Beyond the Nuclear Family: The Increasing Importance of Multigenerational Bonds
01 Feb 2001-Journal of Marriage and Family (National Council on Family Relations)-Vol. 63, Iss: 1, pp 1-16
TL;DR: This paper argued that family multigenerational relations will be more important in the 21st century for three reasons: (a) the demographic changes of population aging, resulting in "longer years of shared lives" between generations; (b) the increasing importance of grandparents and other kin in fulfilling family functions; (c) the strength and resilience of intergenerational solidarity over time.
Abstract: Family relationships across several generations are becoming increasingly important in American society. They are also increasingly diverse in structure and in functions. In reply to the widely debated “family decline” hypothesis, which assumes a nuclear family model of 2 biological parents and children, I suggest that family multigenerational relations will be more important in the 21st century for 3 reasons: (a) the demographic changes of population aging, resulting in “longer years of shared lives” between generations; (b) the increasing importance of grandparents and other kin in fulfilling family functions; (c) the strength and resilience of intergenerational solidarity over time. I also indicate that family multigenerational relations are increasingly diverse because of (a) changes in family structure, involving divorce and stepfamily relationships; (b) the increased longevity of kin; (c) the diversity of intergenerational relationship “types.” Drawing on the family research legacy of Ernest W. Burgess, I frame my arguments in terms of historical family transitions and hypotheses. Research from the Longitudinal Study of Generations is presented to demonstrate the strengths of multigenerational ties over time and why it is necessary to look beyond the nuclear family when asking whether families are still functional.
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TL;DR: Overall, demographic trends in the 2000s produced an increased complexity of family life and a more ambiguous and fluid set of categories than demographers are accustomed to measuring.
Abstract: Demographic trends in the 2000s showed the continuing separation of family and household due to factors such as childbearing among single parents, the dissolution of cohabiting unions, divorce, repartnering, and remarriage. The transnational families of many immigrants also displayed this separation, as families extended across borders. In addition, demographers demonstrated during the decade that trends such as marriage and divorce were diverging according to education. Moreover, demographic trends in the age structure of the population showed that a large increase in the elderly population will occur in the 2010s. Overall, demographic trends produced an increased complexity of family life and a more ambiguous and fluid set of categories than demographers are accustomed to measuring.
720 citations
Cites background from "Beyond the Nuclear Family: The Incr..."
...It will increase the importance of vertical kinship ties, up and down the generations, relative to the horizontal kinship ties of adults to spouses, partners, brothers, and sisters (Bengtson, 2001)....
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TL;DR: This article examined race and immigrant differences in barriers to parental involvement at school and found that minority immigrant parents, compared with native-born parents, reported more barriers to participation and were subsequently less likely to be involved at school.
Abstract: Parental involvement at school offers unique opportunities for parents, and this school-based involvement has important implications for children's academic and behavioral outcomes The authors used data from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study-Kindergarten Cohort (National Center for Education Statistics, 2001) to examine race and immigrant differences in barriers to parental involvement at school Minority immigrant parents, compared with native-born parents, reported more barriers to participation and were subsequently less likely to be involved at school Among immigrant parents, time spent in the United States and English language ability were positively associated with involvement, but these associations differed by race Barriers to involvement serve as another source of disadvantage for immigrant parents and their children
590 citations
Cites background from "Beyond the Nuclear Family: The Incr..."
...Parents who live in multigenerational households may have greater opportunities for involvement because grandparents can provide important resources such as child-care assistance (Bengtson, 2001)....
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TL;DR: Although they find strong involvement of grandparents in their grandchildren's care across all countries, the authors also identify significant variations in the prevalence and intensity of care along the geographic lines of different child care and (maternal or female) employment regimes in Europe.
Abstract: Introducing findings from the 2004 Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARE), this research complements the large number of recent U.S. studies on the role of grandparents in caring for their grandchildren. For 10 continental European countries, we investigate cross-national variations in grandparent provided child care as well as differences in characteristics of the providers and recipients of care. While we find a strong involvement of grandparents in their grandchildren’s care across all countries, we also identify significant variations in the prevalence and intensity of care along the geographic lines of different child care and (maternal/female) employment regimes in Europe. Rooted in long-standing family cultures, the observed patterns suggest a complex interaction between welfare-state provided services and intergenerational family support in shaping the work-family nexus for younger parents. We conclude with a brief discussion of possible consequences of grandmothers’ increasing labor force participation for child care arrangements.
515 citations
Cites background from "Beyond the Nuclear Family: The Incr..."
...This should vary with scores on “nonfunctional” dimensions of family solidarity, such as affectual or associational solidarity (cf. Bengtson, 2001), indicating the degree of closeness in intergenerational relations beyond the exchange of instrumental support....
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...This has been suggested to result in an increasing relevance of multigenerational bonds (cf. Bengtson, 2001), and recent studies have indeed shown that intergenerational relations continue to be strong across a wide variety of family systems Journal of Family Issues Volume 30 Number 1 January 2009…...
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TL;DR: The DFG-funded "Pair Analysis of Intimate Relationships and Family Dynamics" (pairfam) study as mentioned in this paper was initiated to provide an extended empirical basis for advances in family research.
