Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-jn8rn Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-25T04:52:43.912Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Patterns of intergenerational support in grandparent-grandchild and parent-child relationships in Germany

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  29 August 2007

ANDREAS HOFF
ANDREAS HOFF*
Affiliation:
Oxford Institute of Ageing, University of Oxford.
*
Address for correspondence: Andreas Hoff, Oxford Institute of Ageing, University of Oxford, Manor Road, Oxford OX1 3UQ, UK. Email: [email protected]
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

The paper focuses on intergenerational support relations between grandparents and their grandchildren in Germany, and how they have changed from 1996 to 2002. The paper begins with a brief review of the literature on functional aspects of the grandparent-grandchild relationship, after which the research hypotheses about intergenerational support in the relationship are elaborated. Following a description of the data source, the German Ageing Survey, and its samples and measures, the evidence on the patterns of grandparents' provision and receipt of intergenerational support to and from their grandchildren are presented and compared with parent-child support patterns. The analysis also considers variations by age groups and birth cohorts and changes over time. The main empirical finding is that there was a greater likelihood of financial transfers to grandchildren in 2002 than six years earlier. Nevertheless, the grandparents' relationships with their grandchildren remained imbalanced or asymmetrical, at the older generation's expense. It was found that financial and instrumental support patterns between grandparents and grandchildren were best explained using an ‘intergenerational stake’ hypothesis rather than one of ‘intergenerational solidarity’; the latter is more consistent with parent-child support patterns.

Keywords

grandparentsintergenerational relationsintergenerational solidarityintergenerational stakeinformal supportGermany
Type
Research Article
Information
Ageing & Society , Volume 27 , Issue 5 , September 2007 , pp. 643 - 665
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2007

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Antonucci, T. C. 1990. Social supports and social relationships. In Binstock, R. H. and George, L. K. (eds) Handbook of Aging and the Social Sciences. Academic Press, New York, 205–26.Google Scholar
Atkinson, M. P., Kivett, V. R. and Campbell, R. T. 1986. Intergenerational solidarity: an examination of a theoretical model. Journal of Gerontology, 41, 6, 408–16.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Attias-Donfut, C. 2003. Family transfers and cultural transmissions between three generations in France. In Bengtson, V. L. and Lowenstein, A. (eds) Global Ageing and Challenges to Families. De Gruyter, Hawthorne, New York, 214–52.Google Scholar
Bass, S. A. and Caro, F. G. 1996. The economic value of grandparent assistance. Generations, 20, 1, 29–33.Google Scholar
Bawin-Legros, B. and Stassen, J.-F. 2002. Intergenerational solidarity: between the family and the state. Current Sociology, 50, 2, 243–62.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Baydar, N. and Brooks-Gunn, J. 1998. Profiles of grandmothers who help care for their grandchildren in the United States. Family Relations, 47, 4, 385–93.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Baykara-Krumme, H. and Hoff, A. 2006. Die Lebenssituation älterer Ausländerinnen und Ausländer in Deutschland [The circumstances of older foreign nationals in Germany]. In Tesch-Römer, C., Engstler, H. and Wurm, S. (eds) Altwerden in Deutschland [Growing Old in Germany]. VS Verlag für Sozialwissenschaften, Wiesbaden, Germany, 447–518.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bengtson, V. L. 1975. Generation and family effects in value socialization. American Sociological Review, 40, 3, 358–71.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bengtson, V. L. 2001. Beyond the nuclear family: the increasing importance of multigenerational relationships in American society. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 63, 1, 1–16.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bengtson, V. L., Olander, E. B. and Haddad, A. A. 1976. The ‘generation gap’ and aging family members: toward a conceptual model. In Gubrium, J. F. (ed.) Time, Roles, and Self in Old Age. Human Sciences Press, New York, 237–63.Google Scholar
