Intergenerational Theory Research Articles

Sugar-sweetened food, intergenerationality, and food moralities in urban Chinese families

ABSTRACT With the application of intergenerational theory as its analytical framework, this paper seeks to provide new insights into the social construction of sugar-sweetened food and food practices in the context of contemporary urban China, drawing on 16 months’ in-depth qualitative research in the city of Chongqing. From an intergenerational perspective, it argues that although adults and children both typically construct sugar-sweetened food as “bad” for health based on the logic of its biological meaning, there are more generational differences in the understandings of sociocultural meanings associated with these foods, which are the main reasons may lead to intergenerational conflict. Caregivers tend to regard their control of children’s sugar-sweetened food intake as a means to discipline their children’s bodies and develop food moralities. However, children themselves are likely to perform sugar-sweetened food practices as a way of socializing and sometimes resisting the control of caregivers. Based on this, this paper further shows that these diverse views are rooted in the tension between caregivers’ anxiety about the transmission of food moralities through intensive parenting practices and children’s agency in food consumption in contemporary urban China. These findings enhance intergenerational-theoretical research and highlight the need to move beyond the analytical framework of “behaviour change” in related food and health studies.

Creating the Conditions for Intergenerational Justice: Social Capital and Compliance

Creating the Conditions for Intergenerational Justice: Social Capital and Compliance

Support Exchanges Among Very Old Parents and Their Children: Findings From the Boston Aging Together Study

Very old parents and their “old” children are a growing group in industrialized countries worldwide. Care needs of very old parents can be substantial, while children may also face their own age-related issues. However, little is known about support exchanges within very-old parent-child dyads. This study aimed to identify patterns of support exchanges occurring in these dyads, as well as to ascertain individual and relationship factors associated with these patterns. Participants were 114 very old parents (age ≥ 90) and their children (age ≥ 65) from the Boston Aging Together Study. Data were collected using comprehensive, semistructured in-person interviews with both dyad members, including standardized assessments of support exchanges, relationship quality, health, and perceptions of family norms. Actor-Partner Interdependence Models (APIM) were used to predict upward and downward support reported by children and parents. Both dyad members not only reported substantial upward support (given to parents by children) in all domains but also notable amounts of downward support (given to children by parents) in the domains of emotional support, listening, and socializing. Findings showed significant associations of parent functional impairment, parent and child relationship quality, and child perceptions of family obligation with upward support, and of relationship quality with downward support. Continued support exchanges among very old parents and their children indicated that intergenerational theories still hold up in very late life relationships. Healthcare professionals should be aware that attention to relationship quality and family norms might be vital to ensure that support needs are met.

Support Exchanges Among Very Old Parents and Their Children: Findings From the Boston Aging Together Study.

Very old parents and their "old" children are a growing group in industrialized countries worldwide. Care needs of very old parents can be substantial, while children may also face their own age-related issues. Continued mutual support represents an important pathway to addressing emerging care needs. This study aimed to identify patterns of support exchanges occurring in very old parent-child dyads and to ascertain associated individual and relationship factors. Participants were 114 very old parents (aged ≥90) and their children (aged ≥65) from the Boston Aging Together Study. Data were collected using comprehensive, semistructured in-person interviews with both dyad members, including standardized assessments of support exchanges, relationship quality, health, and perceptions of family norms. Actor-Partner Interdependence Models were used to predict upward and downward support reported by children and parents. Both dyad members not only reported substantial upward support (child to parent) in all domains but also notable amounts of downward (parent to child) in the domains of emotional support, listening, and socializing. Findings showed significant associations of parent functional impairment, parent and child relationship quality, and child perceptions of family obligation with upward support and of relationship quality with downward support. Continued support exchanges among very old parents and their children indicated that intergenerational theories still hold up in very late-life relationships. Health care professionals should be aware that attention to relationship quality and family norms might be vital to ensure that support needs are met.

Integrating Intergenerational Learning into Elder Education in University: A Case Study from Taiwan

ABSTRACT In an aging society, caring for older adults poses large burden on the working population; in this context, positive intergenerational interaction and understanding are thus extremely crucial. Here, we developed a model to integrate intergenerational learning into elder education in university by conducting a case study at a Taiwanese university by using a 6-year experimental teaching programme. We performed content analysis to examine the syllabi of courses, students’ midterm and final reflective reports each year, as well as the interview from teachers who had participated in the experimental project. With reference to the current intergenerational theories and case study in Taiwan, we constructed a teaching model to guide university teachers in how to construct an intergenerational learning course from goal setting, elder member introduction, and content design to course evaluation. We also proposed the principles of course design and the teacher’s role and identified the challenges faced during the promotion of intergenerational learning.

