Doing Their Share: Comparing Patterns of Help Given by Older and Younger Adults

Abstract

There was a period when I couldn't say no, but I can now. When you get to my age you can do what you want. 72-year-old married woman Two very different images of the emerge from research on aging and recent trends public policy. Early research on aging viewed the as a potential social problem--as mainly recipients, rather than providers, of care. Shrinking family size and high mobility of kin and neighbors prompted concern that increasing numbers of older people would finish their lives loneliness and isolation. As a result, the myth of the isolated elderly has been a persistent theme aging research (Shanas, 1979). More recently, concern over the financial and emotional costs involved caring for aging parents has shifted the emphasis towards research on caregivers to the dependent (Abel, 1991; Schulz, Visintainer, & Williamson, 1990). The large majority of these caregivers are women (Horowitz, 1985), many of whom are caught not only in the of two generations needing care (Brody, 1990), but the middle of employment and family as well (Scharlach & Boyd, 1989). Neither image of the elderly--as isolated or dependent recipients of care--is particularly appealing. In contrast is the image of the healthy and involved older person. These are often portrayed as the new volunteers--illustrated a recent television commercial by a retired, and now loved, IRS agent who helps those struggling to complete their tax forms. This image reflects the development, over the past 12 years, of a renewed emphasis on promoting private, voluntary care--particularly by the (Bush, 1989; Nunn, 1989). Yet we know relatively little about the involvement of older people providing informal help to family and friends, and even less about help given others through formal volunteer efforts. Moreover, no research to date has examined the relationship between formal volunteerism and informal help given to family and friends. This study examines a number of dimensions of the help older and younger adults provide and how these contribute to our understanding of age, social integration, and public policy regarding the privatization of care. PREVIOUS LITERATURE Contrasting images of the as either isolated and alone, or active volunteers reflect two larger theoretical perspectives on aging. The first, coming out of research on intergenerational relations, argues that, while not isolated, the are involved shrinking networks of both kin and nonkin (Babchuk & Booth, 1969; Booth, 1972; Smith, 1966). The primary explanation for this process is that of psychological disengagement (Cumming & Henry, 1961). Although the process of disengagement may be affected by a number of social characteristics (Maddox, 1972), its central tenet is that successful aging involves a gradual withdrawal from a range of social relations and obligations. Rather than focusing on the ways which the disengage from relations with family and friends, more recent research has focused on the continuity of roles into old age. In doing so, it has emphasized the active reconstruction and adaptation of previous roles maintaining both independence and interdependence (Atchley, 1989). From this perspective, those who have been involved helping others the past tend to help others old age. This supports the image of the healthy and involved older volunteer. Yet there is some evidence that continuity helping others may vary depending on whether we are considering help given to adult children, other relatives, friends, or strangers the community. Age and Help to Adult Children A number of recent studies have argued that older parents give adult children significant emotional support and advice times of difficulty such as divorce (Johnson, 1988) or widowhood (Bankoff, 1983; Greenberg & Becker, 1988), and provide material help, such as housing, during periods of transition (DeVanzo & Goldscheider, 1990). …