Bengtson, V. L. and Roberts, R. E. L. 1991. Intergenerational solidarity in aging families: an example of formal theory construction. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 53, 4, 856–70.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bengtson, V. L., Rosenthal, C. and Burton, L. 1990. Families and aging: diversity and heterogeneity. In Binstock, R. H. and George, L. K. (eds) Handbook of Aging and the Social Sciences. Academic, New York, 263–87.Google Scholar
Bengtson, V. L. and Schrader, S. S. 1982. Parent-child relations. In Mangen, D. and Peterson, W. (eds) Handbook of Research Instruments in Social Gerontology. Volume 2, University of Minnesota Press, Minneapolis, Minnesota, 115–85.Google Scholar
Caldwell, C. H., Antonucci, T. C. and Jackson, J. S. 1998. Supportive/conflictual family relations and depressive symptomatology: teenage mother and grandmother perspectives. Family Relations, 47, 4, 395–402.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cherlin, A. and Furstenberg, F. 1986. The New American Grandparent. Harvard University Press, Cambridge, Massachusetts.Google Scholar
Cooney, T. M. and Smith, L. A. 1996. Young adults' relations with grandparents following recent parental divorce. Journal of Gerontology: Social Sciences, 51B, 1, S91–5.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Crosnoe, R. and Elder, G. H. Jr. 2002. Life course transitions, the generational stake, and grandparent-grandchild relationships. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 64, 4, 1089–96.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dimmock, B., Bornat, J., Pearce, S. and Jones, D. 2004. Intergenerational relationships among UK stepfamilies. In Harper, S. (ed.) Families in Ageing Societies. Oxford University Press, Oxford, 82–94.Google Scholar
Dittmann-Kohli, F., Kohli, M., Künemund, H., Motel, A., Steinleitner, C. and Westerhof, G. J. 1997. Lebenszusammenhänge, Selbst- und Lebenskonzeptionen – Erhebungsdesign und Instrumente des Alters-Survey [Life Associations, Self and Life Conceptions: Methodological Design of the German Ageing Survey]. Freie Universität Berlin, Forschungsgruppe Altern und Lebenslauf, Berlin. Available online at http://www.fall-berlin.de/ [Accessed 23 February 2007].Google Scholar
Engstler, H. and Wurm, S. 2006. Datengrundlagen und Methodik [Database and methodology]. In Tesch-Römer, C., Engstler, H. and Wurm, S. (eds) Altwerden in Deutschland [Growing Old in Germany]. VS Verlag für Sozialwissenschaften, Wiesbaden, Germany, 47–84.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fabian, T. 1994. Großeltern als Helfer in familialen Krisen [Grandparents as helpers in family crises]. Neue Praxis, 24, 6, 384–96.Google Scholar
Ferguson, N. 2004. Grandparenting in Divorced Families. Policy Press, Bristol, Avon.Google Scholar
Fthenakis, W. E. 1998. Intergenerative familiale Beziehungen nach Scheidung und Wiederheirat aus der Sicht der Großeltern [Intergenerative family relations after divorce and remarriage from the perspective of the grandparents]. Zeitschrift für Soziologie der Erziehung und Sozialisation, 18, 2, 152–67.Google Scholar
Gauthier, A. 2002. The role of grandparents. Current Sociology, 50, 2, 295–307.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Giarrusso, R., Feng, D., Silverstein, M. and Bengtson, V. L. 2001. Grandparent-adult grandchild affection and consensus. Journal of Family Issues, 22, 5, 456–77.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Giarrusso, R., Stallings, M. and Bengtson, V. L. 1995. The ‘intergenerational stake’ hypothesis revisited: parent-child differences in perceptions of relationships 20 years later. In Bengtson, V. L., Schaie, K. W. and Burton, L. M. (eds) Intergenerational Issues in Aging: Effects of Societal Change. Springer Publishing Company, New York, 227–63.Google Scholar
Hareven, T. K. 2001. Historical Perspectives on Aging and Family Relations. In Binstock, R. H. and George, L. K. (eds) Handbook of Aging and the Social Sciences. Academic, San Diego, California, 141–59.Google Scholar
Harper, S. 2005. Understanding grandparenthood. In Johnson, M. (ed.), Handbook of Age and Ageing. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 422–8.Google Scholar
Harper, S., Smith, T., Lechtman, Z., Ruicheva, I. and Zeilig, H. 2004. Grandmothercare in Lone Parent Families. Oxford Institute of Ageing, Oxford.Google Scholar
Harwood, J. 2001. Comparing grandchildren's and grandparents stake in their relationship. International Journal of Aging and Human Development, 53, 3, 195–210.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hodgson, L. G. 1998. Grandparents and older grandchildren. In Szinovacz, M. E. (ed.) Handbook on Grandparenthood. Greenwood, Westport, Connecticut, 171–83.Google Scholar
