On generations, affections, and roles in the family in Brazil

Abstract

With the significant rise of population longevity – expressed both in the growing number of older people and in the extension of their ages – as an almost universal contemporary tendency, the issue on the family focuses, inescapably, on the dimension of aging, and, within it, on the role of the elders. In Brazil, the state fails insofar as supporting and preserving social rights, delegating to the families themselves the major responsibilities, not only for the well-being but also for the survival of their members, in a society with a growing scarcity of employment opportunities. In this context, a significant part of the support and resources available to families – and not only among the popular classes – comes from their elders. These resources, which generally result from retirement or other pension funds, added to the abilities preserved by older women in carrying out domestic tasks, and to the elder’s ownership of a home, restitute to them the condition of providers, helping or fully supporting many of those among the younger generations, with children of various ages and work conditions returning to the paternal/maternal homes. As such, the condition of “dependent,” previously identified with the elderly, now defines the younger adults. Given these circumstances and in the face of a longer lasting coexistence of a larger number of generations within these families, it is our aim to analyze data obtained in field research on the relations between elderly parents and their children and grandchildren.

Citation

da Motta, A.B. (2013), "On generations, affections, and roles in the family in Brazil", Visions of the 21st Century Family: Transforming Structures and Identities (Contemporary Perspectives in Family Research, Vol. 7), Emerald Group Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 451-472. https://doi.org/10.1108/S1530-3535(2013)0000007018