The `Intergenerational Stake Hypothesis' in Indonesia and Germany

Abstract

The aim of this study is to test the general hypothesis that parents and their children systematically differ with respect to the perception of their relationship as described by the literature on the `intergenerational stake'. To this end, the study compared 100 dyads of adult daughters and elderly mothers from Indonesia and Germany. Mothers and daughters were interviewed with respect to their value orientations and their evaluation of the present mother—daughter relationship. The results demonstrated that the `intergenerational stake' hypothesis could be replicated for different aspects of the relationship quality in the German sample as compared to the Indonesian sample. Besides a pattern of mother— daughter differences consistent with the `intergenerational stake hypothesis', two groups with different patterns were found: one group in which daughters perceived the relationship as more positive than mothers and another group characterized by low maternal self-disclosure. Culture and mothers' collectivism were associated with the assignment to the latter group. The results are interpreted in a culture-informed theoretical framework of intergenerational relations.