Needs or obligations? The influence of childcare infrastructure and support norms on grandparents' labour market participation

This study investigates how institutional and normative characteristics affect grandparents' labour market participation. Previous studies indicate that providing regular grandchild care reduces labour market participation, and this linkage varies between European welfare states. Yet the underlying mechanisms remain unclear, and no study has systematically disentangled cultural from institutional influence when investigating grandparents' work-care reconciliation. Based on two mechanisms, needs and obligations, we investigate how (grandparental) support norms and childcare infrastructure jointly shape the labour market participation of active grandparents. We use six waves from the Survey of Health, Aging and Retirement in Europe (SHARE), investigating variation across 91 subnational regions in 18 countries. The results indicate that the regular provision of grandchild care increases the risk of exiting the labour market for both men and women. This linkage is stronger in contexts with stronger support norms, but also depends on the childcare infrastructure in contexts where norms are weaker

Dependent on one’s past? how lifetime employment shapes later life work-care reconciliation

This article investigates the association between older Europeans’ earlier employment biographies and their probability of leaving the labour market when becoming a caregiver. Based on theoretical ideas about life course path-dependencies and gender role socialisation, we argue that accumulated durations of lifetime employment are associated with both labour market exits in general, and conditional on caregiving. We draw on six panel waves from the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARE) and use information from retrospective interviews (SHARELIFE) to measure earlier participation in six different types of (non-)employment between ages 20 and 50. We analyse a large sample of men and women aged 50–68 years in 18 European countries (n = 35,766 respondents). Based on fixed effects regression models, we find that employment biographies and current caregiving jointly affect labour market exits. Explanations for these linkages are gender-specific: Upon initiation of caregiving, men are more likely to extend working lives when their previous employment biographies are characterised by homemaking, pointing at neutralising deviance from non-standard male biographies. For women, we find evidence for path-dependencies: Concomitant to beginning caregiving, women are more likely to stay in the labour market the longer their previous employment was characterised by homemaking

Gendered life courses and cognitive functioning in later life: the role of context-specific gender norms and lifetime employment

With increasing life expectancy, dementia poses an epidemiological challenge. As a cure has not been developed, the investigation into preventive factors becomes pivotal. Previous research emphasizes the cognitively stimulating and socio-emotional benefits of lifetime employment, but research on heterogeneous patterns across social groups and societal contexts remains sparse. Sociological approaches have a promising potential to provide insights into health inequalities and can contribute to the study of this major societal challenge. We investigate the influence of previous employment biographies on cognitive functioning for men and women aged 50 to 75 in 19 European countries, using longitudinal and retrospective information from the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe. We link individual information on employment biographies and cognitive functioning to contextual measures of gender norms, using aggregated agreement rates to both men's and women's role in employment and family. We find that previous employment affects cognitive functioning men and women differently. Part-time employment is beneficial for women's cognitive functioning, but not for men's. Traditional gender norms are associated with lower levels of cognitive functioning for both genders and moderate the linkage between previous employment and cognitive functioning. In contexts with more traditional gender norms, men's part-time employment is associated with lower and women's part-time employment with higher cognitive functioning. We conclude that employment and non-employment participation can, depending on characteristics of individuals and contexts, benefit or hinder the life-course accumulation of cognitive reserve, and those with norm-deviating behaviour are disadvantaged

Serological diagnosis of echinococcosis: the diagnostic potential of native antigens

Purpose: Human alveolar (AE) and cystic echinococcosis (CE) caused by the metacestode stages of Echinococcus multilocularis and E. granulosus, respectively, lack pathognomonic clinical signs. Diagnosis therefore relies on the results of imaging and serological studies. The primary goal of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of several easy-to-produce crude or partially purified E. granulosus and E. multilocularis metacestode-derived antigens as tools for the serological diagnosis and differential diagnosis of patients suspicious for AE or CE. Methods: The sera of 51 treatment-naïve AE and 32 CE patients, 98 Swiss blood donors and 38 patients who were initially suspicious for echinococcosis but suffering from various other liver diseases (e.g., liver neoplasia, etc.) were analysed. Results: According to the results of enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISA), metacestode-derived antigens of E. granulosus had sensitivities varying from 81 to 97% and >99.9% for the diagnosis of CE and AE, respectively. Antigens derived from E. multilocularis metacestodes had sensitivities ranging from 84 to 91% and >99.9% for the diagnosis of CE and AE, respectively. Specificities ranged from 92 to >99.9%. Post-test probabilities for the differential diagnosis of AE from liver neoplasias, CE from cystic liver lesions, and screening for AE in Switzerland were around 95, 86 and 2.2%, respectively. Cross-reactions with antibodies in sera of patients with other parasitic affections (fasciolosis, schistosomosis, amebosis, cysticercosis, and filarioses) did occur at variable frequencies, but could be eliminated through the use of confirmatory testing. Conclusions: Different metacestode-derived antigens of E. granulosus and E. multilocularis are valuable, widely accessible, and cost-efficient tools for the serological diagnosis of echinococcosis. However, confirmatory testing is necessary, due to the lack of species specificity and the occurrence of cross-reactions to other helminthic disease

