Changing Patterns of Aging and Family Bonds in Later Life

Hess, Beth B.; Waring, Joan M.

doi:10.2307/583432

Cited by 48 publications

(20 citation statements)

References 56 publications

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“…This focus has tended to distort our views of the mother-daughter relationship during the adult years when, in contrast to issues of dependency and care, obligation and guilt, the relationship can be viewed as voluntary, involving two status equals who are essentially independent of each other (Hess and Waring, 1978). Although the potential for stressful, conflictive relationships between mothers and daughters is great, data presented here suggest that these characteristics are neither typical nor inevitable.…”

mentioning

confidence: 82%

Adult Daughters' Relationships with Their Mothers

Baruch¹,

Barnett²

1983

Journal of Marriage and the Family

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mentioning

confidence: 82%

Adult Daughters' Relationships with Their Mothers

Baruch¹,

Barnett²

1983

Journal of Marriage and the Family

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“…In the younger generational pairs, the connection between intimacy and contact by visiting and telephoning is conditional on geographical distance. Intimacy may be connected to aid and contact only when the latter are voluntary activities (Adams, 1968;Hess and Waring, 1978). In our sample of older mothers and daughters, this pattern among distance, contact, and intimacy is not evident.…”

Section: Discussion and Summarymentioning

confidence: 65%

“…When researchers view contact, aid, and intimacy as related positively to one another, they imply that intergenerational relationships are discretionary; that is, family members stay in contact with and assist each other because they care for each other (Adams, 1968;Hess and Waring, 1978). When researchers view contact, aid, and intimacy as related positively to one another, they imply that intergenerational relationships are discretionary; that is, family members stay in contact with and assist each other because they care for each other (Adams, 1968;Hess and Waring, 1978).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Some say that economic interdependence and compulsory day-to-day contact are no longer the foundation of intergenerational relationships, and sentiment is now the tie that binds; others see the enhancement of family sentiment, now that burdens of economic support and obligatory aid have been lightened by the growth of public assistance; still others wonder if in-tergenerational relationships based on sentiment can endure without constant contact, provision of services, and family obligation (Hagestad, 1982;Hess and Waring, 1978). There is speculation, however.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

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Intimacy and Intergenerational Aid and Contact among Mothers and Daughters

Walker¹,

Thompson²

1983

Journal of Marriage and the Family

136

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JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact support@jstor.org.. National Council on Family Relations is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to Journal of Marriage and Family.We address the assumption that aid, contact, and intimacy are components of some underlying dyadic construct by examining two mother-daughter relationships-student women and their mothers (132 pairs) and middle-aged women and their mothers (107 pairs). Both partners are respondents in each case. We distinguish between proximal aid and distal aid, include all modes of contact, and measure intimacy as a multidimensional construct. Aid and contact collectively do not account for more than 11% of the variance in reports of intimacy. With small but consistent associations across relationship reports, proximal aid to mother predicts both mother's and daughter's reports of intimacy in both generational pairs. In the younger but not the older pairs, the connection between intimacy and contact by visiting and telephoning is conditional on geographic distance. Amount of contact is related negatively to mothers' reported intimacy in the younger relationship and, when proximal aid to mother is controlled, to both mothers' and daughters' reported intimacy in the older relationship. This effect contradicts the assumption of a positive relationship between contact and intimacy. In both mother-daughter relationships, distal aid to mother, aid in general from mother to daughter, letter writing, and child care are not related to intimacy. It is not reasonable, therefore, to infer intimacy from aid and contact. The study suggests the potential of distinguishing between discretionary and obligatory intergenerational interaction. BACKGROUNDMost family scholars acknowledge that families live near each other, assist each other, stay in contact, and care about each other (Streib and Beck, 1980;Troll et al., 1979). Intergenerational work has focused primarily on geographical distance, frequency of contact, and the exchange of goods and services. The emotional components of intergenerational bonds have been neglected. The relationships among distance, aid, contact, and intimacy have been slighted also. The connections between intimacy and intergenerational aid and contact are assumed, but rarely tested, by family researchers. Using data from three generations of women, our purpose in this paper is to examine the association of intimacy to aid and contact in two sets of mother-daughter relationships. Previous ResearchSome researchers incorporate emotional gratification and support into the concept of aid exchange (Hill, 1970). Similarly, one sometimes finds frequency of contact (Lee, 1980) or aid (Lee and Ellithorpe, 1982) as indicators of relationship quality, implying...

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“…Increased longevity will also play a part in what could be a sharp increase in rates of disinheritance and will contests. The family bonds of older people have been changing in such a way that some traditional obligations are no longer so onerous, and there are more opportunities for the elderly to cultivate new interests or involvements (Hess and Waring, 1978). Some of these can compete with obligations to family or kin.…”

Section: Policy Ltnplicationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Disinheritance and Will Contents

Rosenfeld

1982

Marriage & Family Review

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Changing Patterns of Aging and Family Bonds in Later Life

Cited by 48 publications

References 56 publications

Adult Daughters' Relationships with Their Mothers

Adult Daughters' Relationships with Their Mothers

Intimacy and Intergenerational Aid and Contact among Mothers and Daughters

Disinheritance and Will Contents

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