Intergenerational Relationships

Intergenerational relationships within family and kinship have become a salient issue in scientific research. Major reasons were intense demographic changes in the 20th century, such as the increased life expectancy in combination with decreased fertility, and its implications for major institutions of the social welfare state. This has resulted in the realization of several larger studies, which may serve for the analysis of the situation of old aged people, such as the German Socio-economic Panel, the Generations and Gender Survey, the Family Survey, the German Aging Survey, the Survey on Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe, and the Panel Analysis of Intimate Relationships and Family Dynamics. However, an overarching theoretical and research perspective on intergenerational relationships from their creation (fertility) over parenting to the most long-lasting relationship between adults of different generations is still missing. In order to overcome this deficiency, the paper recommends for future data structures to obtain information on intergenerational relationships (1) simultaneously and complete, (2) in a life-span perspective, (3) from a panel design, and (4) a multi-actor design. Studies should (5) account for cultural variability of intergenerational relationships and (6) for institutional settings in cross-national comparisons.Intergenerational Relationships, Intergenerational Solidarity, Life Course, Demographic Change, Ageing, Panel Studies

Groups of Lie type generated by long root elements in F4(K)

AbstractLet K be a field and G a quasi-simple subgroup of the Chevalley group F4(K). We assume that G is generated by a class Σ of abstract root subgroups such that there are A,C∈Σ with [A,C]∈Σ and any A∈Σ is contained in a long root subgroup of F4(K). We determine the possibilities for G and describe the embedding of G in F4(K)

How do biological and social kinship play out within families in the U.S.? An evolutionary perspective on perceived parental care and closeness in adolescents

"Abgeleitet aus der Theorie der Verwandtenselektion sagen Evolutionsbiologen vorher, dass Individuen gegenüber ihren biologischen Kindern mehr Fürsorge zeigen sollten als gegenüber Kindern, zu denen eine soziale Elternschaft besteht. Entsprechend wird erwartet, dass biologische Kinder die Beziehungen zu ihren Eltern besser einschätzen als Stiefkinder. Zur Überprüfung dieser Hypothese ziehen wir die Daten der U.S. National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health) heran. Diese Studie erlaubt es, im Gegensatz zu vielen anderen Datenquellen, die Konsequenzen der innerfamilialen Dynamik sozialer und biologischer Eltern-Kind-Beziehungen zu untersuchen. Um diesen Vergleich innerhalb der Familien zu ermöglichen, untersuchen wir Geschwisterdyaden und führen eine fixed-effects-Regression durch. Die Resultate der deskriptiven und der multivariaten Analysen bestätigen, dass der Status biologischer Elternschaft auch dann die Beziehungseinschätzungen der Jugendlichen (wahrgenommene elterliche Fürsorge und emotionale Nähe) vorhersagt, wenn für andere relevante Einflussfaktoren kontrolliert wird - sowohl in Bezug auf die väterliche als auch auf die mütterliche Beziehung. In der Diskussion kommentieren wir das Ergebnis im Hinblick auf eine mögliche Integration evolutionsbiologischer und soziologischer Forschungsperspektiven und schließen mit einigen Empfehlungen für die zukünftige empirische Datenerhebung ab. Eine Umsetzung dieser Empfehlungen könnte es interessierten Forscherinnen und Forschern in Zukunft ermöglichen, die relative Bedeutung biologischer und sozialer Einflüsse auf die Eltern detaillierter zu untersuchen." (Autorenreferat)"Consistent with inclusive fitness theory, evolutionary biologists predict that individuals care more for their biological than their social children and hence that biological children assess the relationships to their parents better than stepchildren. To test this assumption, we use data from the U.S. National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health). Unlike many other studies that have been conducted so far, this survey allows us to analyze the consequences of the dynamic between social and biological parent-child relationships within the same families. We use comparisons of sibling pairs and fixed-effects regression to achieve the within-family comparison. Both the descriptive and multivariate regression results confirm that - even after controlling for other relevant influences - biological parenthood matters with regard to children's relationship assessments (perceived parental care and closeness of the parent-child relationship) and in both the relationships to resident fathers and mothers. In the discussion, we comment on the possible integration of the evolutionary and sociological perspectives and close with some recommendations for future data collection that could allow researchers to analyze the relative impact of biological and social influences on parent-child relationships on a more fine-grained level." (author's abstract

Intergenerational Relationships

"Intergenerational relationships within family and kinship have become a salient issue in scientific research. Major reasons were intense demographic changes in the 20th century, such as the increased life expectancy in combination with decreased fertility, and its implications for major institutions of the social welfare state. This has resulted in the realization of several larger studies, which may serve for the analysis of the situation of old aged people, such as the German Socio-economic Panel, the Generations and Gender Survey, the Family Survey, the German Aging Survey, the Survey on Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe, and the Panel Analysis of Intimate Relationships and Family Dynamics. However, an overarching theoretical and research perspective on intergenerational relationships from their creation (fertility) over parenting to the most long-lasting relationship between adults of different generations is still missing. In order to overcome this deficiency, the paper recommends for future data structures to obtain information on intergenerational relationships (1) simultaneously and complete, (2) in a lifespan perspective, (3) from a panel design, and (4) a multi-actor design. Studies should (5) account for cultural variability of intergenerational relationships and (6) for institutional settings in cross-national comparisons." (author's abstract

The virus changed everything, didn't it? Couples' division of housework and childcare before and during the Corona crisis

