Vanessa Burholt

Parent child relations among very old parents in Wales and the United States: A test of modernization theory

Abstract This study contrasts the structure of parent-child relationships of older parents living in Wales, U.K. with those of older parents living in the United States. Specifically, we examine whether the principal dimensions of intergenerational solidarity and their associations with each other, are invariant across two national cultures. Comparable measures are assessed from the responses of older parents participating in three surveys: Bangor Longitudinal Study of Ageing (N = 139), USC Longitudinal Study of Generations (N = 129) and AARP Study of Intergenerational Linkages (N = 102). Overall, there were fewer differences than expected among the samples. Although proximity and contact with adult children were higher among older parents in the Wales sample, there were no appreciable differences in emotional closeness and receipt of help. However, there was a significantly higher correspondence between proximity and emotional closeness among Welsh parents than among both samples of American parents, suggesting that parents in North Wales forge more intimate ties with local children. Moreover, older Welsh parents were more likely than older parents in the American samples to receive help from children who were both proximate and emotionally close. The results are interpreted in terms of the greater importance that neolocality plays in promoting inter generational integration within more traditional cultures and more rural societies.

‘Adref’: Theoretical Contexts of Attachment to Place for Mature and Older People in Rural North Wales

In this paper I examine older peoples attachment to place in rural Wales. The sample includes 406 people aged 70 years and over living in diverse rural communities of North Wales. Respondents were asked to divulge the main reason for wanting to stay in their present community. 522 individual verbatim statements were examined and seven key areas of attachment to place were identified: general locational satisfaction, historical perspective, aesthetic and emotional components of location, social support, social integration, appropriateness of the environment, and relocation constraints. Each of these areas is explored with reference to different theoretical perspectives. I conclude that the multifaceted nature of place attachment requires a multidisciplinary approach to the study of people and their environments. A four-domain conceptual scheme of attachment to place is developed that takes into account the interrelationship between physical, social, temporal, and psychological factors. These domains of place attachment are closely intertwined, and strongly related to each other.

Transnationalism, economic transfers and families’ ties: Intercontinental contacts of older Gujaratis, Punjabis and Sylhetis in Birmingham with families abroad

This article examines the intercontinental contacts of South Asian migrants living in Birmingham (UK) with relatives abroad. A sample of 300 elders (aged 55+) were interviewed in the UK: 100 each of Gujaratis, Punjabis and Sylhetis. The study refers to contact with children, siblings and other relatives abroad. It examines contact through letters, phone calls, sending or receiving money and gifts and visiting. We hypothesize that (i) most remittances would be sent to relatives abroad (rather than received from relatives abroad) due to the expectations in the sending countries; (ii) that the frequency of visits to relatives abroad would be greater than the frequency of visits to the UK; (iii) that all types of contact would be greater between children and parents than between siblings, and other relatives. None of the hypotheses was supported in full, and highlight important distinctions between the South Asian groups in the study.

The relationship between rural community type and attachment to place for older people living in North Wales, UK

This paper explores the relationship between rural community type and attachment to place for 387 older people aged 70 and over. Six rural settlements in North Wales are characterised according to certain statistics (e.g. age structure, in-migration, strength of local culture, and multiple deprivation) to provide distinct community profiles. It is hypothesised that community type is characterised by particular types of attachment, which are dependent on life course trajectories and changes or stability in the environment. Using a sevenfold classification of attachment to place, the paper tests seven hypotheses. The results support four of the seven hypotheses. Older people living in a retirement destination are more likely to report aesthetic qualities and the appropriateness of the environment. People living in native areas with a strong culture and local language are more likely to note the importance of historical attachment and social integration into the community. Three hypotheses are rejected: older people living in a retirement destination are not less likely to report social support, or a historical perspective in attachment to place, and older people living in areas with high levels of multiple deprivation are not more likely to encounter relocation restraints than are others. Overall, the findings suggest that the taxonomy of attachment to place provides a flexible framework for differentiation by community. The paper concludes that communities are not merely settings—they play a significant role in self-identity and are a vital source of emotional and experiential meaning for the inhabitant.

Differences over time in older people’s relationships with children, grandchildren, nieces and nephews in rural North Wales

Based on data from the Bangor Longitudinal Study of Ageing (BLSA) 1979–1999, this paper examines changes over time in the intergenerational relationships of older people (aged 65+ in 1979). The analysis uses quantitative and qualitative data to discuss changes from 1979–1999 for those respondents who survived in the community to 1999. It looks at mothers’ and fathers’ relationships with their adult children, grandmother and grandfather relationships with grandchildren and relationships between aunts and uncles with nieces and nephews. It identifies four different patterns of intergenerational relationships showing how the rural employment structure impacts on family structure, migration and support patterns.

