Abstract
This study examines the likelihood that older adults and their children in Bridgetown, Barbados engage in exchanges of financial, functional, and material support and the extent to which gender influences transfers. Data come from the 2000 Survey of Health, Well-Being and Aging in Latin America and the Caribbean (SABE) of Bridgetown, Barbados N = 3876 children, representing 1135 families. Multivariate logistic regression models examine the demographic and economic situations of both older and younger cohorts that encourage or constrain intergenerational exchanges. Results confirm, as in many developing countries, a higher proportion of older Barbadians receive rather than provide support. Gender differentiation in support transfers depends on the type of support examined and the living arrangements of parents and children. Support exchanges are highly conditioned by the socioeconomic circumstances of both generations but gender stratification in the labor market does not appear to mediate support exchanges. These findings suggest some flexibility in gender systems with respect to intergenerational support within Barbado.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Abramo, L., & Valenzuela, M. E. (2005). Women’s labour force participation rates in Latin America. International Labour Review, 144, 369–399.
Albertini, M., Kohli, M., & Vogel, C. (2007). Intergenerational transfers of time and money in European families: common patterns different regimes? Journal of European Social Policy, 17, 319–334.
Arriagada, I. (1998). The urban female labour market in Latin America: the myth and the reality. Santiago: United Nations.
Arza, C. (2012). Pension reforms and gender equality in Latin America gender and development. Switzerland: Geneva. United Nations Research Institute for Social Development.
Barrett, A. E., & Lynch, S. M. (1999). Caregiving networks of elderly parents: variations by marital status. The Gerontologist, 39, 695–704.
Barrow, C. M. (1996). Family in the Caribbean: themes and perspectives. Oxford: Currey.
Barrow, C. M. (1998). Caribbean portraits: essays on gender ideologies and identities. Kingston: Randle.
Bengston, V. L., & Roberts, R. E. L. (1991). Intergenerational solidarity in aging families: an example of formal theory construction. Journal of Marriage and Family, 53, 853–870.
Calasanti, T. (2010). Gender and ageing in the context of globalization. In D. Dannefer & C. Phillipson (Eds.), The sage handbook of social gerontology (pp. 137–149). London: Sage.
Carr, D., & Bodnar-Deren, S. (2009). Gender, Aging and Widowhood. In P. Uhlenberg (Ed.), International handbook of population aging (pp. 705–728). London: Springer.
Chant, S. (2003). Gender, families and households. In S. Chant & N. Craske (Eds.), Gender in Latin America (pp. 161–193). New Jersey: Rutgers University Press.
Childs, G., Goldstein, M. C., & Wangdui, P. (2011). Externally resident daughters, social capital and support for the elderly in rural Tibet. Journal of Cross-Cultural Gerontology, 26, 1–22.
Chou, K.-L. (2010). Number of children and upstream intergenerational financial transfers: evidence from Hong Kong. Journal of Gerontology: Social Sciences, 65, 227–235.
Cong, Z., & Silverstein, M. (2011). Intergenerational exchange between parents and migrant and nonmigrant sons in RURAL China. Journal of Marriage and Family, 73, 93–104.
Cooney, T. M., & Uhlenberg, P. (1992). Support from parents over the life course: the adult child’s perspective. Social Forces, 71, 63–84.
Cunningham, S. A., Yount, K. M., Engelman, M., & Agree, E. (2013). Returns on Lifetime Investments in Children in Egypt. Demography, 50, 699--724.
De Vos, S. (1995). Household composition in Latin America. New York: Plenum.
De Vos, S., Solis, P., & Montes de Oca, V. (2004). Receipt of assistance and extended family residence among elderly men in Mexico. International Journal of Aging and Human Development, 58, 1–27.
Downes, A. (2001). An analysis of economic and social development in Barbados: a model for small island developing states: Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean.
Downes, A. (2005). The Barbados labour market: a diagnostic study and reform proposals. Washington, D.C.: The Inter-American Development Bank.
Downes, A. S. (2006). Caribbean labour market challenges and policies Macroeconomía del desarrollo. Santiago: CEPAL, United Nations.
Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (2004). Population, ageing and development. Paper presented at the Thirtieth Session of ECLAC, San Juan, Puerto Rico.
Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (2009). Social panorama of Latin America. Santiago, Chile: Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean.
Estes, C. L., & Associates. (2000). Social policy and aging: a critical perspective. London: Sage.
Fingerman, K. L., Miller, L., Birditt, K., & Zarit, S. (2009). Giving to the good and the needy: parental support of grown children. Journal of Marriage and Family, 71, 1220–1233.
Fingerman, K. L., Pitzer, L. M., Chan, W., Birditt, K., Franks, M. M., & Zarit, S. (2011). Who gets what and why? Help middle-aged adults provide to parents and grown children. The Journals of Gerontology Series B: Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences, 66B, 87–98.
Forsythe-Brown, I. (2007). Gender, Kinscripts and the work of transnational kinship among afro-Caribbean immigrant families: an exploratory analysis. College Park: University of Maryland. 3307758.
Frankenberg, E., & Kuhn, R. S. (2004). The role of social context in shaping intergenerational relations in Indonesia and Bangladesh. In M. Silverstein (Ed.), Annual review of gerontology and geriatrics: focus on intergenerational relations across time and place (pp. 177–199). New York, NY: Springer.
Frankenberg, E., & Thomas, D. (2011). Global Aging. Handbook of Aging and the Social Sciences.
Gomes, C. (2007). Intergenerational exchanges in Mexico: types and intensity of support. Current Sociology, 55, 545–560.
Haberkern, K., & Szydlik, M. (2010). State care provision, societal opinion and children’s care of older parents in 11 European countries. Ageing and Society, 30, 299–323.
Handa, S., & Kirton, C. (1999). The economics of rotating savings and credit associations: evidence from the Jamaican ‘Partner’. Journal of Development Economics, 60, 173–194.
Hank, K. (2007). Proximity and contacts between older parents and their children: a European comparison. Journal of Marriage and Family, 69, 157–173.
Hequembourg, A., & Brallier, S. (2005). Gendered stories of parental caregiving among siblings. Journal of Aging Studies, 19, 53–71.
Ho, C. G. T. (1999). Caribbean Transnationalism as a gendered process. Latin American Perspectives, 26, 34–54.
Hondagneu-Sotelo, P., & Avila, E. (2003). “I’m here, but I’m there”: The meanings of Latina transnational motherhood. In P. Hondagneu-Sotelo (Ed.), Gender and U.S. Immigration: contemporary trends (pp. 317–340). Berkeley: University of California Press.
International Labour Organization (1999). Employment Policy in a Small Island Economy: Barbados. Country Employment Policy Review. http://ilo-mirror.library.cornell.edu/public/english/employment/strat/cerp/download/barbados.pdf
International Social Security Association (2012). Scheme descriptions. From http://www.issa.int/Observatory/Country-Profiles/Regions/Americas/Barbados/Scheme-Description/(id)/105957
Izuhara, M. (2010). Ageing and intergenerational relations: family reciprocity from a global perspective. Bristol: Policy.
Katz, R., Lowenstein, A., Phillips, J., & Daatland, S. O. (2005). Theorizing intergenerational family relations: Solidarity, conflict and ambivalence in cross-national contexts. In V. L. Bengston, A. C. Acock, K. R. Allen, P. Dilworth-Andersen, & D. M. Klein (Eds.), Sourcebook on family theory and research (pp. 393–407). Thousand Oaks: Sage.
Kelley, L. S. (2005). Minor children and adult care exchanges with community-dwelling frail elders in a St. Lucian Village. The Journals of Gerontology Series B: Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences, 60,62--73.
Knodel, J., Kespichayawatttana, J., Wiwatwanich, S., & Saengtienchai, C. (2007). Migration and intergenerational solidarity: evidence from rural Thailand Papers in Population Ageing Series, Number 2. Bangkok: UNFPA.
Lawton, L., Silverstein, M., & Bengtson, V. (1994). Affection, social contact and geographic distance between adult children and their parents. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 56, 57–68.
