Discriminative Grandparental Investment in China : Evidence from an Undergraduate Questionnaire Study.

Many studies in Western societies show a pattern of discriminative grandparental investment as follows: maternal grandmothers (MGMs) > maternal grandfathers (MGFs) > paternal grandmothers (PGMs) > paternal grandfathers (PGFs). This pattern is in line with the expectation from evolutionary reasoning. Yet whether or not this pattern applies in China is in question. The present study was based on a questionnaire survey at a university in Central China (N = 1,195). Results show that (1) when grandparent-grandchild residential distance during grandchildren's childhood is controlled, in the case of grandsons and granddaughters as a whole and granddaughters only, both grandparental caregiving and grandchildren's emotional closeness to grandparents display a rank order of MGM > MGF > PGM > PGF, but in the case of grandsons only, this order is not statistically significant. (2) There are stable relationships between grandparental caregiving/grandchildren's emotional closeness and residential distance/similarity in appearance. (3) The effects of residential distance on either PGFs' or PGMs' caregiving exceed those on either MGFs' or MGMs'. (4) The PGF and PGM prefer grandsons to granddaughters in their caregiving, whereas the MGF and MGM do not have a sex preference, and (5) the fact that the PGF and PGM invest more in grandsons than in granddaughters does not depend on grandsons' duration of living in a rural area. Our results suggest that (1) in general, the Chinese display a pattern of differential grandparental investment predicted by an evolutionary perspective, (2) the evolutionary perspective that combines the two factors of paternal uncertainty and sex-specific reproductive strategies is applicable to grandparental investment in China, and (3) the traditional son-preference culture also plays some role in affecting grandparental investment in China, though the roles of culture and urban-rural cultural difference should not be exaggerated.

The Lived Experience of Postpartum Intergenerational Conflict of Vietnamese American Women with their Vietnamese Immigrant Parents: It's A Generational Thing!

PURPOSE: US-born Vietnamese women who are in their childbearing years are more likely to identify with "western" perspectives when compared to their immigrant mothers who were born in Vietnam. Still, a gap in knowledge exists of their intergenerational differences. The purpose of this study was to explore and better understand Vietnamese American women's experiences of postpartum intergenerational conflict. STUDY DESIGN AND METHODS: van Manen's methodological approach (1997) was used. The purposive sample included 11 US-born Vietnamese women who experienced postpartum intergenerational conflict with their parents. Data were transcribed verbatim and analyzed using thematic analysis. The researcher transcended the themes through music. Songs and lyrics were arranged for guitar to bring the phenomenon to life. RESULTS: Four themes were identified: (1) "It's a Generational Thing!" (Mot dieu the he): Leaning both ways; (2) "To rebel or not" (Noi loan hay không): Weighing the evidence of postpartum cultural practices; (3) "Stand My Ground" (Giu vung lap trÆ°ong cua tôi): Keeping my newborn safe and healthy; and (4) "See Me" (Nhìn con): My mental health overshadowed by my mother's thoughts. This study revealed that the intergenerational conflict was influenced by the family's understanding over the division of infant care tasks, disagreements over cultural practices, and generational differences such as age, consistent with previous research. CLINICAL IMPLICATIONS: Tailored interventions for Vietnamese American women should consider the family as a whole. Nurses can assess proactively in prenatal care if there are cultural issues such as family hierarchy, gender, and history influencing one's choices or maternal autonomy.

Under Different Roofs? Coresidence With Adult Children and Parents' Mental Health Across Race and Ethnicity Over Two Decades.

Many U.S. parents share a household with an adult child in later life. However, the reasons parents and adult children coreside may vary over time and across family race/ethnicity, shaping relationships with parents' mental health. Using the Health and Retirement Study, this study investigates the determinants and mental health correlates of coresidence with adult children from 1998 to 2018 among White, Black, and Hispanic parents under age 65 and aged 65+. Findings show that the predictors of coresidence shifted with increasing odds that parents lived with an adult child, and several varied by parents' age group and race/ethnicity. Compared with White parents, Black and Hispanic parents were more likely to live with adult children, especially at older ages, and to indicate that they helped their children with household finances or functional limitations. Living with adult children was associated with higher depressive symptoms among White parents, and mental health was negatively related to living with adult children who were not working or were helping parents with functional limitations. The findings highlight increasing diversity among adult child-coresident parents and underscore persistent differences in the predictors and meaning of coresidence with adult children across race/ethnicity.

