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Generational (dis)agreements – family support, national law and older immigrants in extended households

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  12 December 2017

ANIKA LIVERSAGE Open the ORCID record for ANIKA LIVERSAGE [Opens in a new window]
ANIKA LIVERSAGE*
Affiliation:
VIVE – The Danish Centre of Applied Social Science, Copenhagen, Denmark.
*
Address for correspondence: Anika Liversage, VIVE – The Danish Centre of Applied Social Science, Herluf Trolles Gade 11, 1052 – Copenhagen K., Denmark E-mail: ani@vive.dk
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Abstract

As detailed knowledge on multigenerational migrant families is sparse, this paper draws on quantitative and qualitative data to investigate intergenerational co-residence for older Turkish immigrants in Denmark. Registry data show that 23 per cent of Turkish immigrants in the 65–74 years age group live in intergenerational households – a level halfway between levels in Denmark and Turkey. These extended households are predominantly of the ‘culturally ideal’ type – formed by sons, sons’ wives and often the couple's children. One in five extended households, however, includes unwed sons and hence do not provide access to the labour power of daughters-in-law. Many factors seem to contribute to the observed pattern, including variable meanings of intergenerational co-habitation, high levels of poverty and limited housing options for extended families. Interviews with older Turkish immigrants point to another contributing factor, namely men's difficulties finding wives willing to live with parents-in-law. The sons’ hardships in this regard can be tied to a Danish immigration regime that bars marriage migrants from entering into extended households. While Turkish women raised in Denmark do not face such legal restrictions, such young women may reject marriage proposals entailing in-law co-habitation. The study thus adds new nuances to our understanding of how the dynamics of age, gender and immigration experience may shape the ways in which older immigrants live in Europe today.

Keywords

older immigrantsintergenerational relationscohabitationcare in old ageTurkish immigrants
Type
Article
Information
Ageing & Society , Volume 39 , Issue 5 , May 2019 , pp. 899 - 923
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2017 

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