Hoff, A. 2006 a. Intergenerationale Familienbeziehungen im Wandel [Changing intergenerational family relations]. In Tesch-Römer, C., Engstler, H. and Wurm, S. (eds) Altwerden in Deutschland [Growing Old in Germany]. VS Verlag für Sozialwissenschaften, Wiesbaden, Germany, 231–87.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hoff, A. 2006 b. Lone Mothers Between the Welfare State and Informal Support: A Cross-national Comparison of Germany and the UK. Edwin Mellen, Lewiston, New York.Google Scholar
Hoff, A. 2007. Functional Solidarity Between Grandparents and Grandchildren in Germany. Working Paper 307, Oxford Institute of Ageing, University of Oxford, Oxford.Google Scholar
Hoff, A. and Tesch-Römer, C. 2007. Family relations and aging: substantial changes since the middle of the last century? In Wahl, H.-W., Tesch-Römer, C. and Hoff, A. (eds) New Dynamics in Old Age: Individual, Environmental and Societal Perspectives. Baywood, Amityville, New York, 65–84.Google Scholar
Hoff, A., Tesch-Römer, C., Wurm, S. and Engstler, H. 2003. ‘Die zweite Lebenshälfte’ – der Alters-survey zwischen gerontologischer Längsschnittanalyse und Alterssozialberichterstattung im Längsschnitt [‘The second half of life’: the German Ageing Survey between gerontological longitudinal analysis and longitudinal old-age social reporting]. In Karl, F. (ed.) Sozial- und verhaltenswissenschaftliche Gerontologie [Social and Behavioural Science Gerontology]. Juventa, Weinheim, Germany, 185–204.Google Scholar
Kivett, V. R. 1985. Grandfathers and grandchildren: patterns of association, helping, and psychological closeness. Family Relations, 34, 4, 565–71.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kohli, M., Künemund, H., Motel, A. and Szydlik, M. 2000. Generationenbeziehungen [Intergenerational relations]. In Kohli, M. and Künemund, H. (eds) Die zweite Lebenshälfte [The Second Half of Life]. Leske and Budrich, Opladen, Germany, 176–211.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Krappmann, L. 1997. Brauchen junge Menschen alte Menschen? [Do younger people need older people?] In Krappmann, L. and Lepenies, A. (ed.) Alt und Jung. Spannung und Solidarität zwischen den Generationen [The Old and the Young: Intergenerational Tensions and Solidarity]. Campus, Frankfurt-on-Main, 185–204.Google Scholar
Kronebusch, K. and Schlesinger, M. 1994. Intergenerational transfers. In Bengtson, V. L. and Harootyan, R. A. (eds) Intergenerational Linkages: Hidden Connections in American Society. Springer Publishing Company, New York, 112–51.Google Scholar
Künemund, H., Motel-Klingebiel, A. and Kohli, M. 2005. Do intergenerational transfers from older parents increase social inequality among their middle-aged children? Evidence from the German Ageing Survey. Journal of Gerontology: Social Sciences, 60B, 1, S30–6.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Langer, N. 1990. Grandparents and adult grandchildren: what do they do for one another? International Journal of Aging and Human Development, 31, 2, 101–10.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Lange, A. and Lauterbach, W. 1997. Wie nahe wohnen Enkel bei ihren Großeltern? Aspekte der Mehrgenerationenfamilie heute [How Close do Grandchildren and Grandparents Live? Aspects of the Multigenerational Familiees Today]. Universität Konstanz, Constance, Germany.Google Scholar
Lange, A. and Lauterbach, W. 1998. Aufwachsen mit oder ohne Großeltern? Die gesellschaftliche Relevanz multilokaler Mehrgenerationenfamilien [Growing up with or without grandparents? The societal relevance of multilocal multigenerational families]. Zeitschrift für Soziologie der Erziehung und Sozialisation. 18, 3, 227–49.Google Scholar
Lauterbach, W. 1995 a. Die gemeinsame Lebenszeit von Familiengenerationen [The joint life-time of family generations]. Zeitschrift für Soziologie, 24, 1, 23–43.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lauterbach, W. 1995 b. Enkel und Großeltern: Generationenlinien, Altersübergänge und gemeinsame Lebenszeit [Grandchildren and grandparents: generational lineage, old-age transitions and joint lifetimes]. In Sahner, H. and Schwendtner, S. (eds) Gesellschaften im Umbruch [Societies in Transition]. Leske and Budrich, Opladen, Germany, 745–53.Google Scholar
Lauterbach, W. 2002. Großelternschaft und Mehrgenerationenfamilien – soziale Realität oder demographischer Mythos? [Grandparenthood and multigenerational families: social reality or demographic myth?] Zeitschrift für Gerontologie und Geriatrie, 35, 6, 540–55.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lauterbach, W. and Klein, T. 1997. Altern im Generationenzusammenhang [Ageing in intergenerational relationships]. In Mansel, J., Rosenthal, G. and Tölke, A. (eds) Generationenbeziehungen, Austausch und Tradierung [Intergenerational Relations, Exchange and Tradition]. Westdeutscher Verlag, Opladen, Germany, 109–20.Google Scholar
