New Views on the Family Life of the Elderly and the Near-Elderly

A reassessment of the status of the elderly seems to be occurring in recent literature. Scholars have begun pointing to the relative well-being of the elderly in contrast to the stereotype of the elderly as persons cut off from contacts with their children. This article explores the intergenerational relations of 124 couples in their early and mid-60s known as the early elderly or young-old. A sample of mens names was obtained from the alumni office of a midwestern university; 124 of these men and their wives agreed to participate in joint interviews and questionnaires. Data suggest that todays young-old like their children are keeping their intergenerational ties voluntary rather than obligatory. Parents are selective in their attentions concentrating them on those in greatest need the single and the divorced with children. The emphasis on being independent appears in both older and younger generations in the US. Parents are concerned that they be not only financially but also emotionally self-sufficient. Economically secure parents keep in touch because they choose to rather than because of obligation or need. This freedom to involve themselves in kinship networks on their own terms can be ended as time takes away health and a spouse dies. But at present these nearly elderly are not dependent upon children who dutifully meet their filial obligations. And the evidence suggests that the children are not being emotionally or financially short-changed because the parents are electing to choose their involvement.