Intergenerational effects of maternal lifetime stressor exposure on offspring telomere length in Black and White women.

BACKGROUND: Although maternal stressor exposure has been associated with shorter telomere length (TL) in offspring, this literature is based largely on White samples. Furthermore, timing of maternal stressors has rarely been examined. Here, we examined how maternal stressors occurring during adolescence, pregnancy, and across the lifespan related to child TL in Black and White mothers. METHOD: Mothers (112 Black; 110 White; Mage = 39) and their youngest offspring (n = 222; Mage = 8) were part of a larger prospective cohort study, wherein mothers reported their stressors during adolescence (assessed twice during adolescence for the past year), pregnancy (assessed in midlife for most recent pregnancy), and across their lifespan (assessed in midlife). Mother and child provided saliva for TL measurement. Multiple linear regression models examined the interaction of maternal stressor exposure and race in relation to child TL, controlling for maternal TL and child gender and age. Race-stratified analyses were also conducted. RESULTS: Neither maternal adolescence nor lifespan stressors interacted with race in relation to child TL. In contrast, greater maternal pregnancy stressors were associated with shorter child TL, but this effect was present for children of White but not Black mothers. Moreover, this effect was significant for financial but not social pregnancy stressors. Race-stratified models revealed that greater financial pregnancy stressors predicted shorter telomeres in offspring of White, but not Black mothers. CONCLUSIONS: Race and maternal stressors interact and are related to biological aging across generations, but these effects are specific to certain races, stressors, and exposure time periods.

Filial Piety and Parental Depressive Symptoms: All Children Matter - Evidence from Rural Northern China.

Little research has considered all children while investigating adult children's role in their older parents' health and well-being. In this study, we examine the effect of filial piety across all children on parental depressive symptoms. A sample of 432 older parents with 1,223 adult children in a rural county in northern China rated the filial piety level for each child individually. Ratings were then combined across multiple children and organized into an ordinal variable of filial piety including three levels: all children being filial, some of the children being filial, and none of the children being filial. Ordinary least squares linear regression analyses were performed. The results reveal a significant and negative relationship between adult children's filial piety levels and older parents' depressive symptoms after controlling for age, gender, marital status, financial strain, chronic conditions, and social support from family and friends, respectively. That is, one level lower in the adult children's filial piety corresponds to increase in level of older parents' depressive symptoms. Filial piety seems to benefit older Chinese parents' mental health net of social support from family and friends in this sample. Including information from all children in the analyses is informative for better understanding the psychological significance of filial piety for healthy aging in China.

Growing Old in a Transnational Setting: Investigating Perceptions of Ageing and Changing Filial Ties Among Older Indians in Saskatoon.

Numerous studies have examined the experience of growing old in a transnational context among Indians. However, in most of these studies, the older adults had immigrated as senior citizens to be with their adult children. Indians who have grown old in transnational settings have not been examined in detail in the gerontological scholarship. Adopting a cross-cultural lens, the present study focusses on perceptions of ageing among older Indians who have grown old in the city of Saskatoon. The study demonstrates how these older Indians refute the Successful Ageing model and accept their physical weaknesses in their course of ageing. Additionally, the study also examines how caregiving arrangements and intergenerational relationships are shaped among these older Indians and their adult children, in a transnational city, such as Saskatoon. Finally, the study highlights how later life gender roles are constructed in a transnational backdrop.

Association between positive grandparental involvement during childhood and generativity in late life among community-dwelling, cognitively intact, older adults in Japan.

AIM: Generativity is increasingly being recognized as a key element of healthy aging. The present study investigated whether children who received more positive grandparental involvement would show higher generativity in late life. METHODS: In 2017, 173 older adults living in Wakuya City (Miyagi Prefecture, Japan), and who showed normal cognition based on the Quick Mild Cognitive Impairment Screen, participated in a self-report life course survey (age range: 65-88 years). The association between positive grandparental involvement in childhood and generativity (measured by the Loyola Generativity Scale) was investigated using multiple linear regression adjusted for potential confounders. RESULTS: Compared with older adults without or had low positive grandparental involvement in childhood, a higher level of generativity was observed among those with medium (ß = 1.93, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.24-3.62) and high positive grandparental involvement (ß = 2.09, 95% CI: 0.32-3.87), adjusting for age, gender, memory performance, depressive symptoms, childhood socio-economic status and parental involvement. The significant dose-response association remained even after further adjusting for education and current grandparental experiences. CONCLUSION: Greater positive grandparental involvement in childhood was associated with a higher level of generativity among community-dwelling, cognitively intact, Japanese older adults. Geriatr Gerontol Int ••; ••: ••-•• Geriatr Gerontol Int 2021; ••: ••-••.