Theoretical Orientations to Intergenerational Home Sharing: Implications for Direct Social Work Practice on Addressing Student Debt and Aging-in-Community

Population aging presents many challenges that will require innovative solutions. Emerging challenges include low levels of affordable housing that jeopardize the sustainability of aging-in-community and health among older adults. Concurrently, the affordability of higher education is a pressing concern for graduate students. Intergenerational home sharing appears to be a promising solution to help improve the affordability of education and housing, bolster opportunities to age-in-place and age-within-communities, and consequently improve various aspects of health for individuals, families, and society. Although the idea of sharing a home between skipped generations emerged in the mid-twentieth century, programs are often short-lived, small boutique experiences. Moreover, the scholarship is underdeveloped, which may contribute to issues of scalability and low levels of participation. This conceptual paper integrates intergenerational solidarity and productive aging theories to inform the development of policies and programs that bolster engagement in home sharing between graduate students and community-dwelling older adults. We review key factors at the individual and institutional levels, as well as barriers and facilitators at the policy and cultural levels. We conclude with implications for social worker practitioners, researchers, and advocates.

Book Review: Future Freedoms: Intergenerational Justice, Democratic Theory, and Ancient Greek Tragedy and Comedy, by Elizabeth K. Markovits

Book Review: <i>Future Freedoms: Intergenerational Justice, Democratic Theory, and Ancient Greek Tragedy and Comedy</i>, by Elizabeth K. Markovits

Never Say Never: Reconciling Generational Sovereignty with Environmental Preservation

Generational sovereignty and environmental preservation are two dominant strands of intergenerational justice theory, often promoted by the same individuals. However, the two principles stand in an apparent tension with one another. If environmental policy is determined by shifting voter preference, environmental protection regimes will be unevenly enforced over time. Sporadic enforcement results in net deterioration. Since some environmental destruction (e.g., species extinction, climate change) is irreversible on any humanly meaningful timescale, pure generational sovereignty would seem to insure the destruction of some critical natural resources. This apparent conflict is illusory: generational sovereignty not only allows for environmental preservation, it requires it. To demonstrate this point, I focus on two key principles: 1) the concept of sovereign resources, which recognizes the disposition of certain critical resources as inherently governmental; and 2) the understanding that de facto entrenchment of policy offends generational sovereignty as much as, de jure entrenchment. In my explanations, I rely heavily on United States public trust jurisprudence and related planetary trust concepts from international law.

The Reproduction of Social Disadvantage Through Educational Demobilization: A Critical Analysis of Parental Incarceration

The focus of this study concerns the intergenerational consequences of the era of mass incarceration and its role in promoting an educational demobilization of primarily marginalized groups. Using the Howard B. Kaplan Multigenerational and Longitudinal data set, this article links incarceration in the first generation to educational experiences of the second generation at two stages in the life course: adolescence (N = 1303) and emerging adulthood (N = 1621). Intergenerational theories of strain and stigma are argued to be mechanisms in the transmission of reduced educational success and attainment among the second generation. The findings reveal that children of once incarcerated parents are significantly more likely to report that they are experiencing unhappiness in school and have significantly lower levels of educational success than their counterparts not experiencing parental incarceration. Due to these outcomes, I argue that the reproduction of disadvantage produced by the intergenerational effects of parental incarceration will linger in society even with a reduction of incarcerated populations. The need for understanding the intergenerational implications of mass incarceration among disadvantaged populations is discussed.

Intergenerational Familial Relationships from the Lens of Generativity

Over the past few decades, increase in life expectancy has facilitated longevity of family members but decreasing fertility rates have reduced the number of members to support each other, thereby giving birth to more complex family structures. This change in inter-personal dynamics has instigated major scientific attention towards its possible implication on various facets of intergenerational relationships and family life. Although the Theory of Intergenerational Solidarity and Theory of Ambivalence, have been by far the most widely utilized theoretical contributions, borrowed from social sciences, for conceptualization of this interpersonal exchange, however, they do not essentially cover all the underlying dynamics and therefore it is argued that still a need exists for theoretical guidance and further consolidation of the discipline, specially from the psychological and developmental perspective. With this respect, in the present article, the usefulness of the concept of generativity, from Erikson's theory of life span development, is reviewed and its contributions, limitations and prospects for understanding intergenerational relationships have been explored.

