SOCI 373 Lecture Notes - Lecture 11: Ambivalence, Married People, Indirect Approach
19 Jun 2018
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FAMILY
Most older adults in canada prefer not to live with their adult offspring. Seniors who identify with
a communal ethnic subculture may prefer a closer living situation.
Fictive Kin- not blood or marriage ties, but still forms an important part of ‘family’ close friends or
neighbors close enough to be considered ‘family’. Often critical for support.
Increasing life expectancy in the latter half of the 20th century increased prevalence of
multigenerational households.
Increased prevalence of intergenerational relationships as life expectancy increases. Leads to
‘bean pole structure’- multiple generations alive at the same time but fewer people in each
generation because people are having less kids. Creates strain for younger generation because
they have more people to care for- not just caring for parents but also grandparents or great
grandparents, and then also their own offspring.
Greater family fluidity due to ease of divorce, remarriage. Increasing complexity in familial roles
due to changes in life course transitions.
Age condensed structure- generations are closer to each other in age, when people have
babies earlier in life.
Age gapped structure- people are delaying childbirth, so generations are older.
This is likely to continue as more women pursue post secondary education and enter the labour
force
Truncated families- this occurs when the younger generation is childless by choice or chance.
This trend is increasing.
4 Dimension of importance of families to older adults:
-the number of relatives available and their relationships with the older adult
-the past and present patterns of contact and interaction
-quality in terms of how supportive/ abusive the relationship is
-the types of support that is given
Women are often assigned a ‘kin-keeper role’ to facilitate certain social interactions related to
the family, serves as a confidant or caregiver for older adults.
Face to face interactions are more common in lower SES families because they often live closer
to each other geographically, more likely to provide instrumental assistance. Higher SES family
members tend to live in less geographic proximity, they offer different types of assistance.
The presence of a marital partner is more important than the quality of the marriage in late life. It
may be more important for men than for women because men are less likely to go outside of the
relationship to find support.
Document Summary
Most older adults in canada prefer not to live with their adult offspring. Seniors who identify with a communal ethnic subculture may prefer a closer living situation. Fictive kin- not blood or marriage ties, but still forms an important part of family" close friends or neighbors close enough to be considered family". Increasing life expectancy in the latter half of the 20th century increased prevalence of multigenerational households. Increased prevalence of intergenerational relationships as life expectancy increases. Bean pole structure"- multiple generations alive at the same time but fewer people in each generation because people are having less kids. Creates strain for younger generation because they have more people to care for- not just caring for parents but also grandparents or great grandparents, and then also their own offspring. Greater family fluidity due to ease of divorce, remarriage. Increasing complexity in familial roles due to changes in life course transitions.