Lee, Y.-J., Parish, W. L., & Willis, R. J. (1994). Sons, daughters and intergenerational support in Taiwan. American Journal of Sociology, 99, 1010–1041.
Lei, X., Giles, J., Hu, Y., Park, A., Strauss, J., & Zhao, Y. (2012). Patterns and correlates of intergenerational non-time transfers: Evidence from CHARLS. In J. P. Smith & M. Majmundar (Eds.), Aging in Asia: findings from new and emerging data initiatives (pp. 207–228). Washington, D.C.: National Academies Press.
Levande, D. I., Herrick, J. M., & Sung, K.-T. (2000). Eldercare in the United States and South Korea: balancing family and community support. Journal of Family Issues, 21, 632–651.
Lillard, L. A., & Willis, R. J. (1997). Motives for intergenerational transfers; evidence from Malaysia. Demography, 34, 115–134.
Lin, J.-P., & Yi, C.-C. (2011). Filial norms and intergenerational support to aging parents in China and Taiwan. International Journal of Social Welfare, 20, S109–S120.
Logan, J. R., Bian, F., & Bian, Y. (1998). Tradition and change in the Urban Chinese family: the case of living arrangements. Social Forces, 76, 851–882.
Lowenstein, A., & Katz, R. (2010). Families and age in a global perspective. In D. Dannefer & C. Philipson (Eds.), The sage handbook of social gerontology (pp. 190–201). Thousand Oaks: Sage.
Mason, K. (1992). Family change and support of the elderly in Asia: what do we know? Asia-Pacific Population Journal, 7, 13–32.
Mason, K. O. (2001). Gender and family systems in the fertility transition. Population and Development Review, 27, 160–176.
Miner, D. C. (2003). Jamaican families. Holistic Nursing Practice, 17, 27–35.
Momsen, J. (2002). The double paradox. In P. Mohammed (Ed.), Gendered realities: essays in Caribbean feminist thought (pp. 44–55). Kingston: The University of the West Indies Press.
Nam, V. E. (2009). National census report: Barbados. Greater Georgetown: Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Secretariat.
Natividad, J. N., & Cruz, G. T. (1997). Patterns in living arrangements and family support for the elderly in the Philippines. Asia-Pacific Population Journal, 12, 17–34.
Niimi, Y., & Ozden, C. (2008). Migration and remittances in Latin America: Patterns and determinants. In P. Fajnzylber & J. H. Lopez (Eds.), Remittances and development: lessons from Latin America (pp. 51–86). Washington D.C.: The International Bank for Reconstruction and Development/The World Bank.
Ofstedal, M. B., Knodel, J., & Chayovan, N. (1999). Intergenerational support and gender: a comparison of four Asian countries. Journal of Southeast Asian Studies, 27, 21–42.
Pan American Health Organization. (2007). Barbados health in the Americas (Vol. II). Washington, D.C.: Pan American Health Organization.
Pelaez, M., Palloni, A., Albala, C., Alfonso, J. C., Ham-Chande, R., Hennis, A., Prats, O. (2000). SABE - Survey on Health, Well-Being, and Aging in Latin America and the Caribbean.
Pettinato, S., & Diaz Cassou, J. (2005). A needs assessment of pension systems in the english speaking Caribbean. In D. P. Brunton & P. Masci (Eds.), Workable pension systems: reforms in the Caribbean (pp. 59–96). Washington, D.C.: Inter-American Development Bank.
Quashie, N., & Zimmer, Z. (2013). Residential proximity of nearest child and older adults’ receipts of informal support transfers in Barbados. Ageing and Society, 33, 320–341.
Rawlins, J. M. (1999). Confronting ageing as a Caribbean reality. Journal of Sociology and Social Welfare, 26, 143–153.
Ribe, H., Robalino, D. A., & Walker, I. (2010). Achieving effective social protection for all in Latin America and the Caribbean: from right to reality. Washington D.C.: The International Bank for Reconstruction and Development/The World Bank.