Poor Health and Loneliness in Later Life: The Role of Depressive Symptoms, Social Resources, and Rural Environments

Objectives. We draw on cognitive discrepancy theory to hypothesize and test a pathway from poor health to loneliness in later life. We hypothesize that poor health will have a negative influence on social participation and social resources, and these factors will mediate between health and loneliness. We hypothesize that rural environments will amplify any difficulties associated with social participation or accessing social resources and that depression will moderate how intensely people react to levels of social contact and support. Methods. We conceptualize a mediation model and a moderated-mediation model. Nationally representative data on older people living in the Republic of Ireland are used to validate the hypothesized pathways. Results. In the mediation model, health has a significant indirect effect on loneliness through the mediating variables social resources and social participation. In the moderated-mediation model, rurality moderates the pathway between health and social resources but not social participation. Depressive symptoms moderate the effect of social resources on loneliness but not social participation. Discussion. The results provide further credence to cognitive discrepancy theory, suggesting that depressive symptoms influence cognitive processes, interfering with judgments about the adequacy of social interaction. The theory is extended by demonstrating the impact of the environment on loneliness.

Differences over time in older people’s relationships with children and siblings

Based on data from the Bangor Longitudinal Study of Ageing, this paper examines changes over 16 years (1979–1995) in the relationships of older people (aged 65 or over in 1979) with their children and siblings. The study uses latent class analysis to categorise the relationships into two types based on four components of intergenerational solidarity: structural, associational, affectional and functional. The two types of relationship identified are close knit and loose knit. Results show a change in relationship types over time. Overall, relationships with parents decreased in solidarity. Relationships with mothers showed a smaller decrease in close knit relationships than with fathers; sibling relationships of parents became more loose knit, but remained stable and closer for those who were childless. 71 per cent of those aged 80 or over had at least one close knit relationship with either a sibling or child. Gender differences exist in the development of relationships over time: fathers had more loose knit relationships with children than mothers, and male-male sibling dyads did not strengthen over time.

Testing a Behavioural and a Developmental Model of Migration: A Reevaluation of Migration Patterns among the Elderly and Why Older People Move

The author examines the types of relocation made by older people in six rural Welsh communities over sixteen years. By analysing data from the Bangor Longitudinal Study of Ageing (BLSA) she tests the proposition that two of the typologies that have been used to categorise older peoples moves are not supported by empirical evidence from the BLSA. It is hypothesised that the best-fitting model has a greater number of types of move than the three proposed by Litwak and Longino in their behavioural model, but fewer than the eight suggested by Wiseman in his developmental model. By using latent class analysis the author develops a classification of types of move from the relationships between combinations of observable factors. Probabilistic equations are devised to give the relationship of factors to each other, and a set of theoretical statements are formulated to describe each category of migration. The two aforementioned models are rejected in favour of a five-class model in which moves are classified as long-distance amenity, wide-choice local amenity, narrow-choice local amenity, low levels of assistance, and high levels of assistance.

Bangladeshi immigration to the United Kingdom: Older people’s support networks in the sending and receiving countries

The Bangladeshi Migrants Pilot Study establishes the feasibility of applying the methods used in studying the informal support networks of older people in the majority population of Britain, specifically the Wenger support networks typology, to the elders of an immigrant group, and to elders who have remained in the region of origin. The sample consists of Bangladeshis aged 55+ in Tower Hamlets, London, United Kingdom (N=98), and Sylhet in Bangladesh (N=51) (see Table 1). The paper provides an ethnohistory of Bangladeshi immigration to the United Kingdom, a comparison of the support networks of Bangladeshis living in Sylhet and Tower Hamlets, and a comparison of support networks of Bangladeshis with rural and urban dwellers in the United Kingdom. The Practitioners Assessment of Network Typology (PANT) algorithm produces support network types in 99% of cases and demonstrates that the instrument is applicable in different cultures. Results show little difference between the support networks of Bangladeshis in Sylhet compared with London. There are significant differences between support networks of the Bangladeshi samples and the rural and urban United Kingdom samples.

The dimensionality of ‘place attachment’ for older people in rural areas of South West England and Wales

Previously I have used qualitative data to develop a four-domain (physical, social, temporal, and psychological) model of attachment to place for older people in rural areas. Drawing on data for 920 older people (60+ years) living in rural areas of South West England and Wales, and utilising items developed from the initial qualitative analysis to represent each domain empirically, this paper uses exploratory factor analysis to identify the underlying factor structure of place attachment for older people in these rural areas. It examines the match between the resulting factor structure and an a priori conceptualisation of place attachment. I develop subscales and an overall scale of place attachment and tests for reliability and rating scaling assumptions (content validity). Using principal axis factoring three factors are identified: social attachment, aesthetic attachment, and appropriateness of resources and the environment. The three factors account for 23.5%, 11.6%, and 6.4% of the variance and good internal reliability is demonstrated (Cronbachs α 0.71, 0.72, and 0.72). The analysis suggests that this is a psychometrically reliable and valid instrument fit for the purpose of measuring attachment to place for older people in rural areas. However, further psychometric evaluations with other samples are required to confirm the model structure, and to develop a fourth domain representing an historical attachment to place.