Hostname: page-component-76d6cb85b7-jhrpq Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2026-07-19T08:50:08.643Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

‘They ought to do this for their parents’: perceptions of filial obligations among immigrant and Dutch older people

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  03 November 2008

HELGA A. G. de VALK  and
DJAMILA SCHANS
HELGA A. G. de VALK*
Affiliation:
Netherlands Interdisciplinary Demographic Institute, The Hague, The Netherlands.
DJAMILA SCHANS
Affiliation:
European Research Center on Migration and Ethnic Relations, Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands.
*
Address for ccorrespondence: Helga de Valk, Netherlands Interdisciplinary Demographic Institute (NIDI), PO Box 11650, 2502 AR The Hague, The Netherlands. E-mail: valk@nidi.nl
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

This paper presents a study of the perceptions of filial obligations among immigrant and Dutch older people in The Netherlands. It is first questioned how and to what extent these perceptions are determined by ethnic background or attributable to socio-demographic factors. Secondly, we study how filial obligations among immigrant older people differ by level of acculturation. Data from the main and migrant sample of the Netherlands Kinship Panel Study (2002–2003) for respondents aged 50–80 years in five ethnic groups are used. The analysis sample included 470 Dutch, 70 Turks, 73 Moroccans, 125 Surinamese and 59 Antilleans. Immigrant background was found to be an important determinant of the perception of a child's obligations towards parents. Immigrant elders generally expected more weekly visits and care from their children, and more facilitation of co-residence to parents than was the case for the Dutch. Among elderly people in all ethnic groups, including the Dutch, the attained level of education was related to perceptions of filial obligation, but marital status and current health status were not. Finally, it was found that different aspects of acculturation were related to the perception of filial obligations among older people with Mediterranean and Caribbean backgrounds.

Keywords

immigrant elderlyfilial obligationsacculturationperceptionsThe Netherlands

Information

Type
Research Article
Information
Ageing & Society , Volume 28 , Issue 1 , January 2008 , pp. 49 - 66
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2008

