Families in Later Life: Emerging Themes and Challenges

This book aims to help provide an understanding of the relationship between the elderly generation and the multigenerational families they belong to through an analysis of family and individual development in later life and a study of the structural and functional complexion of the multigenerational family (the basic unit of analysis). The increase of life expectancy and the consequent later ageing of the population is making Western families undergo considerable changes. The demographic ageing of societies is increasing the number of living generations and decreasing the number of living relatives within these generations. These ageing societies are also seeing a changing of some traditional life-transitions, such as individuals delaying economic independence from parents, marriage or long-term cohabitation, as well as parenting. Themes discussed in this book are: 1. multigenerational families are now commonplace in the western countries; 2. legacies and inheritance are an important theme for the integrity of families in later lives (since the increase of welfare-states, the economic importance of inheritance decreases); 3. a substantial proportion of elderly persons and their families live in poverty, having to deal with the diminishing of their sensorial and physical capacities, as well as lower income and higher medical expenses; 4. families have to combine the care-giving of elderly relatives with the care-taking of their own children and a professional career; 5. counselling becomes an important factor for older adults since many families issue then arise.