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In France and Germany, intergenerational housing is put forward as an option by public authorities. This kind of housing scheme seems like a good solution for seniors and young people, from both an economic and a social point of view. But beyond this common philosophy, there are differences in the way intergenerational housing is being implemented in the two countries. France mainly favours the student-senior home-sharing model whereas the intergenerational collaborative housing (co-housing) model based on solidarity between seniors and families is gaining ground in Germany. The purpose of this paper is to explore the reasons for these differences and present results from field surveys conducted in both countries.

The qualitative methodology of the field surveys consisted essentially of semi-structured interviews with the young people and seniors living in these types of housing, in order to understand how they experienced intergenerational solidarity.

The authors’ surveys revealed that certain conditions are essential for this intergenerational solidarity to be fully effective, notably voluntary participation and commitment to the project, and possibly external support to ensure that it is designed and implemented in the best possible way.

This paper provides useful recommendations for decision makers who wish to support this type of housing concept based on intergenerational solidarity.

Women perform the majority of household labour in many families around the world. However, the unequal division of household labour does not lead to dissatisfaction among women. In the present study, the author introduced the intergenerational household assistance to understand married women’s and men’s satisfaction with division of household labour in China, in addition to three major theoretical perspectives in studies of western families (i.e., relative resources, time availability, and gender role ideology). Logistic regression analyses on a nationally representative dataset (the Second Wave Survey of Chinese Women’s Social Status) were performed to study this topic. Consistent with studies in the West, the results show that relative resources, time availability, and gender ideology were associated with married Chinese women’s satisfaction, while married Chinese men’s satisfaction was only associated with time availability (the household labour done by them and their wives). Importantly, married women with parents-in-law’s household assistance tend to be more satisfied than those with help from their parents. The findings demonstrate that Chinese marriages are intertwined with intergenerational relationships and suggest that it is important to take into account of the influence of intergenerational relationships in studies of Chinese marriages.

This is an opinion piece provided by Rachel, 31, and her grandmother, Jean, 97, who have been living together for two and a half years, since Rachel became unwell with myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome.

Each author shares their experiences of intergenerational living through the pandemic.

What each of them has learned about intergenerational living during the COVID pandemic and mutual support and what has surprised them, including how it has improved quality of life for both of them.

This is an unusual intergenerational first-person account of intergenerational mutually supportive living during the pandemic, with insider insights.

This paper aims to explore the way in which Chinese consumers integrate both global culture and local culture through the change of intergenerational residence in urban China.

Data were collected by semi‐structured interviews of 15 families from three cities in south China. All interview tapes were transcribed. A hermeneutic process is used to analyze the verbal context.

There is a new trend of intergenerational residence in urban China, living apart but close. Living apart is a result of equalization between generations in socio‐political power, whereas living close is a way for traditional value adapting to global environments. Further analysis suggests that the assimilation of socio‐political values rooted in individualistic cultures, unexpectedly, is for the purpose of collective goodness, and the performance of traditional moral values is shifting from the compulsory rule based on traditional social norms to the spontaneous rule based on human demand.

These findings capture the richness of Chinese dialectical way of “glocalization,” which retains basic (often positive) elements of opposing perspectives by seeking a middle way. Such findings would be valuable for global marketers trying to enter the Chinese market.

This paper answers the question of how Chinese consumers accept the competitive advantages of global culture and at the same time keep the positive distinctiveness of the heritage culture.

The purpose of this article is to, within the specific Sri Lankan figures on ageing within South Asia (comparatively high longevity and high figures on intergenerational family‐living), look into the interpretations of social care and everyday social life in urban elder homes in Colombo. What does everyday social life look like and how are underlying meanings of care given shape? To highlight the taken for granted quality of much of everyday care, comparisons are made on the basis of earlier ethnographic research by Indian scholars on Dutch senior homes.

The methodology relied on analysis of existing quantitative data on ageing in Sri Lanka and on research generated by the four‐year team‐study of which the author was part. Specific data in this article were collected through qualitative research by the author: regular visiting and participating in activities within certain selected homes in Colombo, over a period of four months. In addition survey data were collected on 55 senior homes in Colombo.

Against a background of available statistical data on ageing; family and institutional care, qualitative research findings are provided on everyday life within the Colombo homes, Sri Lanka. What kind of care (“Araksha kerime”) is given and/or aimed for? The concept of “social care” (Daly and Lewis) is the starting point to understand how normative and social frameworks within which “care” is understood and undertaken. Cross cultural comparison with every‐day life in Dutch senior homes articulates the impact of taken for granted socio‐cultural similarities and differences embedded in the concept of “senior home” and its everyday life.

The four year research project by three main researchers (of which the author was one) resulted in a substantial data base and several publications. This specific qualitative section of research is based in an additional period of four months of regular visiting of five selected Colombo elder homes. Survey data were collected on another 55 senior homes.

The points made in the paper could be constructively discussed cross culturally and contribute to a debate on the taken for granted underlying socio‐cultural meanings within which universal definitions of – in this case – care within senior homes is pursued cross culturally. Money does not always make all the difference.