Trennung und die Beziehung zum Vater

Das junge Erwachsenenalter als Lebensphase wird von wichtigen biografischen Entscheidungen und Übergängen geprägt, wie demEintritt ins Erwerbsleben, dem Auszug aus dem Elternhaus und dem Eingehen einer stabilen Partnerschaft. Der „Erfolg“ beim Bewältigen dieser Übergänge hängt nicht nur von der sozialen Herkunft wie sozialer Schicht oder ethnischer Herkunft ab, sondern auch von elterlicher Unterstützung. Arten elterlicher Unterstützung umfassen finanzielle Hilfeleistungen, praktischen oder emotionalen Support und Ratschläge. Auf der anderen Seite ist gut belegt, dass Trennungen und Scheidungen nicht nur den finanziellen Handlungsspielraum für Väter und Mütter einschränken, sondern auch die Beziehungen zwischen Eltern und Kindern und besonders zwischen Vätern und Kindern belasten. Trennungen oder Scheidungen können also sowohl das elterliche Unterstützungspotenzial für ihre Kinder ineiner wichtigen Lebensphase als auch langfristig die soziale Integration von Vätern im hohen Altergefährden.Allerdings wird oft implizit davon ausgegangen, dass die Trennung die reduzierte soziale Nähe kausal bedingt. Alternativ könnte interpretiert werden, dass sowohl die Trennung als auch die belasteten Beziehungen danach beide die Folge von länger andauernden familiären Spannungen darstellen.In dieser Studie werden zwei Fragestellungen verfolgt. Erstens stellt sich die Frage nach den Folgen einer Trennung oder Scheidung für die Beziehung zwischen jungen Erwachsenen und ihren Vätern. Diese Frage soll empirisch unter Berücksichtigung von methodischen Vorgehen zur Kausalanalyse behandelt werden. Zweitens soll der Frage nachgegangen werden, welche Faktoren belastendeTrennungsfolgen abmindern können. Mittels der Schweizer TREE-Daten (Transitionen von der Erstausbildung ins Erwerbsleben)können seit einigen Jahren Generationenbeziehungen junger Erwachsener auf Basis repräsentativer Daten erforscht werden. Für diese Studie werden die Enge der Beziehung und die Kontakthäufigkeit zwischen 26-Jährigen und ihren Vätern analysiert. Dabei zeigt sich deutlich, dass Trennungsväter weniger Kontakte haben, und dass ihre Kinder die Beziehungen zu ihnen weniger eng wahrnehmen.

The Closeness of Young Adults' Relationships with Their Parents

How close are the relationships between young adults and their parents today? Which factors account for closer or less close relationships between the generations? The theoretical model considers opportunity, need, family and cultural-contextual structures. The empirical analyses draw on the Swiss TREE survey (“Transitions from Education to Employment”). They reveal remarkably close ties between the generations. However, we also find a number of strains, such as the separation of parents and unemployment of adult children, that contribute to family relationships being less close. The findings provide insight into the reality of intergenerational relationships during a dynamic period of life.Wie eng sind heutzutage junge Erwachsene mit ihren Eltern verbunden? Welche Faktoren sind für mehr oder weniger enge Generationenbeziehungen verantwortlich? Das theoretische Modell berücksichtigt Opportunitäts-, Bedürfnis-, Familien- und kulturell-kontextuelle Strukturen. Die empirischen Analysen greifen auf die Schweizer TREE-Studie («Transitionen von der Erstausbildung ins Erwerbsleben») zurück. Es zeigen sich beeindruckend enge Bindungen zwischen den Generationen. Allerdings lassen sich auch eine Reihe von Belastungen feststellen, die zu weniger engen Familienverhältnissen beitragen, z. B. Trennung der Eltern und Arbeitslosigkeit der erwachsenen Kinder. Die Ergebnisse bieten einen Einblick in die Ausgestaltung von Generationenbeziehungen in einem dynamischen Lebensalter.Quel est le niveau de proximité relationnelle entre les jeunes adultes et leurs parents aujourd’hui? Quels sont les facteurs qui influent sur la proximité des relations ? Le modèle théorique considère les structures d’opportunités, de besoins, ainsi que les structures familiales et celles des contextes culturels. Utilisant l’enquête suisse TREE (« Transitions de l’Ecole à l’Emploi »), les analyses empiriques révèlent des liens d’intimité considérables entre les générations. Toutefois, certains facteurs de tension, tels que la séparation des parents ou l’expérience de chômage des enfants adultes, peuvent conduire à une relation plus distante. Les résultats offrent un aperçu de la réalité des relations intergénérationnelles durant une étape dynamique de la vie