Solidarity Between Generations: A Five-Country Study of the Social Process of Aging

Abstract: This paper examines three questions: the level and intensity of the tangible services that adult children provide their aged parents; the content of what they give and get from each other; and the consequences of these activities for the sense of well-being that the aged feel about their own lives. I present some data that is relevant for an exploration of these questions. The data are based on a Harris poll conducted for the Commonwealth Fund in the Spring of 1991. The term "solidarity" is based on the ide a that the feeling of togetherness, based on close family ties provides a basis for identification which, in turn, leads to a willingness to provide mutual assistance. Solidarity also occurs in the public sector via the institutional arrangements of social security. which is commonly referred to as the "generational contract". The public and familial represent two different forms for the expression of solidarity between generations. One of the most interesting and important policy questions concerns the impact of these two systems of generational transfers on each other.;