Lüscher, K. and Liegle, L. 2003. Generationenbeziehungen in Familie und Gesellschaft [Intergenerational Relations in Family and Society]. Universitätsverlag Konstanz, Constance, Germany.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Marbach, J. H. 1994. Tauschbeziehungen zwischen Generationen – Kommunikation, Dienstleistung und finanzielle Unterstützung in Dreigenerationenfamilien [Intergenerational exchange relations: communication, service provision and financial support in three-generation families]. In Bien, W. (ed.) Eigeninteresse oder Solidarität. Beziehungen in modernen Mehrgenerationenfamilien [Self-interest or Solidarity: Relationships in Modern Multigenerational Families]. Leske and Budrich, Opladen, Germany, 163–96.Google Scholar
Minkler, M., Fuller-Thomson, E., Miller, D. and Driver, D. 2000. Grandparent caregiving and depression. In Hayslip, B. Jr, and Goldberg-Glen, R. (eds) Grandparents Raising Grandchildren: Theoretical, Empirical, and Clinical Perspectives. Springer Publishing Company, New York, 207–20.Google Scholar
Motel-Klingebiel, A. 2000. Alter und Generationenvertrag im Wandel des Sozialstaats [Old Age, the Intergenerational Contract and the Changing Social Welfare State]. Weißensee, Berlin.Google Scholar
Pruchno, R. 1999. Raising grandchildren: the experience of black and white grandmothers. The Gerontologist, 39, 2, 209–21.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Roberto, K. A. and Stroes, J. 1995. Grandchildren and grandparents: roles, influences, and relationships. In Hendricks, J. (ed.) The Ties of Later Life. Baywood, Amityville, New York, 141–53.Google Scholar
Roberts, R. E. L. and Bengtson, V. L. 1990. Is intergenerational solidarity a unidimensional construct? A second test of a formal model. Journal of Gerontology: Social Sciences, 45, 1, S12–20.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Ross, N., Hill, M., Sweeting, H. and Cunningham-Burley, S. 2002. Grandparents and Teen Grandchildren: Exploring Intergenerational Relationships. Centre for Research on Families and Relationships, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh.Google Scholar
Silverstein, M. 2006. Intergenerational family transfers in social context. In Binstock, R. H. and George, L. K. (ed.) Handbook of Aging and the Social Sciences. Sixth edition, Academic, Burlington, Massachusetts, 165–80.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Silverstein, M. and Long, J. D. 1998. Trajectories of grandparents' perceived solidarity with adult grandchildren: a growth curve analysis over 23 years. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 60, 4, 912–23.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Silverstein, M. and Marenco, A. 2001. How Americans enact the grandparent role across the family life course. Journal of Family Issues, 22, 5, 493–522.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Silverstein, M., Giarusso, R. and Bengtson, V. L. 1998. Intergenerational solidarity and the grandparent role. In Szinovacz, M. E. (ed.) Handbook on Grandparenthood. Greenwood, Westport, Connecticut, 144–58.Google Scholar
Sommer-Himmel, R. 2001. Großeltern heute. Betreuen, erziehen, verwöhnen. [Grandparents Today: To Look After, To Bring Up, To Spoil]. Universität Bielefeld, Bielefeld, Germany.Google Scholar
Szinovacz, M. E. 1998. Grandparenting research: past, present, and future. In Szinovacz, M. E. (ed.) Handbook on Grandparenthood. Greenwood, Westport, Connecticut, 1–22.Google Scholar
Szydlik, M. 2000. Lebenslange Solidarität? Generationenbeziehungen zwischen erwachsenen Kindern und ihren Eltern [Life-long Solidarity? Intergenerational Relations Between Adult Children and Their Parents]. Leske and Budrich, Opladen, Germany.Google Scholar
Tesch-Römer, C., Wurm, S., Hoff, A. and Engstler, H. 2002. Die zweite Welle des Alterssurveys. Erhebungsdesign und Instrumente [The Second Wave of the German Ageing Survey. Methodological Design and Instruments]. Deutsches Zentrum für Altersfragen, Berlin. Available online at http://www.dza.de/download/Alterssurvey_Instrumente.pdf [Accessed 23 February 2007].Google Scholar
Uhlenberg, P. 2005. Historical forces shaping grandparent-grandchild relationships: demography and beyond. In Silverstein, M. (ed.) Intergenerational Relations Across Time and Place. Annual Review of Gerontology and Geriatrics. Springer Publishing Company, New York, 77–97.Google Scholar
Von Hentig, H. 1946. The sociological function of the grandmother. Social Forces, 24, 4, 389–92.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wilk, N. 1993. Großeltern und Enkelkinder [Grandparents and grandchildren]. In Lüscher, K. and Schultheis, F. (eds) Generationenbeziehungen in ‘postmodernen Gesellschaften’ [Intergenerational Relations in ‘Post-modern Societies’]. Universitätsverlag Konstanz (UVK), Konstanz, Germany, 03–14.Google Scholar