The experience of ageing: Views from without and within

in Rosa, Alberto; Valsiner, Jaan (Eds.) The Cambridge handbook of socio-cultural psychology (in press)

This chapter contrasts two different views on ageing. An external “view from without” starts in a first step with the description of phenomena associated with human ageing including the notions of death ... [more ▼]

This chapter contrasts two different views on ageing. An external “view from without” starts in a first step with the description of phenomena associated with human ageing including the notions of death and dying. This is followed by presenting an overview of central and mostly psychological models and theories about human ageing. Here, life span conceptions as well as theories on self-regulation of the ageing self are described and discussed. Furthermore, a specific focus is put on the differing qualifications that the term ageing has received in diverse theoretical models. The internal “view from within” finally starts with three case stories presenting excerpts of individual biographic narratives that highlight the importance of life events and adaptive processes within the family in the subjective construction of the self and the life course. The conclusion elaborates a person-centred approach in the study of human ageing taking into account that both family and culture interact in forming development in general as well as life in advancing age in particular. [less ▲]

Welcome or not? – Natives’ security feelings, attachment and attitudes toward acculturation of immigrants

in International Journal of Intercultural Relations (2019), 69

Cultural diversity due to immigration has become a key topic in many societies today. The question of how the native population experiences these developments is of prime importance for intercultural ... [more ▼]

Cultural diversity due to immigration has become a key topic in many societies today. The question of how the native population experiences these developments is of prime importance for intercultural relations and sets the base for acculturation of immigrants. Drawing on attachment and multiculturalism research, we supposed here that general and specific feelings of security might be related to more positive attitudes toward cultural diversity, whereas feelings of threat might be related to less openness. More precisely, the present study investigated how natives’ general attachment (secure or fearful) as well as their specific feelings of (cultural or economic) security might be related to their expectations about acculturation of immigrants in the multicultural context of Luxembourg. The sample included N = 134 Luxembourg nationals with an average age of M = 45.02 (SD = 17.41) who filled out an online questionnaire. Results revealed that self-reported fearful general attachment was positively related to more unwelcoming acculturation orientations. Relations between general attachment and acculturation orientations were mediated by feelings of cultural security, which had strong effects on host nationals’ (un)welcoming acculturation orientations over and above general attachment. Findings suggest that (un)welcoming orientations toward immigrants, entailing openness for cultural contact and exchange, are related to feelings of cultural and economic security which are partly biased by a general secure or fearful attachment. Feelings of security seem thus to provide a secure base for tolerance and openness to cultural diversity which are needed in order to deal successfully with the challenges of today’s multicultural societies. [less ▲]

Links between socio-emotional skills, behaviour, mathematics and literacy performance of preschool children in Serbia

in European Journal of Psychology of Education (2018)

Young children’s socio-emotional skills are important for understanding their own and other’s behaviours and interactions. No study in Serbia has investigated this before. In this study we explored the ... [more ▼]

Young children’s socio-emotional skills are important for understanding their own and other’s behaviours and interactions. No study in Serbia has investigated this before. In this study we explored the links between early socio-emotional skills, behaviour, and mathematics and literacy performance of preschool children in Serbia over time. Children (N = 159; 51% of girls) aged 5-8 were rated by the teachers on their socio-emotional skills and behaviour, and their mathematics and literacy assessed at three-time points over 14 months, twice in preschool and once at entry to school. At Time 3, when children entered school, their socio-emotional skills and behaviour were associated with gender, mathematics at Time 1 and their socio-emotional and behaviour ratings at Time 2, controlling for maternal education and literacy at Time 1. Mathematics at Time 3 was associated with mathematics at Time 2, controlling for gender, maternal education, literacy and behaviour at Time 1. No socio-emotional skills or specific behaviour were significant for mathematics. Literacy at Time 3 was associated with mathematics and social skills at Time 1, and literacy at Time 2, controlling for gender and maternal education. At all three times, girls were rated more positively than boys in socio-emotional skills and behaviour, except for adjustment to school setting where there were no differences. This study offers the first insight into the links between socio-emotional skills, behaviour and mathematics and literacy performance of preschool children in Serbia which will inform the development and evaluation of interventions. Attrition of the sample limits the findings. [less ▲]

