Abstract
Family change is at the centre of the forces responsible not only for population aging, but also for shifts in the personal resources that have long been vital to the well-being of older people. Chapter 8 (Family Change) is mainly concerned with recent trends in the family that affect population aging and older people’s support networks. The introductory sections refer to the nature and significance of the family in later life and the wide implications of family change for individuals and society. Family change is then discussed in the context of transition theories which reveal contrasts between past and present experiences. The theories also highlight the high prevalence and adverse consequences of very low fertility in developed countries, including the widespread non-realization of the two-child family, the predominant family building goal. Finally the chapter reviews explanations of family change and introduces the question of the impact of family policies, which is considered further in later chapters.
… for societies that cannot even approximate replacement fertility on a decadal time scale, a full-blown crisis exists. For such countries, there is likely much more wrong than low fertility. Societies that can respond to the legitimate needs of their citizens and invest in the next generations will, I believe, approximate replacement-level fertility. (Morgan 2003: 600)
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Rowland, D.T. (2012). Family Change. In: Population Aging. International Perspectives on Aging, vol 3. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-4050-1_8
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