It has taken gerontologists a long time to focus on the problems of rurality. More than half the older people in the world live in rural areas. The proportions of older people in local populations are higher in rural areas than in urban areas in most countries of the world. However, it was not until the year 2000 that the First Global Rural Aging Conference was held. This special issue looks as intergenerational relationships in rural areas and stems from an invited symposium at that conference.

This paper uses a range of secondary data sources to analyse key elements of intergenerational relationships in Germany. Within the context of a discussion of regional differences in Germany’s population structure and aspects of socio-economic conditions in rural areas, the paper focuses on the following aspects of intergenerational relationships: household structures, proximity of the generations, frequency and intensity of contacts between the generations, intergenerational transfers and non-kin relationships. Where appropriate, comparisons are made between East and West Germany and between rural and urban areas. The analysis of data on intergenerational relationships highlights several difficulties associated with research on older people living in rural areas. It is suggested that these difficulties contribute to the distorted and contradictory views that are often associated with rural ageing.

Based on data from the Bangor Longitudinal Study of Ageing (BLSA) 1979–1999, this paper examines changes over time in the intergenerational relationships of older people (aged 65+ in 1979). The analysis uses quantitative and qualitative data to discuss changes from 1979–1999 for those respondents who survived in the community to 1999. It looks at mothers’ and fathers’ relationships with their adult children, grandmother and grandfather relationships with grandchildren and relationships between aunts and uncles with nieces and nephews. It identifies four different patterns of intergenerational relationships showing how the rural employment structure impacts on family structure, migration and support patterns.

This paper applies the family lifecourse perspective to the lives of rural older women in the Midwestern United States based on the findings of the Rural Older Women’s Project, an ethnographic study of the daily lives and systems of support of 30 women. The focus is on the relationships with children, grandchildren, and parents if they are still living, of rural older women in central Minnesota. Three case studies are used to demonstrate the full range of circumstances. From those who are still actively providing support and assistance to their own parents, children, and grandchildren, to those who are primarily the recipients of care and support, to those who are unable to receive the necessary assistance from their family system. These variations are significant in terms of the ways in which each of them face the increasing needs which often come with ageing.

This paper explores aspects of kinship and geographical distance in terms of the social context of older people in the South Island of New Zealand, and with particular reference to the long-term epidemiological study of ageing in the community of Mosgiel. Comparisons between the numbers of relatives reported in the social networks of the older participants at baseline and in the six-year follow-up study indicate both losses and gains over time. A local qualitative study carried out within the Mosgiel study interprets meanings of closeness and distance from the ways that older people talk about family and friends. In discussing definitions of family, aspects of genealogical and generational connection are described, along with processes which allow for ‘proxies’ and ‘substitution’ in the light of geographical proximity. These role definitions within families, and the wider social networks within which they operate, provide continuity and reliable social support together with flexibility and adaptability to change. The Mosgiel study illustrates some aspects of the combined effects of low population density in the region, rural-to-urban migration, and recent health and social service restructuring on older people and on their families.

India, like many other developing countries in the world, is presently witnessing rapid ageing of its population. Almost eight out of 10 older people in India live in rural areas. Urbanisation, modernisation and globalisation have led to changes in economic structure, erosion of societal values and the weakening of social institutions such as the joint family. In this changing economic and social milieu, the younger generation is searching for new identities encompassing economic independence and redefined social roles within, as well as outside, the family. The changing economic structure has reduced the dependence of rural families on land, which had provided strength to bonds between generations. The traditional sense of duty and obligation of the younger generation towards their older generation is being eroded. The older generation is caught between the decline in traditional values on the one hand and the absence of an adequate social security system, on the other. This paper explores the nature and extent of the social and economic pressures that are impinging on intergenerational relationships and discusses the implications for policy towards improving the wellbeing of India’s senior citizens.

In Indonesia, as in most other societies, intergenerational relationships are considered most important for elder care. Children are expected to take care of their elderly parents. However, processes of social change such as industrialisation, urbanisation and migration can have a negative impact on care for elderly people, particularly in rural areas. This paper addresses the issue of the living and care arrangements of older people and possible changes therein. A number of hypotheses and research questions pertaining to this issue are discussed. An Elderly Household Survey was carried out among people aged 55 years and older in two different villages in the Special Region of Yogyakarta. The data concern the living and care arrangements according to the respondent’s sex, age and village. The principle finding is that most older people still live with at least one child or with other kin, or have at least one child living in the same village. Hence, they still have a potential care provider in their immediate vicinity. The situation, however, especially of women aged over 75 years, seems to be problematic.