Intergenerational support and quality of life in old age: Do welfare state regimes matter?

The idea of the welfare state as main provider of help and care for the old and needy is among the most important achievements in the history of European social politics. It was meant to improve people´s quality of life by unburdening traditional support providers: the family.

The relation between family and state is discussed in light of the specialization hypothesis, which assumes strong welfare states to unburden providers of family support by crowding out burdensome care-work and crowding in voluntary less onerous help, leading to an overall improvement of family lives. Challenging this assumption of voluntariness implemented in the specialization hypothesis, our presentation focuses on the effects of intergenerational support on the quality of life of providers. Do welfare states shape the relation between providing intergenerational support and quality of life?

First, we describe the prevalence of intergenerational help and care to elderly parents in Europe. Second, we show the varying impact of support on self-reported quality of life of the providers, by means of hierarchical linear models including random effects. Third, we relate these differences to the welfare state using cross level interactions. Analyses are based on the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARE) with respondents aged 50 and older from 14 European countries.

Results show that the idea of voluntariness and improvement of family life in strong welfare states needs to be revisited. Providing minor intergenerational support is related to lower quality of life in strong welfare states, whereas in weak welfare states, intergenerational solidarity is rarely questioned: It is a matter of course and hence not lowering perceived quality of life. Results suggest that the cultural context shapes the perception of welfare state policies. Perceptions as unintended side effects can eat up the beneficial effects of state support.