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Would I Share a Home with an Elderly Parent? Exploring Ethnocultural Diversity and Intergenerational Support Relations during Young Adulthood*

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  31 March 2010

Barbara A. Mitchell
Barbara A. Mitchell*
Affiliation:
Simon Fraser University
*
Requests for offprints should be sent to: / Les demandes de tirés-a-part doivent être adressées à: Barbara A. Mitchell, Associate Professor, Department of Sociology/Anthropology & Gerontology Programs, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, BCV5A 1S6, mitchelo@sfu.ca
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Abstract

This paper provides an exploratory analysis of ethnocultural diversity and intergenerational support, examining factors that shape the attitudes of young adults toward sharing a home with an elderly parent. Data are drawn from a random sample of 565 young adults aged 19 to 35 living in the Greater Vancouver Regional District, whose primary ethnic identity is as members of one of three groups: British-, Chinese-, and Indo-Canadian. Utilizing a comparative, cross-cultural approach and logistic regression procedures, the study found the likelihood of young adults' expressing favourable attitudes to caregiving to be influenced by several factors associated with collectivistic systems of caregiving. Noteworthy is the finding that, after controlling for ethnocultural and socio-demographic factors, the best predictor of co-residence attitudes is the quality of a child's relationship with her/his mother. Findings are discussed with regard to their implications for intergenerational relations and support for aging families.

Résumé

Cette étude offre une analyse préliminaire de la diversité ethno-culturelle et de l'appui intergénérationnel; elle examine les facteurs qui façonnent les attitudes des jeunes adultes envers le partage d'une maison avec un parent âgé. Les données proviennent d'un échantillonnage aléatoire de 565 jeunes adultes, âgés de 19 à 35 ans et vivant dans le section régional de Greater Vancouver. L'identité ethnique primaire des sujets se retrouve dans un de trois groupes, soit britannique-canadien, chinois-canadien et indo-canadien. L'étude repose sur une approche comparative transculturelle et des marches à suivre de régression logistique. L'on retrouve que quelques facteurs associés aux systèmes collectivistes de soins exercent une influence sur la probabilité que les jeunes adultes démontrent des attitudes favorables. Il convient de noter qu'une fois les facteurs ethno-culturels et socio-démographiques contrôlés, la découverte que le meilleur moyen de prédire les attitudes co-résidentielles est d'étudier la qualité de la relation entre l'enfant et sa mère. Les résultats sont discutés en vue de leur effet sur les relations inter-générationnelles et sur l'appui aux familles vieillissantes.

Keywords

agingintergenerational supportethnocultural diversityco-residence attitudesvieillissementappui inter-générationneldiversité ethno-culturelleattitudes co-résidentielles
Type
Articles
Information
Canadian Journal on Aging / La Revue canadienne du vieillissement , Volume 22 , Issue 1 , Spring/Printemps 2003 , pp. 69 - 82
Copyright
Copyright © Canadian Association on Gerontology 2003

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Footnotes

*

An earlier version of this paper was presented at the International Gerontological Association Meetings, Vancouver, BC, July, 2001. The research reported here was funded by a Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada research grant. Thanks to Doug Talling for his help with computer runs.

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