Married and Cohabiting Adults with Ill and Old Parents: Does Intergenerational Solidarity Change According to Family Conditions?

The objective of this paper is to compare the patterns of intergenerational solidarity of adult children who cohabit or are married, with their own parents and those of their partners. To this aim, I report the results of qualitative research I performed in Italy, based on 50 in-depth interviews of cohabiting and married couples, with an age range between 26 and 56 years. The dimensions of family solidarity investigated, included the financial support provided by parents to their offspring,  help in child-minding the grandchildren, the frequency of phone calls and visits and finally, the willingness (also in the past) of the offspring to look after one of their own parents or their partner’s parents when ill and old. The analysis of the interviews has highlighted the varied types of interpersonal relationships established with parents by the cohabiting partners. While those who were married kept closer relationships and appeared to be more willing to help their parents and in-laws when ill and old, among those in cohabitation, only those who had a background of formation of a traditional family model, similar to marriage, adopted the same manner of solidarity. Those who had begun cohabitation, following separation or co-habited with a partner who was separated, felt less responsible towards their partner’s family members, to the extent that they did not perceive any kinship ties nor obligations. Consequently, they felt that caregiving activities were not their responsibility. Finally, the length of the marriage or cohabitation was seen to have no effect.