Intergenerational Ambivalence: Further Steps in Theory and Research

Lüscher, Kurt

doi:10.1111/j.1741-3737.2002.00585.x

Cited by 153 publications

(177 citation statements)

References 14 publications

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“…The model is based on the concept of structured ambivalence, which has been discussed as a bridging concept between individual behaviour and social context (Bengtson et al 2002;Connidis and McMullin 2002a, b;Luescher 2002). We not only provide the first example of how to measure structured ambivalence in a cross-cultural framework, but also new insights into the relation between grandchild care and QoL.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Structured ambivalence in grandchild care and the quality of life among European grandparents

Neuberger

Haberkern

2013

Eur J Ageing

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This study employs the concept of structured ambivalence to analyse the effect of grandchild care on quality of life (QoL) in different cultural contexts. We define structured ambivalence as the contradiction between behaviour and cultural norms. The analysis is based on the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe with 14 countries in the sample. We focus on grandparents aged 50 and over with at least one grandchild 12 years old or younger (n = 12,740). In countries with high grandparent obligations, grandparents who did not look after their grandchildren reported a lower quality of life. Compliance with such grandparental obligations (e.g. providing grandchild care in a country with high grandparent obligations) was found to increase the QoL of grandparents. Family policy should consider family practices that better match the realities of current grandparents' lives in order to reduce structured ambivalence and increase the QoL of grandparents.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Structured ambivalence in grandchild care and the quality of life among European grandparents

Neuberger

Haberkern

2013

Eur J Ageing

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“…It has been tied to ensuing feelings of ambivalence (Connidis & McMullin, 2002;Lucas, 2009;Luscher, 2004;Sennett & Cobb, 1972), as individuals struggle with liminal class identities. For example, Lubrano (2004) interviewed more than 100 white-collar professionals from blue-collar families.…”

Section: Social Reproduction and Mobilitymentioning

confidence: 99%

Socializing Messages in Blue-Collar Families: Communicative Pathways to Social Mobility and Reproduction

Lucas

2011

Western Journal of Communication

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This study explicitly links processes of anticipatory socialization to social mobility and reproduction. An examination of the socializing messages exchanged between blue-collar parents (n = 41) and their children (n = 25) demonstrate that family-based messages about work and career seldom occur in straightforward, unambiguous ways. Instead, messages take several paths (direct, indirect, ambient, and omission). Further, the content of messages communicated along these paths often is contradictory. That is, sons and daughters receive messages that both encourage and discourage social mobility. Ultimately, these individuals must negotiate the meanings of family-based anticipatory socialization communicated to them through a mix of messages.

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“…The concept of ambivalence serves a significant sensitizing and linking function in stressing the contradictory social expectations of different social groups (e.g., the old and the young) and demands of social institutions (e.g., work and family)-sociological or structural ambivalence-and the mixed emotions of close relationships-psychological ambivalence (Connidis, 2010(Connidis, , 2012Connidis & McMullin, 2002a, 2002bLüscher, 2002Lüscher, , 2004Lüscher & Pillemer, 1998). When we consider our own close family relationships, we have a strong intuitive and experiential understanding of their inherent paradoxes.…”

Section: Age Relations and Intergenerational Tiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Age Relations and Family Ties Over the Life Course: Spanning the Macro–Micro Divide

Connidis

2014

Research in Human Development

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A common divide between macro-and microlevel analyses of family ties and aging separates what happens inside and outside families over the life course. This macro-micro divide, its shortcomings, and possible resolutions are discussed in the context of the recession and economic downturn that began in 2007. Conceptual frameworks that facilitate a multilevel analysis are explored and applied to macrolevel structured social relations, mesolevel social institutions, and microlevel interpersonal relations. The impact of and response to the recession occurs at all three levels; and yet, there is often a disconnect among the recession's repercussions, public and private-sector responses to it, and the efforts made within families to negotiate new circumstances. The value of spanning the macro-micro divide to complement individual adaptation with supportive policy responses in government and the workplace is discussed.

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Intergenerational Ambivalence: Further Steps in Theory and Research

Cited by 153 publications

References 14 publications

Structured ambivalence in grandchild care and the quality of life among European grandparents

Structured ambivalence in grandchild care and the quality of life among European grandparents

Socializing Messages in Blue-Collar Families: Communicative Pathways to Social Mobility and Reproduction

Age Relations and Family Ties Over the Life Course: Spanning the Macro–Micro Divide

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