A Review of Nonfamilial Intergenerational Programs on Changing Age Stereotypes and Well-Being in East Asia

ABSTRACTThis paper examines whether nonfamilial intergeneration programs reduce age stereotyping and increase the well-being of both youth and older adults in five East Asian communities. We used the systematic review method and screened 2,261 abstracts, selecting 14 publications for full review. Studies reported positive attitudinal changes among young and old participants. The intergeneration programs generally covered one of two themes: art activities or cultural heritage. Three best practices that can enhance intervention effectiveness were pre-intervention training, maintaining the intensity of the intervention on a weekly base, and pair-wise matching between the two stakeholders. More studies are recommended to test intergenerational programs with randomized designs and a wider age range of young participants. Culturally specific intergenerational contact theory is also in need of development, particularly “status concern” between the young and old generation.

Grandparents providing care for grandchildren: implications for economic preparation for later life in South Korea

ABSTRACTMounting concern about economic preparation for later life combined with a growing number of grandparents providing grandchild care is fuelling increased interest in these topics in Korea. However, few studies have evaluated the relationship between providing care to grandchildren and economic behaviour. Guided by intergenerational exchange theory, this paper analyses the relationships between providing grandchild care and monetary compensation for care, and economic preparation for later life. Data come from a sub-sample of 2,599 grandmothers in the Korean Retirement and Income Study who have a grandchild under the age of ten, 279 of whom report providing regular care to grandchildren. Controlling for age, education, marital status and household income, the average amount of grandchild care provided per week is a significant negative predictor of economic preparation for later life among grandmothers. However, receiving financial compensation for providing grandchild care is not significantly related to economic preparation and did not mediate or moderate the relationship between amount of care provided and economic preparation. The implications of these findings and limitations of this study are also discussed.

Racial Differences in Posttraumatic Stress Disorder in Military Personnel: Intergenerational Transmission of Trauma as a Theoretical Lens

ABSTRACTVarious theorists have explored how intergenerational transmission of trauma impacts minority groups. Intergenerational trauma theories suggest that trauma(s) endured by a community have long-standing effects that can be passed on through generations. However, much of the research has focused on indigenous populations or Holocaust survivors despite the historical experiences of the African American community. The minority stress model adds support to intergenerational trauma theories, in that racial minority groups might suffer worse health due to a variety of stressors. Racial minorities are also at greater risk of developing posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Within military populations, PTSD is one of many mental health issues and has been labeled one of the signature injuries of the recent wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. However, the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (5th ed.) criteria for PTSD do not take into account the effects of intergenerational trauma, discrimination, or racism. This article proposes that intergenerational trauma theories and the minority stress model provide explanations for why many studies have found that African American military personnel have higher rates of PTSD compared to their White peers. Indeed, African American military personnel with PTSD might be better understood through more culturally inclusive frameworks (e.g., complex trauma, race-based traumatic stress), because the stressors they experience as racial minorities might exacerbate or lead to symptoms of PTSD.

Šeimos narių patirtis globojant Alzheimerio liga sergančius artimuosius

Alzheimerio liga paveikia visą šeimos sistemą. Artimiesiems tenka spręsti ligonio globos klausimus. Nesant specializuotų paslaugų, dažnai ryžtamasi globoti ligonį namuose. Kokybinis tyrimas, kuriuo siekta atskleisti šeimos narių patirtį globos procese, parodė, kad kartų solidarumo teorijos požiūriu apsisprendimą globoti dažniausiai lemia normatyvinis solidarumas ir nepasitikėjimas globos institucijomis. Artimieji susiduria su dideliais globos iššūkiais ir ne visada pajėgūs juos įveikti patys. Tačiau paslaugų, kurios atlieptų specifinius globėjų poreikius, stinga. Todėl Alzheimerio liga sergančius artimuosius globojantys šeimos nariai, nepaisant didelio socialinės pagalbos, informacijos ir psichologinės paramos poreikio, lieka ,,nematomi“ paslaugų sistemai. Šiuo požiūriu didelę reikšmę įgyja funkcinis šeimos narių solidarumas, suponuojantis paramos mainus sudėtingomis globos situacijomis.

