1st Edition

Families Intergenerational and Generational Connections

By Susan K Pfeifer, Marvin B Sussman Copyright 1991

    This special volume is devoted to the synthesis and review of theoretical and conceptual approaches associated with familial and non-familial connections across the life span. An important book as society “returns to the family,” it compares and contrasts different disciplinary perspectives associated with intergenerational relationships. Because intergenerational relationships have been the focus of research in many disciplines, various perspectives have emerged about kin and non-kin connections. Renewed interest in families and familial connections is due largely to events and situations occurring in complex, modernized societies which place the intergenerational nexus on center stage. The leading researchers represented in this outstanding book provide rare opportunity for the scholarly comparison of the various perspectives in the broader spectrum of family relations.

    Families: Intergenerational and Generational Connecting is a significant addition to the body of research on family connections. The three major areas of generational and intergenerational connections include theoretical and conceptual perspectives, connections within the family, and connections outside the family. As the use of families as support networks for individual members increases, this timely book will be an invaluable aid to educators, students, and researchers concerned about families and familial and non-familial relationships. Counselors and therapists will value this enlightening book with its diverse theoretical and conceptual perspectives on kinship, intergenerational solidarity and relations, social supports, and cross-national perspectives on family connections.

    Contents Theoretical and Conceptual Perspectives
    • Reflections on Intergenerational and Kin Connections
    • Intergenerational Solidarity in Families: Untangling the Ties that Bind
    • Families: Intergenerational and Generational Connections--Conceptual Approaches to Kinship and Culture
    • Small Worlds and Intergenerational Relationships
    • Convoys of Social Support: Generational Issues
    • Intergenerational Caregivers of the Oldest Old
    • An Intergenerational Perspective of Marriage: Love and Trust in Cultural Context
    • An Intergenerational Perspective on Family Ethical Dilemmas
    • Sharing or Competition: Multiple Views of the Intergenerational Flow of Society’s Resources
    • Ancestor Worship as an Intergenerational Linkage in Perpetuity
    • Generational and Intergenerational Connections Within the Family and the Community
    • Studying Adult Children and Their Parents
    • Between Mothers and Daughters
    • Fathers and Their Adult Sons and Daughters
    • The Grandparent-Grandchild Connection
    • Sibling Relationships in Adulthood
    • The Intergenerational Family Roles of Aged Black Americans
    • Puerto Rican Families in New York City: Intergenerational Processes
    • Continuity and Change: Intergenerational Relations in Southeast Asian Refugee Families
    • The Impact of Grandparents on Children’s Outcomes in China
    • Developing Informal Networks of Caring Through Intergenerational Connections in School Settings

    Biography

    Susan K Pfeifer, Marvin B Sussman