Rogerson, P. A., Burr, J. A., & Lin, G. (1997). Changes in geographic proximity between parents and their adult children. International Journal of Population Geography, 3, 121–136.
Roopnarine, J. L. (2004). African American and African Caribbean fathers. In M. E. Lamb (Ed.), The role of the father in child development (4th ed., pp. 58–97). New Jersey: Wiley.
Ross, C. E. (1987). The division of labour at home. Social Forces, 65, 816–833.
Saad, P. M. (2005). Informal support transfers of the elderly in Brazil and Latin America. In A. A. Camarano (Ed.), Sixty plus: the elderly Brazilians and their new social roles (pp. 169–210). Rio de Janeiro: Institute of Applied Economic Research.
Safa, H. (2005). The matrifocal family and patriarchal ideology in Cuba and the Caribbean. Journal of Latin American Anthropology, 10, 314–338.
Silverstein, M. (2002). Reciprocity in parent-child relations over the adult life course. The Journal of Gerontology Series B: Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences, 57.
Silverstein, M., Gans, D., & Yang, F. M. (2006). Intergenerational support to aging parents: the role of norms and needs. Journal of Family Issues, 27, 1068–1084.
Sinunu, M., Yount, K. M., & El-Afify, N. A. W. (2009). Informal and formal long-term care for frail older adults in Cairo, Egypt: family caregiving decisions in a context of social change. Journal of Cross-Cultural Gerontology, 24, 63–76.
Smith, R. T. (1996). The matrifocal family: power, pluralism and politics. New York: Routledge.
Soto, I. M. (1987). West Indian child fostering: It’s role in migration exchanges. In C. R. Sutton & E. Chaney (Eds.), Caribbean life in New York: sociocultural dimensions (pp. 120–137). New York: The Center for Migration Studies of New York Inc.
Swartz, T. T. (2009). Intergenerational family relations in adulthood: patterns, variations and implications in the contemporary United States. Annual Review of Sociology, 35, 191–212.
Tolkacheva, N., van Groneou, M. B., & van Tilburg, T. (2010). Sibling influence on care given by children to older parents. Research on Aging, 32, 739–759.
Trotz, D. A. (2005). The Caribbean Family? In D. T. Goldberg, A. Kobayashi, & P. Essed (Eds.), A companion to gender studies (pp. 370–380). Oxford: Blackwell.
UCLA. (2014). Analyzing correlated (clustered) data. From http://statistics.ats.ucla.edu/stat/stata/library/cpsu.htm
United Nations (2009). Population ageing and development. Retrieved December 5th, 2010, from http://www.un.org/esa/population/publications/ageing/ageing2009.htm
United Nations (2014). World population prospects: The 2012 Revision. Retrieved May 29th, 2014, from http://esa.un.org/unpd/wpp/index.htm
Vanwey, L. K. (2004). Altruistic and contractual remittances between male and female migrants and households in rural Thailand. Demography, 41, 739–756.
Verbrugge, L. M., & Chan, A. (2008). Giving help in return: family reciprocity by older Singaporeans. Ageing and Society, 28, 5–34.
Vogel, A., & Korinek, K. (2012). Passing by the girls? Remittance allocation for educational expenditures and social security in Nepal’s households 2003–2004. International Migration Review, 46, 61–100.
Wolf, D. A., Freedman, V. A., & Soldo, B. J. (1997). The division of family labour: care for elderly parents. Journal of Gerontology: Social Sciences, 52, 102–109.
Wolf, D. A., & Soldo, B. J. (1988). Household composition choice of older unmarried women. Demography, 25, 387–403.
World Bank. (2014). Data catalog. World development indicators. Retrieved June 12th, 2014, from http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/NY.GNP.PCAP.CD/countries/BB--XR?display=graph
Zimmer, Z. (2008). Poverty, wealth inequality and health among older adults in rural Cambodia. Social Science & Medicine, 66, 57–71.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Quashie, N.T. Who Supports Whom? Gender and Intergenerational Transfers in Post-Industrial Barbados. J Cross Cult Gerontol 30, 189–216 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10823-015-9260-2
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10823-015-9260-2