Intergenerational support: the role of gender and social networks

Abstract

Older people are at the centre of a complex exchange network within the family, giving and receiving many types of practical help and support. Everyday support provided by the family is an essential contribution to the sustainability of longterm care systems in all European countries. It is predicted that in the years to come we will witness a significant increase in the number and the average age of informal helpers (Hoffmann & Rodrigues 2010). A better understanding of the characteristics of these individuals becomes crucial, including the conditions under which they provide support. Care research has pointed systematically to the importance of the association between the provision of care to older adults and social variables such as kinship, gender, provision of formal support or even cultural norms. Also, the capacity of providing help and care can be constrained and facilitated by caregivers’ social resources including those within their personal network (Carpentier & Ducharme 2003).