Ethnicity and Intergenerational Perceptions of Family Solidarity

Abstract

Intergenerational interaction between matched pairs of older parents and their middle-aged offspring were explored in this research, comparing Mennonites and non-Mennonites. Middle-aged respondents replied to a mailed questionnaire, and their parents were interviewed. Five dimensions of family solidarity were compared between the generations, with the result that middle-aged offspring typically report less family solidarity than do their parents. These results are explained in terms of the concept of the “developmental stake.”