Objective: To contribute to the discussion about the potential impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on gender (in)equality. Background: We focus on a core aspect of gender (in)equality in intimate relationships, namely couples’ division of housework and childcare, and whether this has changed during the Corona crisis. Method: Our descriptive analysis is based on pre-release data from the German Family Panel (pairfam; Wave 12) and its supplementary Corona web-survey (n=3,108). Results: We observe no fundamental changes in established aggregate-level patterns of couples’ division of labor, but some shift towards the extremes ('traditional' and 'role reversal') of the distribution. Regarding changes within couples, there is an almost equal split between those in which the female partner’s share in housework and childcare increased and those in which it decreased. Particularly in previously more egalitarian arrangements, a substantial proportion of women is now more likely to be primarily responsible for everything. If male partners increased their relative contribution to housework and childcare, they rarely moved beyond the threshold of an equal split. Changes in employment hours were associated with adaptations of men's, but not women's, relative contribution to domestic and family responsibilities. Conclusion: Our findings neither support the notion of a 'patriarchal pandemic', nor do they indicate that the Corona crisis might have fostered macro-level trends of gender convergence. We rather observe heterogeneous responses of couples to the 'Corona shock'.Fragestellung: Wir untersuchen Veränderungen der Aufteilung von Hausarbeit und Kinderbetreuung in Paarbeziehungen vor und während der Corona-Krise. Hintergrund: Der vorliegende Beitrag trägt damit zur Diskussion über mögliche Auswirkungen der COVID-19 Pandemie auf Ungleichheiten zwischen den Geschlechtern bei. Methode: Die deskriptive Analyse basiert auf Vorabdaten des Beziehungs- und Familienpanels (pairfam; Welle 12) und dessen internetbasierter COVID-19 Zusatzstudie (n=3.108), die eine erste Betrachtung unmittelbarer Dynamiken der häuslichen und familiären Arbeitsteilung im Verlauf der Pandemie ermöglichen. Ergebnisse: Obwohl sich im Aggregat keine grundlegenden Veränderungen etablierter Muster geschlechtsspezifischer Arbeitsteilung zeigen, gibt es dennoch Hinweise auf gewisse Verschiebungen hin zu den Extremen ('traditionell' und 'Rollentausch') der Verteilung. Betrachtet man Veränderungen innerhalb von Paarbeziehungen, finden sich etwa gleich große Anteile an Paaren, in denen der relative Beitrag der Partnerin gestiegen bzw. gesunken ist. Insbesondere in zuvor eher egalitären Beziehungen haben Frauen stärker die überwiegende oder gesamte Verantwortung für die Hausarbeit und Kinderbetreuung übernommen. Wenn männliche Partner ihren Anteil gesteigert haben, geschah dies meist nur bis zum Schwellenwert einer gleichgewichtigen Arbeitsteilung ('50/50'). Veränderungen im zeitlichen Umfang der Erwerbstätigkeit führten zwar beim Mann zu Anpassungen seines relativen Beitrags zu Hausarbeit und Kinderbetreuung, aber nicht bei der Frau. Diskussion: Insgesamt weisen unsere Befunde eher auf heterogene Anpassungsprozesse in Partnerschaften als auf eine generelle Re-Traditionalisierung der Geschlechterbeziehungen während der Corona-Krise hin

Explaining the frequency of contact between generations in Germany

A consideration of recent demographic trends, the historically unique longevity, and the political discussion about social security and care for the elderly makes it apparent that the topic of intergenerational relationships is getting more and more important – not only for politics, but also for social research in the field of family sociology and gerontology. A closer look at the huge quantity of studies in this field reveals a number of limitations for Germany. Firstly, only some aspects of intergenerational relationships are captured in the present empirical data. Secondly, most studies focus on the relations between adult children and their older parents. Information about intergenerational relationships founded on a broader empirical basis is missing. And, as a third point, the theoretical debate reveals some significant conceptual shortcomings. To narrow these gaps, this paper first discusses the theoretical and empirical results of the current debate about intergenerational relations. In a second step our own empirical data are presented: these capture many different aspects of the relations between generations. Finally, suggestions will be made for ways to close the theoretical gap

Lie algebras generated by extremal elements

We study Lie algebras generated by extremal elements (i.e., elements spanning inner ideals of L) over a field of characteristic distinct from 2. We prove that any Lie algebra generated by a finite number of extremal elements is finite dimensional. The minimal number of extremal generators for the Lie algebras of type An, Bn (n>2), Cn (n>1), Dn (n>3), En (n=6,7,8), F4 and G2 are shown to be n+1, n+1, 2n, n, 5, 5, and 4 in the respective cases. These results are related to group theoretic ones for the corresponding Chevalley groups.Comment: 28 page

Aufgabenteilung und Entscheidungsmacht in Migrantenfamilien aus der früheren Sowjetunion in Deutschland und Israel

Modernisierungstheoretische Annahmen zur Erklärung von innerfamiliären Interaktionsstrukturen gehen davon aus, dass Familienstrukturen makrostrukturell durch die Sozialstruktur einer Gesellschaft bestimmt werden. Der Beitrag prüft diese generelle Annahme anhand einer empirischen Befragung zweier Immigrantengruppen, die aus derselben Herkunftsgesellschaft - der ehemaligen Sowjetunion - in verschieden Aufnahmegesellschaften - die Bundesrepublik Deutschland und Israel - emigriert sind. Es wird dabei untersucht, inwieweit die Kontextbedingungen der Herkunfts- und Aufnahmegesellschaften Einfluss auf die innerfamiliäre Macht- und Aufgabenverteilung haben. Die Ausgangshypothese, dass Aussiedlerfamilien in Deutschland eher patriarchalisch-traditionell organisiert und die Familienstrukturen der Juden in Israel eher egalitär sind, kann durch die empirischen Ergebnisse nur teilweise bestätigt werden. (ICA