The support of parents in old age by those born during 1945–1954: a European perspective

Abstract

In 2004 in Europe, more than two-thirds of those born during 1945–54 had a parent or parent-in-law alive, and the rates of co-residence with their ascendants ranged from less than four per cent in Sweden, Denmark and The Netherlands, to between 17 and 24 per cent in Italy, Spain and Greece. The proportions that had provided practical help to their parents during the previous 12 months had a north-south gradient, from approximately one-in-three in the northern countries to 15 per cent or less in the southern countries. In contrast, the proportions of the helpers that provided regular and almost daily help had an inverse pattern, being low in Sweden and Denmark and much higher in the south. Some of these differences may be attributable to variations among the countries in the interpretation of ‘help’. Help to elderly parents tends to be most associated with the gender of givers and receivers, the living arrangements, geographical proximity and needs of the parents, and the availability of adult children who can help. There is little evidence of a specific ‘baby-boomer generation’ effect on the probability of giving help.

Intergenerational family constellations in contemporary Europe

“…As highlighted by the example of France and Germany, levels of childlessness make a pronounced difference in intergenerational constellations, net of advances in the postponement transition. This corroborates the findings of Ogg and Renaut (2006), who used SHARE data to analyse the availability of children and grandchildren among older middle-aged adults. Our results also indicate that the role of underlying demographic processes varies according to the direction of intergenerational ties: childbearing patterns exert stronger influence on the availability of descending family members, while the effects of longevity are reflected in ascending ties.…”

Informal support in Portugal by individuals aged 50+

“…The smaller proportion of extra-residential helpers/carers has also been explained by different interpretations of the notion of ''help'' in the various countries. In Northern European countries, the significance attributed to the notion of informal help appears to be especially associated with emotional and affectionate dimensions (Ogg and Renaut 2006), whilst in the Southern countries, it has a more instrumental connotation and is therefore more restrictive. In this analysis, we see that, despite similarities between Portugal and their counterparts of Southern European countries, Portugal has less extra-residential helpers/carers aged 50?…”

577 Mantelzorg: Een Overzicht Van De Steun Van En Aan Mantelzorgers

“…Uit de cijfers blijkt dat er bij die kenmerken geen verschil bestaat tussen mannen en vrouwen. Een deel van de literatuur laat dezelfde uitkomst zien (Ogg en Renaut 2006;Navaie-Waliser et al 2002;Heylen en Mortelmans 2006 Toch zijn er ook studies die een grotere inzet bij vrouwen constateren (Gould 2004) en andere waaruit blijkt dat juist mannen (60 jaar en ouder) meer actieve mantelzorgers zijn (De Klerk en De Boer 2006). Er zijn wel leeftijdsverschillen in duur en intensiteit.…”