The ambivalence of intergenerational relations through the prism of body work

Šadl, Zdenka (author)

This article deals with the psychological ambivalence in intergenerational relations within the context of the care for the elderly. It starts with a brief presentation of a few key concepts that appear in the studies of family intergenerational relations (solidarity, conflict, ambivalence). Through the overview of several analysis that have studied family intergenerational relations it confirms the existence of the ambivalence experienced by the adult children andžor their ageing parents within their relations. Based on the conclusions gained in the research the text exposes the gendered nature of caring for the elderly 'at home' and the caregiver's stress or ambivalent feelings. In the continuation it focuses on the social and emotional complexity in intimate intergenerational caring in family life and exposes the fact that adult children remain important or even the most important providers of all forms of care for their ageing and frail parents. At the end the paper focuses on the specific tasks of care giving that carers may find aversive, disgusting or frightening and which may evoke mixed emotions and ambivalent experience from the 'child carers'.

• Language: English
• Work type: Not categorized
• Typology: 1.01 - Original Scientific Article
• Organization: FDV - Faculty of Social Sciences
• Year: 2010
• Number of pages: Str. 1253-1277
• Numbering: Letn. 47, št. 6
• PID: 20.500.12556/RUL-23159
• UDC: 316.356.2:316.4.051.6
• ISSN on article: 0040-3598
• COBISS.SI-ID: 30045789
• Publication date in RUL: 11.07.2014

Record is a part of a journal

• Title: Teorija in praksa : revija za družbena vprašanja
• Shortened title: Teor. praksa
• Publisher: Fakulteta za družbene vede
• ISSN: 0040-3598
• COBISS.SI-ID: 763652

Secondary language

• Language: Slovenian

Abstract

Prispevek obravnava psihološko ambivalenco v medgeneracijskih relacijah znotraj konteksta skrbi za starejše. Najprej na kratko predstavi nekaj ključnih konceptov, ki se pojavljajo v proučevanju družinskih medgeneracijskih odnosov (solidarnost, konflikt, amivalenca) in na podlagi pregleda nekaterih analiz, ki so proučevale družinske medgeneracijske odnose potrdi obstoj ambivalenc, ki jih v medsebojnih odnosih doživljajo odrasli otroci in/ali njihovi starajoči oziroma ostareli starši. Opiraje na ugotovitve raziskav izpostavi spolno označeno naravo skrbi za stare na domu in stres oziroma ambivalentne občutke skrbnice. V nadaljevanju se osredini na družbeno in emocionalno kompleksnost intimne medgeneracijske skrbi v družinskem življenju ter izpostavi dejstvo, da odrasli otroci ostajajo pomembni ali celo najpomembnejši izvajalci vseh oblik skrbi za svoje starajoče, krhke starše. V zadnjem delu se članek osredini na posebne skrbstvene naloge, ki lahko pri skrbnici vzbudijo odpor, gnus ali strah in s tem mešane emocije ter ambivalentna izkustva pri 'otrocih skrbnikih'.