"The Ugly Face of Old Age": Elders' Unmet Expectations for Care and Support in Rural Ethiopia.

As migration, urbanization, and aging accelerate in developing nations, traditional family supports for elders are diminishing. With these trends in mind, hermeneutic phenomenology was used to examine the experiences of 10 rural Ethiopian elders of age 70 and older. Narrative data from in-depth interviews revealed three prominent themes: the "good old days," drained happiness, worry and pessimism. Elders felt devalued by their children, grandchildren, and youth in general. Compared to how they treated their own parents, elders believed that their children's sense of filial obligation was weak and unreliable. Interactions were described as undermining, embarrassing, and abusive. Elders were pessimistic about the prospect of reliable caregivers, even expressing a wish to die before they become dependent on others for care. Despite such challenges, participants viewed aging as a privilege. New cooperative models of community-based care are needed to ensure that elders in developing nations can expect adequate care throughout their lives.

Sistemas familiares conflituosos e cuidado feminino com crianças acolhidas / Conflicting family systems and female care with institutionalized children / Sistemas familiares conflictivos y cuidado femenino con niños acogidos

O estudo de famílias como um sistema permite desfocalizar sofrimentos e problemáticas em uma única pessoa. Essa compreensão facilita entender o cuidado realizado por mulheres com seus filhos, a partir das heranças transgeracionais que compõe a história de vida familiar. Em casos extremos no cuidado, a criança pode parar em uma instituição de acolhimento infantil. A presente pesquisa investigou a relação entre crianças institucionalizadas e a dinâmica de suas famílias num serviço de acolhimento para crianças de zero a seis anos. Trata-se de um estudo de caso com duas famílias e com os seguintes instrumentos: entrevistas semiestruturadas e o genograma. A discussão dos resultados evidenciou que a herança de abandono foi atualizada em até três gerações, a partir de uma história que se construiu a base de perdas emocionais e financeiras. Tais perdas foram somadas as dificuldades do núcleo, ao exteriorizarem conflitos que resultaram na posterior desagregação familiar e acolhimento infantil.

The understanding of families like systems allows defocus problems and sufferings on one single person. When this logic is used do compreheend female care, it is perceptive that the way women deal with their children is influenced bytransgenarational heritage whose shape the story of the group - which may be enriched or dreadful. In extreme cases, the child goes to a shelther care. This research aimed investigate how family system dynamic contributed to the stay of one of their children in a institutionalized space. The multiple case study was used as the method, whereby semi-estructured interview and genogram were the following instruments. As results' discussion, it was evidenced the abandonment's inheritance refreshed in three generations, based on a story of financial and emotional losses. These losses were added to the difficulties of the nucleus, when externalizing conflicts that resulted in the subsequent family disaggregation and child care.

El estudio de familias como un sistema, permite desfocalizar sufrimientos y problemáticas en una única persona. Esta visión, facilita entender el cuidado realizado por mujeres con sus hijos, el cual es influenciado por las herencias transgeneracionales que componen la historia de vida -las cuales pueden ser enriquecedoras o conflictivas. En casos extremos en el cuidado, el niño puede ir a parar a una institución de acogida infantil. La presente investigación indagó la relación entre niños institucionalizados y la dinámica de sus familias. Se trata de un estudio de casos múltiples desarrollada con entrevistas semiestructuradas y genograma. La discusión de los resultados evidenció que la herencia del abandono influyó en hasta tres generaciones, a partir de una historia que se construyó en pérdidas emocionales y financieras. Tales pérdidas se sumaron a las dificultades del núcleo, al exteriorizar conflictos que resultaron en la posterior disgregación familiar y en la institucionalización infantil.

Grandmothers' Developmental Expectations for Early Childhood in Botswana.