Abstract: This article introduces the DFG-funded “Panel Analysis of Intimate Relationships and Family Dynamics” (pairfam) study, which was initiated to provide an extended empirical basis for advances in family research. Within the context of challenges in couples and family research, we address the major substantive fields covered by the pairfam panel: couple dynamics and partnership stability, childbearing, parenting and child development, and intergenerational relationships. Then we present the conceptual framework and survey design of pairfam. The panel started with about 4,000 respondents (anchors) in each of three birth cohorts: 1991-1993, 1981-1983, and 1971-1973. The panel also includes anchors’ partners. From the second wave onwards parents and children of anchors are included. The policy of pairfam with regard to the provision of scientific use files and data distribution are discussed in the concluding remarks. Keywords: children, couples, family research, Germany, panel study, pairfam, parenting, partnership ----- Panel Analysis of Intimate Relationships and Family Dynamics (pairfam): konzeptioneller Rahmen und Forschungsdesign Zusammenfassung Dieser Beitrag stellt das deutsche Beziehungs- und Familienpanel (pairfam) vor, das eine empirische Basis fur Fortschritte in der Beziehungsund Familienforschung bieten soll. Vor dem Hintergrund zentraler Herausforderungen in der Partnerschafts- und Familienforschung werden Themenschwerpunkte, der konzeptuelle Rahmen und das Design des pairfam-Projekts vorgestellt. Inhaltlich fokussiert werden Fragen der Aufnahme, Gestaltung und Beendigung von Partnerschaftsbeziehungen, Elternschaftsentscheidungen bei Familiengrundung und -erweiterung, Erziehung und Eltern-Kind-Beziehungen sowie Intergenerationenbeziehungen. Befragungsteilnehmer waren in der ersten Erhebungswelle je rund 4.000 Jugendliche (geboren 1991-93), junge Erwachsene (geboren 1981-83) und Erwachsene im mittleren Lebensalter (geboren 1971-73) sowie nach Moglichkeit auch deren Partner/in. Ab der zweiten Erhebungswelle werden auch Eltern und Kinder einbezogen. Am Ende des Beitrages werden einige Angaben zur Distribution der Daten als scientific use file gemacht. Schlagworte: Erziehung, Familienforschung, Deutschland, Kinder, Paarbeziehungen, Panelstudie, pairfam, Partnerschaft
436 citations
Cites background from "Beyond the Nuclear Family: The Incr..."
...Intergenerational relationships are mainly studied using the concept of solidarity (Bengtson 2001) or in the context of work on intergenerational ambivalence (Pillemer/ Lüscher 2004)....
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TL;DR: Although grandparents in industrialized societies continue to invest substantial amounts of time and money in their grandchildren, there is a paucity of studies investigating the influence that this investment has on grandchildren in low-risk family contexts, and a more comprehensive theoretical framework of grandparental investment is called for.
Abstract: What motivates grandparents to their altruism? We review answers from evolutionary theory, sociology, and economics. Sometimes in direct conflict with each other, these accounts of grandparental investment exist side-by-side, with little or no theoretical integration. They all account for some of the data, and none account for all of it. We call for a more comprehensive theoretical framework of grandparental investment that addresses its proximate and ultimate causes, and its variability due to lineage, values, norms, institutions (e.g., inheritance laws), and social welfare regimes. This framework needs to take into account that the demographic shift to low fecundity and mortality in economically developed countries has profoundly altered basic parameters of grandparental investment. We then turn to the possible impact of grandparental acts of altruism, and examine whether benefits of grandparental care in industrialized societies may manifest in terms of less tangible dimensions, such as the grandchildren's cognitive and verbal ability, mental health, and well-being. Although grandparents in industrialized societies continue to invest substantial amounts of time and money in their grandchildren, we find a paucity of studies investigating the influence that this investment has on grandchildren in low-risk family contexts. Under circumstances of duress - for example, teenage pregnancy or maternal depression - there is converging evidence that grandparents can provide support that helps to safeguard their children and grandchildren against adverse risks. We conclude by discussing the role that grandparents could play in what has been referred to as Europe's demographic suicide.
432 citations
Cites background from "Beyond the Nuclear Family: The Incr..."
...…expectancy in the 20th century has increased from 50.7 (born 1900) to 79.7 (born 2000) years (see Arias 2006) – today’s grandparents’ lives and those of their grandchildren overlap markedly, thus providing them with greater opportunity than ever before to play a significant role (Bengtson 2001)....
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References
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Abstract: Why We Care about Single Parenthood How Father Absence Lowers Children's Well-Being Which Outcomes Are Most Affected What Hurts and What Helps The Value of Money The Role of Parenting The Community Connection What Should Be Done Appendixes Notes Index
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"Beyond the Nuclear Family: The Incr..." refers background in this paper
...Skolnick, 1991; Stacey, 1990), and research on racial and ethnic minority families (Burton, 1995; Collins, 1990; Stack, 1974), this perspective suggests that family structures and relationships should be redefined to include both "assigned" and "created" kinship systems (Cherlin, 1999)....
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Book•
01 Aug 1990
TL;DR: In this paper, a life-course analysis of family development focuses on the social dynamics among family members and features parent-child relationships in a larger context, by examining the help exchange between kin and non-kin and the intergenerational transmission of family characteristics.
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1,297 citations
TL;DR: This paper investigated the structure of intergenerational cohesion by examining social psychological, structural, and transactional aspects of adult child-parent relations, and concluded that adult inter-generational relationships in American families are structurally diverse but generally possess the potential to serve their members' needs.
Abstract: The authors investigate the structure of intergenerational cohesion by examining social‐psychological, structural, and transactional aspects of adult child‐parent relations. The authors use latent class analysis to develop a typology based on three underlying dimensions of intergenerational solidarity: affinity, opportunity structure, and function. The same five types are found for relations with both mothers and fathers: tight‐knit, sociable, intimate but distant, obligatory, and detached. Relationship types are also differentiated by sociodemographic characteristics; relations with fathers and divorced parents tended to have the weakest cohesion. The authors conclude that adult intergenerational relationships in American families are structurally diverse but generally possess the potential to serve their members' needs.
736 citations