Hostname: page-component-76fb5796d-qxdb6 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-04-25T08:07:42.056Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

The Differentiation of Multigenerational Households

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  29 November 2010

Carolyn J. Rosenthal
Carolyn J. Rosenthal
Affiliation:
Department of Behavioural Science, University of Toronto
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Previous research on multigenerational households in later life has generally ignored the distinction between multigenerational households located in the home of a parent and those located in the home of a child. This distinction has implications for dependency on the part of the older adult and also for social policy which is primarily concerned with the child-provided type of multigenerational household. The present analysis employs the distinction of parent's home versus child's home, and investigates multigenerational households in a random sample of adults in Hamilton, Ontario. In a qualitative analysis, the two types of multigenerational households are shown to be related to different family life course phases and to differ on a number of dimensions, including family size, age, effectual and consensual solidarity, income, marital status, and gender. The analysis indicates the need for future research on multigenerational households to explicitly differentiate between the two types of households examined in this paper.

Résumé

Les recherches antérieurs en gérontologie portant sur les ménages où cohabitent plus d'une génération (“multigénérationnels”) ont, en général, omis de distinguer ceux qui se situent chez un parent âgé de ceux situés chez un enfant. Cette distinction a des implications sur le degré de dépendance chez les parents âgés ainsi que sur la politique sociale qui se préoccupe essentiellement des ménages “multigénérationnels” tenus par un enfant. La présente étude tient compte de la distinction énnoncée précédemment et enquête sur les ménages “multigénérationnels” à partir d'un échantillon pris au hasard d'adultes d'Hamilton, en Ontario. Dans une analyse qualitative, on démontre que les deux types de ménages sont liés aux différentes phases de la vie de famille et qu'ils varient en fonction d'un certain nombre de paramètres parmi lesquels: le nombre de personnes dans la famille, l'âge, la solidarité affective, l'accord entre les gens, les revenus, le statut marital et le sexe. L'analyse révèle le besoin de faire de plus amples recherches sur les ménages “multigénérationnels” afin de pouvoir différencier explicitement les deux types de ménages étudiés dans cet article.

Keywords

Living arrangementsmultigenerational householdsfamily relationsfamily life courseexchangedependency
Type
Articles
Information
Canadian Journal on Aging / La Revue canadienne du vieillissement , Volume 5 , Issue 1 , Spring/Printemps 1986 , pp. 27 - 42
Copyright
Copyright © Canadian Association on Gerontology 1986

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

REFERENCES

Beck, S. and Beck, R. (1984). The formation of extended households during middle age. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 46, 277–287.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bengtson, Vern L. and Kuypers, J. A. (1971). Generational ifferences and the developmental stake. Aging and Human Development, 2, 249–260.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bengtson, Vern L., Olander, E. and Haddad, A. (1976). The “generation gap” and aging family members: toward a conceptual model. In Gubrium, J. (ed.), Time, Roles and Self in Old Age. New York: Human Sciences Press, 237–263.Google Scholar
Beyer, G. (1980). Living arrangements, attitudes and preferences of older persons. In Tibbitts, C. and Donahue, W. (eds.), Social and Psychological Aspects of Aging, Vol. 1. New York: Columbia University Press, 349–369.Google Scholar
Burgess, E. W. (1960). Aging in western culture. In Burgess, E. W. (ed.), Aging in Western Societies: A Comparative Survey. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 3–28.Google Scholar
Chappell, Neena L. (1983). Informal support networks among the elderly. Research on Aging, 5, 77–99.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Clark, M. and Anderson, B. (1967). Culture and Aging. Springfield, Illinois: Charles C. Thomas.Google Scholar
Connidis, Ingrid. (1983). Living arrangement choices of older residents. The Canadian Journal of Sociology, 8, 359–375.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cowgill, D. and Holmes, L. (1972). Aging and Modernization. New York: Appleton-Century-Crofts.Google Scholar
Dahlin, M. (1980). Perspectives on the family life of the elderly in 1900. The Gerontologist, 20, 99–107.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Fengler, A. and Danigelis, N. (1982). Residence, the elderly widow, and life satisfaction. Research on Aging, 4, 113–135.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fengler, A., Danigelis, N. and Little, V. (1983). Later life satisfaction and household structure: living with others and living alone. Ageing and Society, 3, 357–377.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gesser, Gina, Marshall, Victor W. and Rosenthal, Carolyn J. (1985). A test of the generational stake hypothesis with an older Canadian sample. Paper presented at the 14th Annual Meeting, Canadian Association on Gerontology, Hamilton, Ontario, October.Google Scholar
Hill, R., Foote, N., Aldous, J., Carlson, B. and MacDonald, R. (1970). Family Development in Three Generations. Cambridge: Schenkman Publishing Co.Google Scholar
Kivett, V. and Learner, R. M. (1982). Situational influences on the morale of older rural adults in child-shared housing: a comparative analysis. The Gerontologist, 22, 100–106.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Laslett, Peter. (1971). The World We Have Lost. London: Methuen.Google Scholar
Laslett, Peter. (1976). Societal development and aging. In Binstock, R. and Shanas, E. (eds.), Handbook of Aging and the Social Sciences. New York: Van Nostrand Reinhold Company, 87–116.Google Scholar
Mindel, C. H. (1979). Multigenerational family households: recent trends and implications for the future. The Gerontologist, 19, 456–463.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Minister of Supply and Services Canada. (1982). Canadian Governmental Report on Aging. Ottawa: Department of National Health and Welfare.Google Scholar
Minister of Supply and Services Canada. (1977). Perspective Canada II. Ottawa.Google Scholar
Miron, J. and Schiff, M. (1982). A Profile of the Emerging Empty Nester Household. Toronto: University of Toronto, Centre for Urban and Community Studies, Research Paper No. 130.Google Scholar
Nett, Emily. (1981). Canadian families in social-historical perspective. The Canadian Journal of Sociology, 6, 239–260.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Nydegger, C. (1983). Family ties of the aged in cross-cultural perspective. The Gerontologist, 23, 26–32.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Rosenthal, Carolyn J. (1986). Family supports in later life: does ethnicity make a difference? The Gerontologist, 26, 19–24.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Shanas, Ethel. (1979a). Social myth as hypothesis: the case of the family relations of old people. The Gerontologist, 19, 3–9.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Shanas, Ethel. (1979b). The family as a social support system in old age. The Gerontologist, 19, 169–174.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Shanas, Ethel with the assistance of Heine-mann, Gloria. (1982). National Survey of the Aged. Administration on Aging, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Washington, D.C. DHHS Publication No. (OHDS) 83–20425.Google Scholar
Shanas, Ethel, Townsend, P., Wedderburn, D., Friis, H., Milhoj, P. and Stehouwer, J. (1968). Old People in Three Industrial Societies. New York: Atherton Press.Google Scholar
Sussman, M. B. (1976). The family life of old people. In Binstock, R. and Shanas, E. (eds.), Handbook of Aging and the Social Sciences. New York: Van Nostrand Reinhold Company, 218–243.Google Scholar
Thomas, K. and Wister, A. (1984). Living arrangements of older women: the ethnic dimension. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 46, 301–311.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tobin, S. and Kulys, R. (1980). The family and services. Pp. 370–399 In Eisdorfer, C. (ed.), Annual Review of Gerontology and Geriatrics, Vol. 1. New York: Springer.Google Scholar
Wake, S. and Sporakowski, M. (1972). An intergenerational comparison of attitudes towards supporting aged parents. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 34, 42–48.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wister, A. (1985). Living arrangement choices among the elderly. Canadian Journal on Aging, 4, 127–144.CrossRefGoogle Scholar