Urban and rural grandmothers (n = 20) in Botswana participated in focus groups to learn their expectations for the acquisition of skills by preschool children. Their expectations for self-care, traditional politeness, and participation in household chores were dramatically earlier than developmental timetables reported for Western middle-class populations. There are some differences, however, in the urban and rural grandmothers' expectations. Rural grandmothers had earlier expectations for self-care skills and participation in household chores, and they had more specific expectations for mastering Setswana cultural customs. In addition, some urban grandmothers, who were generally more educated, described using more reciprocal communication, and they believed in playing with their grandchildren, whereas the rural grandmothers' communication was more instructional, and they insisted that children should play away from adults. Strikingly, there was no mention of school readiness goals or activities by either group, suggesting a "cultural misfit" between the standard early childhood curriculum, largely imported from the United States and other Western countries, and the cultural backgrounds of Batswana families. To create a more workable partnership between preschool teachers and grandparents-important caretakers of young children, both traditionally and currently-will require efforts to acknowledge and promote the values and expectations of both groups.

Conceiving one's national group as transgenerational: Effects on attitudes towards 'foreign' and diaspora migrants.

The current paper presents three studies, which suggest that perceiving one's nation as transgenerational (TG) is related to a differentiation in the evaluation of ethnically German diaspora migrants and ethnically non-German ('foreign') migrants. First, we find that unlike 'classical' concepts such as right-wing authoritarianism (RWA), social dominance orientation (SDO), and hierarchic self-interest (HSI), TG explains differences in derogatory sentiments expressed towards diaspora and 'foreign' migrants. Second, TG is differentially related to positive emotions and behavioral intentions expressed towards these two groups of migrants. Lastly, results indicate that people who perceive the ingroup as TG require 'foreign' migrants to fulfill more criteria that make them eligible for citizenship and are thereby more exclusionist than people who include only the current generation into their concept of national identity. The social implications of these findings in face of the so-called refugee crisis in Germany and the wider European Union are discussed.

Intergenerational Influences on Faith-based Strategies Used in Response to Racial Discrimination Among Young African American Adults.

OBJECTIVE: In this report, we used a qualitative descriptive design to explore young African American adults' intergenerationally influenced strategies to experienced racial discrimination. METHODS: The study was guided by a qualitative descriptive design using criterion and snowball sampling, and semi-structured interview questions. We also explored, quantitatively, gender differences among the racial discrimination experiences encountered and the strategies used. FINDINGS: Forty-nine participants included in this report were an average age of 29.5 (SD = 10.1). Racial discrimination experiences included daily microaggressions such as insensitive comments, stereotyping, exclusion from work and school activities, perceived low expectations, inequities in employment, and police profiling. Intergenerationally influenced strategies used in response to these experiences included religious beliefs and practices, positive reframing, and modeling behaviors used by previous generations. These intergenerationally influenced strategies enabled participants to remain calm, to express goodwill toward others, and to be patient and hopeful for a better future. CONCLUSION: Since intergenerationally influenced strategies are likely potential sources of strength and resilience for young African Americans, knowledge of these strategies might be useful to health care practitioners seeking to improve the mental health care of this population.

Grandparenting and Mortality: How Does Race-Ethnicity Matter?

Little is known about whether and how intergenerational relationships influence older adult mortality. This study examines the association between caring for grandchildren (i.e., grandparenting) and mortality and how the link differs by race-ethnicity. Drawing from the Health and Retirement Study (1998-2014, N = 13,705), I found different racial-ethnic patterns in the effects of grandparenting on mortality risk. White grandparents who provide intensive noncoresident grandparenting (i.e., over 500 hours of babysitting per two years) and multigenerational household grandparenting have a lower risk of mortality compared to noncaregiving grandparents. In contrast, black grandparents have a higher mortality risk than their noncaregiving counterparts when providing intensive noncoresident, multigenerational household, and skipped-generation household (i.e., grandparent-headed family) grandparenting. Caregiving Hispanic grandparents are not significantly different from their noncaregiving counterparts in mortality risk. These findings suggest that important variations in social and cultural contexts for racial-ethnic groups shape the consequences of grandparenting for older adult mortality.

Ugandan Jajjas: Antecedents and rewards of caring for grandchildren in the context of HIV.