AMBIVALENCE TOWARD PARENTS DURING THE PROCESS OF INDIVIDUATION: Being Caught Between Autonomy and Relatedness?

in Albert, Isabelle; Abbey, Emily; Valsiner, Jaan (Eds.) Trans-generational family relations: investigating ambivalences (2018)

The concept of ambivalence has gained considerable research interest in the last years in the study of intergenerational relationships. Lüscher and colleagues (2010) define the experience of ambivalence ... [more ▼]

The concept of ambivalence has gained considerable research interest in the last years in the study of intergenerational relationships. Lüscher and colleagues (2010) define the experience of ambivalence as an oscillation between (temporarily or permanently) irreconcilable, contradictory emotions, thoughts, wishes, and behavioral tendencies that individuals may experience in identity- and agency-relevant social relationships. Such dynamics can include simultaneous conflicting tendencies of “autonomy and dependence,” “freedom and control,” or “closeness and distance” (Lüscher & Hoff, 2013). Because intergenerational family relations are in general relatively close over the whole lifespan and not easily dissolvable, they are—according to these authors—particularly predisposed to experiences of ambivalence. In the present chapter, we concentrate on the link between perceived parental behavior and the experience of ambivalence toward parents in adolescence and emerging adulthood. [less ▲]

Scientific and legal concepts of care dependency: Role for understanding, emotional responding, and acting in the field of elder care

in Boll, Thomas; Ferring, Dieter; Valsiner, Jaan (Eds.) Cultures of care in aging (2018)

In this chapter, we analyze scientific and legal concepts of care dependency and explore their roles for understanding, emotional responding, and acting of various participants in the field of elder care ... [more ▼]

In this chapter, we analyze scientific and legal concepts of care dependency and explore their roles for understanding, emotional responding, and acting of various participants in the field of elder care. First, two comprehensive concepts from the nursing sciences are contrasted. Then we compare a scientific and two legal concepts (restrictive vs. inclusive) of care dependency from the German long-term care (LTC) system, the last of which regulate older persons´ access to LTC benefits. Here, we consider their different implications for the risk of unmet psychological, social, and temporary care needs. Next, we examine the theoretical and methodological roles of different care dependency concepts for assessment as well as the analysis of prevalence, antecedents, consequences, and the management of care dependency. Following this, we explore possible functions of care dependency concepts as cognitive mediators of various agents’ activities related to elder care, which opens new topics for further research. Among these, we include the ascription of care dependency by various actors, older people´s self-presentation, and family carers´ presentation and LTC administrators´ evaluation of an older person´s care dependency. Further issues addressed are the education of professional care workers and professionals´ provision of elder care. Here, special attention is devoted to the implications of a shift from a restrictive to a more inclusive legal concept of care dependency as recently happened in Germany. Finally, we discuss the implications of inclusive legal concepts of care dependency for the improvement of elder care quality [less ▲]

Care in aging: Cross-fertilization within and between Geropsychology, other gerosciences, and Cultural Psychology

in Boll, Thomas; Ferring, Dieter; Valsiner, Jaan (Eds.) Cultures of care in aging (2018)

Care for elderly persons is multifaceted and embedded in a rich socio-ecological context of individual, micro-, and macro-social factors. This complexity requires multidisciplinary perspectives to better ... [more ▼]

Care for elderly persons is multifaceted and embedded in a rich socio-ecological context of individual, micro-, and macro-social factors. This complexity requires multidisciplinary perspectives to better understand phenomena of elder care and to act successfully in this field. In the final chapter of a multidisciplinary book with contributions from geropsychology, other gerosciences, and cultural psychology the editors draw conclusions about major topics, new insights, and further implications for research and practice. The conclusions refer to four domains. First, the macro-social context—including demographic, historical, political, normative, and other cultural factors—opens and limits the available options for individual care giving and receipt and shapes how these issues are experienced by the participants. Second, elder care at the individual and family level is far more complex than previously thought, due to differentiated individual and social care preferences and due to consequences extending beyond single caregivers to multigenerational caring families. Third, processes involved in formal and informal care turned out to be rather differentiated: Understanding, emotional responding, motivation and acting towards suffering, care dependency and caregiver burden are influenced by multiple individual and social level factors. Fourth, future issues of elder care are shaped by macro level factors such as population aging, social trends in job and family life, and technological developments with implications for ensuring care quality, care staff, culturally sensitive care, and assistive technologies. Cultural psychology emerged as a valuable partner of the gerosciences by contributing essentially to a deeper understanding of the aforementioned issues. [less ▲]