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Article purchase

Temporarily unavailable

References

Ajrouch, K. J. 2005. Arab-American immigrant elders' views about social support. Ageing & Society, 25, 5, 655–73.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Alba, R. and Nee, V. 1997. Rethinking assimilation for a new era of immigration. International Migration Review, 31, 4, 826–74.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Ament, P. and Lautenbach, H. 2002. Drie keer zo vaak laag inkomen in niet-westerse huishoudens [Non-Western Households Three Times as Likely to Have Low Income]. Statistics Netherlands, The Hague. Available online at http://www.cbs.nl/nl-NL/menu/themas/inkomen-bestedingen/publicaties/artikelen/archief/2002/2002-1030-wm.htm [Accessed 1 December 2006].Google Scholar
Bean, F. and Tienda, M. 1987. The Hispanic Population of the U.S. Russell Sage, New York.Google Scholar
Berry, J. W. 1980. Acculturation as varieties of adaptation. In Padilla, A. M. (eds) Acculturation: Theory, Models and some New Findings. Boulder, Westview, Colorado, 9–25.Google Scholar
Bolzman, C., Poncioni–Derigo, R., Vial, M. and Fibbi, R. 2004. Older labour migrants' well-being in Europe: the case of Switzerland. Ageing & Society, 24, 3, 411–29.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Burr, J. A. and Mutchler, J. E. 1999. Race and ethnic variation in norms of filial responsibility among older persons. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 61, 3, 647–87.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Chiswick, B. R. and Miller, P. W. 2002. Immigrant earnings: language skills, linguistic concentrations and the business cycle. Journal of Population Economics, 15, 1, 31–57.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dagevos, J., Gijsberts, M. and Van Praag, C. (eds) 2003. Rapportage Minderheden 2003. Onderwijs, arbeid en sociaalculturele integratie [Report on Minorities 2003: Education, Work and Social Cultural Integration of Minorities]. Sociaal en Cultureel Planbureau, The Hague.Google Scholar
De Jong Gierveld, J. and Van Tilburg, T. 1999. Living arrangements of older adults in The Netherlands and Italy: coresidence values and behaviour and their consequences for loneliness. Journal of Cross-Cultural Gerontology, 14, 1, 1–24.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
De Valk, H. A. G., Liefbroer, A. C., Esveldt, I. and Henkens, K. 2004. Family formation and cultural integration among migrants in The Netherlands. Genus, 55, 1, 9–36.Google Scholar
Dykstra, P. A., Kalmijn, M., Knijn, T. C. M., Komter, A. E., Liefbroer, A. C. and Mulder, C. H. 2005. Codebook of The Netherlands Kinship Panel Study, A Multi-actor, Multi-method Panel Study on Solidarity in Family Relationships, Wave 1. Netherlands Interdisciplinary Demographic Institute, The Hague.Google Scholar
Finley, N. J., Roberts, M. D. and Banahan, B. F. 1988. Motivations and inhibitors of attitudes of filial obligations towards aging parents. The Gerontologist, 28, 1, 73–8.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fisher, R. A. 1966. The Design of Experiments. Eighth edition, Oliver and Boyd, Edinburgh.Google Scholar
Fuligni, A. J. and Pedersen, S. 2002. Family obligation and the transition to adulthood. Developmental Psychology, 38, 5, 856–68.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gans, D. and Silverstein, M. 2006. Norms of filial responsibility for aging parents across time and generations. Journal of Marriage and Family, 68, 4, 961–76.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gierveld, J. 2003. Sociale positionering van ouderen. [Social position of older people]. In Centraal Bureau voor de Statistiek (CBS), Sturen op statistieken: visies uit de samenleving [Communicating Statistics: views from society]. Centraal Bureau voor de Statistiek, Voorburg, The Netherlands, 36–7.Google Scholar
Glick, J. E. and Van Hook, J. 2002. Parents' coresidence with adult children: can immigration explain race and ethnic variation? Journal of Marriage and the Family, 64, 1, 240–53.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Goldscheider, F. K. and Lawton, L. 1998. Family experiences and the erosion of support for intergenerational coresidence. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 60, 3, 623–32.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hanson, S. L., Saur, W. J. and Seelbach, W. C. 1983. Racial and cohort variations in filial responsibility norms. The Gerontologist, 23, 6, 626–31.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Inglehart, R. and Baker, W. E. 2000. Modernization, cultural change and the persistence of traditional values. American Sociological Review, 65, 1, 19–51.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kagitcibasi, C. 1996. Family and Human Development across Cultures: A View from the Other Side. Lawrence Erlbaum, Mahwah, New Jersey.Google Scholar
Kalmijn, M. 2004. Educational Inequality and Extended Family Relationships. Paper presented at the Ross Colloquium Series, University of California, Los Angeles, April 7.Google Scholar
