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Intergenerational care for and by children: Examining reciprocity through focus group interviews with older adults in rural Uganda

Author

Listed:
  • Enid Schatz

    (University of Missouri)

  • Janet Seeley

    (London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine)

  • Flavia Zalwango

    (Uganda Virus Research Institute)

Abstract

Background: Children’s wellbeing in sub-Saharan Africa depends on immediate family resources and capabilities, and on extended kin. Evidence suggests that older persons contribute extensively to children’s financial, social, psychosocial, and physical needs. Young people also provide care for older persons. Yet, most studies only capture one side of this relationship. Objective: We draw attention to intergenerational care relationship reciprocity and the likely impacts on children’s wellbeing. Methods: We analyze data from the Medical Research Council/Uganda Virus Research Institute annual population census (2015–2016) in rural Kalungu District to establish the likelihood of intergenerational care exchange at the household level. Focus group discussions (FGD) with persons aged 60-plus provide information on the types of exchanges and outcomes impacted by the presence/absence of intergenerational care. Results: Nearly a quarter of children (age 0–14) in our study site live in households with at least one person aged 60-plus; nearly four-fifths of persons aged 60-plus reside in a household with at least one child. The FGD data suggest that persons aged 60-plus spend considerable physical and financial resources supporting children in their networks, and simultaneously are dependent upon younger generations for various forms of support. Conclusions: Older persons’ positive relationships with children in their care form a strong basis for the exchange of various types of support; when intergenerational tensions exist, reciprocal care may be less reliable. This intergenerational solidarity, or lack thereof, likely affects children’s wellbeing. Contribution: Effective new measures of reciprocal care dynamics are needed to understand the impacts on children’s wellbeing.

Suggested Citation

  • Enid Schatz & Janet Seeley & Flavia Zalwango, 2018. "Intergenerational care for and by children: Examining reciprocity through focus group interviews with older adults in rural Uganda," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 38(63), pages 2003-2026.
    • Handle: RePEc:dem:demres:v:38:y:2018:i:63
    DOI: 10.4054/DemRes.2018.38.63
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Olivia Samuel & Véronique Hertrich, 2019. "Introduction to the Special Collection on ‘Children and family dynamics in sub-Saharan Africa’," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 41(44), pages 1269-1276.
    2. Farirai Rusere & Sostina S Matina & Nomsa B Mahlalela & Lenore Manderson & Guy Harling, 2025. "Overlapping caregiving demands and their association with poor subjective health and wellbeing and food insecurity among older rural South Africans," PLOS Global Public Health, Public Library of Science, vol. 5(12), pages 1-11, December.
    3. Min Qin & Jane Falkingham & Maria Evandrou & Athina Vlachantoni, 2020. "Attitudes and preferences towards future old-age support amongst tomorrow’s elders in China," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 43(11), pages 285-314.
    4. Katrina Radford & Janna Anneke Fitzgerald & Nerina Vecchio & Jennifer Cartmel & Ryan Bruce Gould & Jennifer Kosiol, 2022. "Key Considerations to the Introduction of Intergenerational Practice to Australian Policy," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(18), pages 1-11, September.
    5. Matthew Walsham, 2023. "Migration, Gender and Intergenerational Interdependence: Translocal Households Involving Older People and Migrants in Uganda," Progress in Development Studies, , vol. 23(4), pages 427-443, October.

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    JEL classification:

    • J1 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics
    • Z0 - Other Special Topics - - General

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