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Types, meanings and ambivalence in intergenerational exchanges among Cambodian refugee families in the United States

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  03 November 2008

DENISE C. LEWIS
DENISE C. LEWIS
Affiliation:
Department of Child and Family Development, University of Georgia, Athens, USA.
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Abstract

This article aims to answer the following question: how have refugee families in the United States (US) modified attitudes and behaviours surrounding intergenerational exchanges within the context of filial piety? This research reports on one 31-member extended family in a community of Cambodian refugee families living along the Gulf of Mexico coast. The family members in this study have changed types, found new meanings in, and are often ambivalent about, intergenerational exchanges. Moreover, they have held onto those aspects of Cambodian culture that were considered essential, such as filial piety and elder reverence, while adapting and redefining types and meanings of intergenerational exchanges the better to reflect their current lives in the United States. These findings illuminate ways in which changed life circumstances and cultural transitions shaped attitudes, preferences and behavioural patterns associated with intergenerational exchanges. The findings also show how and why refugee families have negotiated and modified their beliefs and behaviours surrounding intergenerational exchanges in the context of massive social and cultural disruption.

Keywords

intergenerational exchangesimmigrant familiesfamily exchange theorycultural adaptation
Type
Research Article
Information
Ageing & Society , Volume 28 , Issue 5 , July 2008 , pp. 693 - 715
Copyright
Copyright © 2008 Cambridge University Press

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