Komter, A. E. and Vollebergh, W. A. M. 2002. Solidarity in Dutch families: family ties under strain? Journal of Family Issues, 23, 1, 171–88.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lee, Y. J. and Aytac, I. A. 1998. Intergenerational financial support among Whites, African Americans and Latinos. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 60, 2, 426–41.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lee, G. R., Netzer, J. K. and Coward, R. T. 1994. Filial responsibility expectations and patterns of intergenerational assistance. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 56, 3, 559–65.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lee, G. R., Peek, C. W. and Coward, R. T. 1998. Race differences in filial responsibility expectations among older parents. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 60, 2, 404–12.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mitchell, B. A., Wister, A. V. and Gee, E. M. 2004. The ethnic and family nexus of homeleaving and returning among Canadian young adults. Canadian Journal of Sociology, 29, 3, 543–75.Google Scholar
Nationaal Instituut voor Budgetvoorlichting (NIBUD) 2004. De inkomsten, uitgaven en het financieel beheer van allochtone huishoudens [Incomes, Expenses and the Financial Situation of Immigrant Households]. NIBUD, Utrecht, The Netherlands.Google Scholar
Nauck, B. 2007. Familiensystem und Kultur [The family system and culture]. In Trommsdorff, G. and Kornadt, H.-J. (eds) Theorien und Methoden der kulturvergleichenden Psychologie [Theories and Methods in Cross-Cultural Psychology]. Hogrefe, Göttingen, Germany, 407–86.Google Scholar
Niekerk, M. van 1991. De tijd zal spreken: Antilliaanse en Turkse ouderen in Nederland. [Time Will Speak: Antillean and Turkish Older People in The Netherlands]. Het Spinhuis, Amsterdam.Google Scholar
Prochan, M. A. 1997. Conditional power with Fisher's least significant difference procedure. Biometrika, 84, 1, 197–208.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pyke, K. 1999. The micropolitics of care in relationships between ageing parents and adult children: individualism, collectivism, and power. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 61, 3, 661–72.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Reher, D. S. 1998. Family ties in Western Europe: persistent contrasts. Population and Development Review, 24, 2, 203–34.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Roschelle, A. R. 1997. No More Kin: Exploring Race, Class, and Gender in Family Networks. Sage, London.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rosenthal, C. J. 1986. Family supports in later life: does ethnicity make a difference? The Gerontologist, 26, 1, 19–24.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rossi, A. S. and Rossi, P. H. 1990. Of Human Bonding: Parent-Child Relations across the Life-Course. Aldine de Gruyter, New York.Google Scholar
Schans, D. and Komter, A. 2006. Intergenerationele solidariteit en etnische diversiteit [Intergenerational solidarity and ethnic diversity]. Migrantenstudies, 22, 1, 2–21.Google Scholar
Schellingerhout, R. 2004 a. Cijferrapport allochtone ouderen [Statistics on Non-Native Elderly Persons]. Werkdocument 105, Sociaal en Cultureel Planbureau, The Hague.Google Scholar
Schellingerhout, R. 2004 b. Gezondheid en welzijn van allochtone ouderen [Health and Wellbeing Among Non-native Older People]. Report 2004-16, Sociaal en Cultureel Planbureau, The Hague.Google Scholar
Seelbach, W. C. 1981. Filial responsibility among aged parents: a racial comparison. Journal of Minority Aging, 5, 2, 286–92.Google Scholar
Seelbach, W. and Die, A. 1988. Family satisfactions and filial norms among elderly Vietnamese immigrants. Journal of Aging Studies, 2, 3, 267–76.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Silverstein, M. and Waite, L. 1993. Are blacks more likely than whites to receive and provide social support in middle and old age? Yes, no and maybe so. Journal of Gerontology: Social Sciences, 48, 4, 212–22.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Spitze, G. and Logan, J. 1990. Sons, daughters and intergenerational social support. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 52, 2, 420–30.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Statline 2005. Available online at www.statline.nl. [Accessed December 1, 2006].Google Scholar
Todd, E. 1985. The Explanation of Ideology. Family Structures and Social Systems. Blackwell, Oxford.Google Scholar
Van Tubergen, F. 2006. Immigrant Integration: A Cross-National Study. LFB Scholarly Publishing, New York.Google Scholar
Vermeulen, H. and Pennix, R. 2000. Immigrant Integration: The Dutch Case. Het Spinhuis, Amsterdam.Google Scholar
Walker, A. J., Pratt, C. C., Shinn, H. and Jones, L. L. 1990. Motives for parental caregiving and relationship quality. Family Relations, 39, 1, 51–56.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Warnes, A. M., Friedrich, K., Kellaher, L. and Torres, S. 2004. The diversity and welfare of older migrants in Europe. Ageing & Society, 24, 3, 307–26.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Yerden, I. 2000. Zorgen over zorg: Traditie, verwantschapsrelaties, migratie en verzorging van Turkse ouderen in Nederland [Care about Care: Tradition, Kinship Relationships, Migration and Caring for Turkish Older People in The Netherlands]. Het Spinhuis, Amsterdam.Google Scholar