Enlarging the frame: Issues of Inclusion and mental health in an ageing society

Scientific Conference (2017, September 22)

This contribution frames the notions of inclusion and mental health by describing trends in European societies at the social and economic level that will have direct consequences for a participative civil ... [more ▼]

This contribution frames the notions of inclusion and mental health by describing trends in European societies at the social and economic level that will have direct consequences for a participative civil society and social cohesion. Our starting point is the observation that the world faces challenges at the start of the 21st century that are new and unprecedented in its history. The four global forces that break all the trends known so far in human history include urbanisation, accelerating technological development, greater global connections, and population ageing (Dobbs, Manyika and Woetzel, 2016). We will first describe the scale of population ageing, as ageing populutions characterize several developed economies. In a second step, we will highlight some consequences of population ageing for social welfare and in a third part I will elaborate on the notion of justice and inclusion in rapidly changing societies. [less ▲]

Age-Related Mobility Issues and Social Exclusion of Older Adults: Objective and Subjective Criteria

Scientific Conference (2017, July 27)

“It is in giving that we receive, isn’t it?” – Intergenerational family solidarity, reciprocity and subjective well-being in the context of migration.

Scientific Conference (2017, July 17)

Research on intergenerational relations has underlined the importance of reciprocity in the regulation of support exchange. The VOC study has demonstrated cross-cultural differences in reciprocity and ... [more ▼]

Research on intergenerational relations has underlined the importance of reciprocity in the regulation of support exchange. The VOC study has demonstrated cross-cultural differences in reciprocity and effects on subjective well-being. Less is known regarding migrant families as intergenerational support patterns could differ from host families due to specific needs or depending on different value orientations and family norms. Here, we focus therefore on the role of reciprocity in intergenerational family support in a sample of altogether N = 152 Luxembourgish and Portuguese (young) adults and their parents, all living in Luxembourg. In general, parents reported providing more social support for their children than they receive; but PT compared to LUX children reported providing as much social support as they receive from their parents. Results will be discussed within an integrative model on intergenerational family relations in the light of migration and ageing. [less ▲]

Intergenerational relationship regulation in the light of migration and ageing: The case of (young) adult children and their parents from Portuguese immigrant and Luxembourgish families.

Scientific Conference (2017, July 14)

The negotiation of autonomy and relatedness in the relations between children and their parents constitutes a key topic of intergenerational relationship regulation over the whole family life cycle. In ... [more ▼]

The negotiation of autonomy and relatedness in the relations between children and their parents constitutes a key topic of intergenerational relationship regulation over the whole family life cycle. In the context of migration, an acculturation gap between parents and their adult children might lead to different identity constructions and mutual expectations with regard to intergenerational solidarity and support. These differences in expectations and beliefs can affect relationship quality between the family members from different generations as well as their well-being. In the present study, we focus on a sample of altogether N = 152 Luxembourgish and Portuguese (young) adults and their parents from immigrant and Luxembourgish families, all living in Luxembourg. Portuguese adult children were born resp. had grown up in Luxembourg. First results show a high cohesion in both Portuguese immigrant and luxembourgish families; however, enmeshment and normative expectations regarding adult children’s support for their ageing parents were higher in Portuguese families. The findings further suggest that ambivalence might be experienced in particular when individual striving for independence seems difficult to reconcile with norms of family obligation. Implications for well-being of family members from both generations will be discussed taking into account an integrative model on intergenerational family relations in the light of migration and ageing. [less ▲]