Sociology Demography
- Created by: m1laxx
- Created on: 19-01-23 09:27
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- The Impact of the Ageing Population on Families in Britain
- Impact on Housing and the Elderly
- They may be housebound and so very dependent on other family members.
- High levels of geographical mobility - elderly relatives live further away from their adult children than they did 50 years ago. Extended family ties may be weaker as a consequence.
- In the 1950's, 40% of the elderly had been taken in by their relatives, but this has dropped to only 5% by the mid 1990s.
- Households
- The number of elderly couples living independently as married or cohabiting spouses has increased from 52.6% in 2001 to 56.8% in 2011.
- As health problems appear, elderly couples are more likely to stay in their homes and the other half of a couple is more likely to become a full-time carer than to place their partner in a home
- These statistics mean that there's less housing for first-time buyers and young people.
- Extended Families
- In the 1950's, 40% of the elderly had been taken in by their relatives, but this has dropped to only 5% by the mid 1990s.
- The growth in the number of extended families caused by economic pressures - parents and their children may not have enough money to pay for residential homes and so become primary carers.
- Females tend to take on a larger responsibility of elderly parents compared to males and many elderly parents move in with their daughters. This can cause disruption in the daughter's life and this leads to economic inequality between sexes.
- Women are more likely than men to give up work in order to care for their elderly relatives. Caring means that women are excluded from the full time labour market and so are more likely to be economically dependent on men.
- Interactionists believe that if a grandparent moves in with a nuclear family, it can alter the families relationships and cause stress particularly in mothers and undermine a happy relationship.
- High levels of geographical mobility - elderly relatives live further away from their adult children than they did 50 years ago. Extended family ties may be weaker as a consequence.
- Extended Ties and Kinship
- Working-class families value extended kinships more
- Increase in the number of elderly people using technologies such as phones, email, Skype and Facebook to keep in contact with their extended kin.
- Beanpole Families
- The emergence of four-generational-families has been caused by the ageing population. These families include great-grandparents and great-grandchildren.
- These families are less likely to have lots of aunts, uncles and cousins because, over the last 20 years, families have been having less children, which means children have less relatives of this nature.
- Family members are more likely to have closer relationships with great-grandparents and great-grandchildren. The 'middle' generation is indemand to provide for both of these; for example, babysitting services may be balanced by the assumption that daugters will assist mothers in their old age.
- Grand Parenting and Relationships
- Families benefit from the presence of grandparents because granpdarents live longer today and so can form more meaningful relationships.
- Studies have shown that around 5.8 million grandparents look after their grandchildren for an average of around 10 hours a week.
- This amounts to a saving of nearly £11 billion in childcare costs over the course of a year.
- Grandmothers are putting in more hours of childcare of their grandchildren than grandfathers are.
- Impact on Housing and the Elderly
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