Intergenerational Relations: Perspectives of the Two Generations on the Older Parent

Survey data based on self-administered questionnaires from parents and their adult children are employed to study intergenerational relations in 291 families. Parents and their adult children show high agreement concerning assistance patterns. The giving of aid tends to be quite symmetrical except for financial aid, which tends to flow from parent to child. The emphasis given to ties of affection varies between the generations, the parents tending to place greater emphasis on these ties than do the children. From the standpoint of the adult child, retirement does not have a deleterious effect on family relations.