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES: The findings presented in this manuscript address two key research questions: (a) What factors contribute to the initiation and maintenance of the caregiving role as performed by the grandparent-caregivers; and (b) What are the perceived benefits of caregiving as reported by grandparent-caregivers? BACKGROUND: Grandparents in sub-Saharan Africa have cared for their grandchildren for generations, yet little is known about this role in the context of the HIV epidemic. Although the impact of the epidemic is overwhelmingly negative, specifically in Uganda, knowledge of familial context and underlying motivations and rewards that incentivise grandparent-caregivers remains limited in the literature. METHODS: Using a constructivist grounded theory approach, we explored the experiences of 32 Ugandan grandparents of grandchildren affected by HIV. Data were collected using a semi-structured and open-ended interview guide, participant observation and fieldnotes. Data analysis included open, focused and axial coding. FINDINGS: The data revealed the influences of extended familial structures and of cultural and gender expectations on the decision-making processes and rewards of caregiving as perceived by the grandparent-caregivers. DISCUSSION AND RECOMMENDATION: These findings provide a broad foundation for policy, practice, research and education interventions needed to support grandparents so they can enjoy the benefits of raising their grandchildren. IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE: Our findings can guide education programs and clinical practice for nurses, nursing students, and other health providers on cultural considerations for holistic care provided for older adults-especially older caregivers.

A qualitative investigation of optimal perinatal health: the perspectives of south Asian grandmothers living in southern Ontario, Canada.

BACKGROUND: Perinatal health-seeking behaviours are influenced by various factors, including personal beliefs. South Asian women, who often live within a wide kinship system, can be influenced by the advice and guidance of their mothers and/or mothers-in-law. METHODS: To explore the cultural health perceptions of South Asian grandmothers within this context, we used constructivist grounded theory to sample and interview 17 South Asian grandmothers who reside in Southern Ontario, Canada. Interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed verbatim, and coded/analyzed by three independent coders. RESULTS: Many grandmothers emphasized that the preconception phase should focus on building healthy habits around nutrition, physical activity, and mental wellness; the pregnancy period should encompass an enriched environment (positive relationships, healthy routines, nutritional enhancement); and the postpartum phase should emphasize healing and restoration for both the mother and newborn (self-care, bonding, rebuilding healthy habits). Many of the grandmothers conceptualized these stages as a cyclical relationship where healing and restoration transitions gradually to re-establishing healthy habits before having a subsequent child. They also expressed responsibility in supporting their daughters and/or daughters-in-law with their family units and encouraging the transfer of perinatal health information. CONCLUSIONS: South Asian grandmothers are involved in supporting the family units of their children and involving them in perinatal health programming can be an effective way to translate health knowledge to South Asian women. Video abstract. In order to impact a broad, diverse audience of community members, we collaborated with a South Asian film-maker to distil the research findings, write an impactful script, and produce a short digital story based on the research findings. Currently available on social media (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tjcNUVOwatU), the film was celebrated with a CIHR Institute for Human Development, Child and Youth Health Video Talks Prize in 2016.

Intergenerational educational mobility and smoking: a study of 20 European countries using diagonal reference models.

OBJECTIVES: Intergenerational educational mobility can be particularly relevant for smoking because it implies moving from individuals' family background to a new position in the social hierarchy. Existing research, however, does not provide an answer as to how the process of mobility, per se, is associated with the likelihood of smoking. STUDY DESIGN: We used cross-nationally comparable survey data for 20 countries collected within the health module of the European Social Survey in 2014. The analytical sample consisted of 22,336 respondents aged 25-64 years. METHODS: Smoking was operationalized by daily and occasional smoking, while the intergenerational educational mobility variable was derived from a comparison of respondents' and their parents' highest levels of educational attainment. We employed diagonal reference models to examine the association of intergenerational educational mobility and smoking. RESULTS: In the country- and age-adjusted analysis, intergenerational downward mobility was associated with odds ratios of 1.34 (CI95 1.07, 1.68) and 1.61 (CI95 1.34, 1.93) for smoking, respectively, among men and women. Intergenerational upward mobility, on the other hand, was negatively associated with smoking but only among women. CONCLUSION: Our findings provide new evidence that the process of intergenerational educational mobility is associated with individuals' likelihood of smoking and that this effect cannot be explained by conventional covariates of smoking.