptions and applications to gerontology of two well-established frameworks in sociological theory: structural-functionalism and exchange. With more rigorous and systematic integration of gerontological data with social and social psychological theory, more comprehensive explanations of life course phenomena would result. Moreover, the age variable would be considerably by other sociologists as less of a control and more of a relevant variable in its own right.

Aging in minority populations. An examination of the double jeopardy hypothesis.

The plight of minority aged has been characterized by many as one of double jeopardy: in addition to the disadvantages imposed by their minority group status, the minority aged are said also to experience the devaluation in status associated with old age in our society. Other research has indicated, however, that the gaps between minority and majority individuals tend to decline with age, such that the status disparity between white and minority aged actually may have decreased from middle to old age. To test these competing hypotheses, a series of health, income, life satisfaction, and social participation variables (interaction with family, kin, neighbors, and friends) was examined with data from a large (N = 1269) sample of middle-aged and older blacks, Mexican Americans and whites in Los Angeles County. Differences among the three ethnic groups were found which, in some cases, constituted a case of "double jeopardy" for minority aged. On variables measuring life satisfaction or frequency of contact with relatives, however, the extent of ethnic variation declined across age strata, indicating some support for the "age as leveler" hypothesis.

Modernization, modernity, and perceptions of aging: A cross-cultural study.

Data from a comparative study of 5,450 young males in six developing nations were used to investigate the association between modernization or modernity and negative attitudes toward aging. The findings question the frequent assertion that "modernity" (the exposure of individuals in developing nations to industrial technology and urban social experience) results in negative perceptions of aging and diminished value attributed to the aged. The data do provide support for the hypothesis that "modernization" (societal development) is related to negative perceptions of aging. Results suggest the necessity of differentiating between "modernization" and "modernity" as levels of analysis and of avoiding value-laden assumptions concerning advantages of either traditional or industrial social settings with respect to the position of elders.