Colliding Employer-Employee Perspectives of Employee Turnover: Evidence from a Born-Global Industry

Set in the context of internationalisation of global division of labour, this paper provides a deeper exploration of qualitative themes of conflicting accounts of employees’ reasons to quit and managerial strategies to prevent employee turnover in six business process outsourcing firms operating in India. Such differences in cognition and action between the two constituencies suggest that the decision to quit is not a linear and rational process as highlighted in most extant models of employee turnover. Our findings suggest that employees are attached more to a place or people they work with rather than the organisation per se. Intergenerational differences between Generation Y knowledge workers and Generation X managers and the ineffectiveness of espoused human resource practices suggest the presence of ‘push’ human resource management (HRM) systems. Our findings have implications for employee turnover models, inter-generational theory and high-commitment HRM, and practitioners.

The Type of Support that Adult Children Solicit from Their Mothers in European Welfare Systems

The objective of this article is to examine if the kind of relationship and the support which mothers offer adult children living outside the home can be explained by different welfare systems and structural indicators. Propositions derived from intergenerational relationship theories and national welfare typologies have been analysed and indicate that there are structural variables that influence the type of relationship and support offered. The data we have used is from the survey “Social Relations and Support Systems”of the International Survey Programme. We selected those respondents whose mothers were alive and did not reside in the same dwelling, a total of 9,261 interviewees. The results of a factor analysis reduce the relationship between mother and child to two dimensions. Both dimensions are correlated with structural factors and make it possible to situate countries based on different welfare models consistent with the literature.

The Interface of Institutional, Sociopolitical, and Relational Trauma in Clinical Encounters: The Case of Adelita and Mrs. Diaz

In this article, the author addresses the importance of considering the interface of institutional, sociopolitical, and relational trauma in clinical social work practice. Assessment and treatment are discussed using a clinical case composite drawn from the author's previous encounters in clinical social work practice. In this composite, the author uses a biopsychosocial-spiritual perspective and concepts such as intergenerational trauma and psychodynamic theories as a framework for gaining a deeper understanding of clients in social work practice.

Intergenerational transmission of criminal behaviour: Conviction trajectories of fathers and their children

This article investigates father and offspring criminal careers by employing the semi-parametric, group-based trajectories methodology. The findings demonstrate that children of sporadic and chronic offenders have significantly more convictions than children of non-offenders. However, contrary to expectations based on taxonomic and intergenerational theories, chronic offending fathers do not have more chronic offending children than sporadic fathers. The results demonstrate strong intergenerational transmission of criminal behaviour, but it is the fathers having a conviction rather than their conviction trajectory that is related to offspring convictions.

Personal Agency across Generations: Evolutionary Psychology or Religious Belief?

Although the authors of modern scientific psychology agreed on precious little, Freud and Jung both insisted that any complete science of psychology requires some way to explain the intergenerational inheritance of character traits or personal habits of mind and action. Yet neither they nor their heirs in contemporary philosophy, psychology or cognitive science have been able to provide a plausible conceptual framework, much less a mechanism to account for the conservation of forms of personal agency across multiple lives. Is there a role in contemporary philosophy and psychology for an intergenerational theory of human agency informed by the Buddhist theory of karma? This paper argues the affirmative case, offering both a current scientific reading of karma and a Buddhist scientific approach to the metaphysical and metapsychological problems caused by the divergence of modern science and religion in the West. The model of intergenerational agency I present here is based on a comparative study of ordinary language philosophy in ancient India and the contemporary West. Its premise is that most theories of moral development and psychological agency are limited by the insistence on a substantial or essential ground for the designation of a person or self. Ordinary language philosophy offers greater conceptual freedom because it accepts a distinctively human theory of self as a linguistic construction that refers to mind/body systems and elements in which there is no substantial or essential self. This conceptual freedom permits a model of human agency as an open system of linguistic reference that can be transmitted across generations in the course of language acquisition. Such a system is not merely discursive in that language serves to guide the social construction not just of discursive thinking but also of learned patterns of perception and action mastered together with language in the course of neuropsychological development. This model has implications for both Buddhist and Western worldview, popular and scientific, as well as for bioethics and the practice of psychotherapy.

The Road to Intergenerational Theory is Under Construction: A Continuing Story

On the premise that the intergenerational field lacks the conceptual framework that will enable it to continue to develop as both a discipline and a practice within the broad spectrum of human and social services, this paper offers suggestions for building a viable intergenerational theory. Topics discussed include methodology for theory construction, theory content, and the role of the practitioner in theory construction.