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The Impact of Ethnicity on Helping Older Relatives: Findings From a Sample of Employed Canadians

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  29 November 2010

Janice Keefe ,
Carolyn Rosenthal  and
François Béland
Janice Keefe
Affiliation:
Mount St. Vincent University
Carolyn Rosenthal
Affiliation:
McMaster University
François Béland
Affiliation:
Université de Montréal*
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Abstract

This study examines the relationship between ethnicity and the provision of assistance to older relatives. A sample of employed Canadians (N = 2,753), a subsample of the CARNET Work and Family Survey, is used to explore how ethnicity influences the amount of assistance provided to older relatives. Findings from our study suggest that Asians, East Indians, and Southern Europeans provide higher levels ofhelp than British respondents. Final obligation affects the amount of help provided but plays a similar role within each ethnic group. However, structural factors — in particular, living arrangement and age — are stronger predictors of the level of involvement in helping older relatives than are cultural factors of filial obligation and belonging to a particular ethnic group.

Résumé

Cette étude examine la relation entre l'appartenance ethnique et l'aide fournie aux aîné(e)s de la famille. On a utilisé un échantillonnage de canadien(ne)s sur le marché du travail (N = 2 753), et un sous-échantillonnage du Réseau canadien de recherche sur le vieilhssement pour examiner dans quelle mesure l'appartenance ethnique influence l'ampleur de l'aide fournie aux aîné(e)s d'une famille. Les résultats de notre enquête nous portent à croire que les Asiatiques, les habitants des Indes orientates et les Européens du Sud fournissent des niveaux d'aide plus importants que les Britanniques. Le devoir filial influe sur l'ampleur de l'aide fournie tout en jouant un rôle similaire au sein de chaque ethnie. Cependant, les facteurs structurels, notamment les conditions de logement et l'âge, constituent des variables explicatives plus importantes du niveau d'engagement à aider les aîné(e)s d'une famille que les facteurs culturels de devoir filial et d'appartenance à un groupe ethnique particulier.

Keywords

Family SupportEthnicityEmployment.Aide familialeethnicitéemploi.
Type
Articles
Information
Canadian Journal on Aging / La Revue canadienne du vieillissement , Volume 19 , Issue 3 , Automne/Fall 2000 , pp. 317 - 342
Copyright
Copyright © Canadian Association on Gerontology 2000

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