The article attempts to combine data from different disciplines and compare different socio‐cultural settings for old‐age care. This can shed a different light on the taken‐for‐granted elements in the shaping the social life in senior homes. For example, it becomes clear why the causes of loneliness and isolation among elders in a certain setting seem so “natural” within and so strange from beyond.

The aim of this paper is to examine public spending cuts and welfare reforms to assess winners and losers amongst older people, children, young people and families. It proposes ways in which intergenerational fairness could be achieved through taxing wealthier older people.

The paper reviews and analyses spending and policy plans from 2010 onwards, and draws conclusions.

The paper concludes that children, young people and families are the relative losers of government spending cuts and reforms; older people have been relatively protected; the focus should be on taxing wealthier older people; intergenerational fairness needs to be addressed.

Research tends to focus on one age group, so there have not been many studies which contrast the impact of public policy on different age groups. The concept of intergenerational fairness is only beginning to be discussed.

Purpose: Despite the significance of filial piety in intergenerational relationships and its important influence on parental health and well-being, few studies have explored the personal meaning of filial piety to older parents. This qualitative study aims to address this question.

Design: Responses to an open-ended question of “What makes a filial child in your view?” from a sample of 432 older parents in a rural Chinese county were collected face-to-face and analyzed using content analysis.

Findings: The personal meaning of filial piety varies. Seven broad themes emerged. These include widely persistent traditional filial piety beliefs (Be obedient, Respect, and Maintain frequent contact and show emotional care), filial piety values similar to filial obligations described in Western cultures (Help older parents when in times of need and Be a good citizen and take good care of themselves and their families), and traditional filial piety norms in the absolute form (Take care of every aspect of the parents’ life and Provide financial and material support to parents). Themes were also compared with dimensions of the intergenerational solidarity model.

Originality: Findings reflect the coexistence of traditional and modern filial values in relation to participants’ interpretation of filial piety, indicating that traditional filial piety beliefs are fading even in one of the least developed areas in China. Implications for interventions enhancing offspring’s filial performance are discussed.

Research limitations: Future studies on the understanding of filial piety from the perspective of offspring are warranted to draw a holistic picture of this topic.

The purpose of this study was to describe any patterns of distinctive sociocultural adaptation in the form of exchanges of time and money between American households, and to determine whether any observed racial or ethnic differences remain after controlling for social background characteristics. We tested one dimension of the sociocultural adaptation hypothesis — Through processes of distinctive sociocultural adaptation, minority group members learn to survive by adjusting behaviors, values, and informal organization in response to demands and stressors in their social environment. The focal adaptation in our study involved instrumental and expressive exchanges between households. The findings showed that minority groups on average were less likely to participate in instrumental and expressive exchanges between households as compared to the majority group. The study involved a secondary analysis of data collected in 1987–1988 as part of the National Survey of Families and Households (N= 13,017). Logistic regression was used to test for racial and ethnic variations in a multivariate context.

This research aims to illustrate the differential treatment of children and pensioners in Russia and to explain why this has not led to age group conflict through an illustration of age group interdependency.

Age group conflict is revealed through analysis of the government's policies to age groups and expenditure preferences. Interdependency is analysed by the calculation of poverty rates and contribution of age specific benefits, using nationally representative sample survey data.

The Russian government treated pensioners preferentially to children, even though children were at higher risk of poverty. However, within each age group poverty rates are mediated by household structures. Pensioners who live with children face higher poverty rates than the average for pensioners and those who co‐reside with lone mothers face the highest poverty rates of all pensioners, while their pension contribution to the household is of vital significance. Children living with one grandparent face higher poverty rates than average, whereas and those living with two grandparents face lower poverty rates.

The structure of intergenerational relationships and financial solidarity between generations provide essential context for understanding individual welfare in Russia.

Children's downgraded status in Russian society needs to be urgently addressed. Lone mothers, their children and their parents face the highest poverty rates and need of support. Amongst pensioners, women pensioners are particularly at risk.

The originality is in using two opposing perspectives on relations between age groups to show that preferential treatment of pensioners coexists with a high degree of financial linkage between generations.

The Philippines experienced several demographic and socioeconomic changes in the past decades, such as rising urbanization, educational expansion, lengthening life expectancy, and increasing overseas labor migration. These changes will have significant ramifications for families and households. For example, educational expansion may delay union formation and accelerate union dissolution. Meanwhile, the joint effect of declining fertility and increasing life expectancy can lead to population aging, which has important implications for intergenerational support and the provision of care to older adults. Against this backdrop, this chapter aims to sketch a demographic portrait of the Filipino family in the past decades, using different sources, including census and survey data. Specifically, it examines trends in union formation (marriage and cohabitation) and union dissolution (divorce and separation) in the Philippines and explores Filipinos’ attitudes toward these behaviors. It also describes trends in fertility, fertility preference, and childlessness among Filipino women. Finally, it investigates changes (or lack thereof) in household size and structure in the Philippines, including the living arrangements and intergenerational support among older Filipinos.