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Aging in European SocietiesFamily Networks and Supports in Older Age

Aging in European Societies: Family Networks and Supports in Older Age [This chapter will focus on the role of family networks and other social support networks for well-being in older age, providing empirical data across European countries on different sources of support. The first section will illustrate how family care in this respect represents a relevant actor, not only in traditional familistic societies but also in more well-developed European welfare states. Comparative data will be presented in particular on the role played by the family in granting assistance in case of increased dependency in older age. A related issue will be represented by the availability of supports to reconcile paid work and (unpaid) care tasks, especially in the light of the Europe-wide trends to a prolonged working life and increasing female participation in the labour market. Recent empirical evidence will be furthermore provided of the growing importance of migrant care work in households with dependent older people across the Continent, in particular when the formal care system is unable to tackle the challenge of very heavy care needs. The chapter will finally describe the effects of lacking family and support networks, which might take the form of elder abuse and neglect, identifying the main risk factors and possible strategies to prevent it.] http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png

Aging in European SocietiesFamily Networks and Supports in Older Age

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References (40)

Publisher
Springer US
Copyright
© Springer Science+Business Media New York 2013
ISBN
978-1-4419-8344-2
Pages
133 –150
DOI
10.1007/978-1-4419-8345-9_9
Publisher site
See Chapter on Publisher Site

Abstract

[This chapter will focus on the role of family networks and other social support networks for well-being in older age, providing empirical data across European countries on different sources of support. The first section will illustrate how family care in this respect represents a relevant actor, not only in traditional familistic societies but also in more well-developed European welfare states. Comparative data will be presented in particular on the role played by the family in granting assistance in case of increased dependency in older age. A related issue will be represented by the availability of supports to reconcile paid work and (unpaid) care tasks, especially in the light of the Europe-wide trends to a prolonged working life and increasing female participation in the labour market. Recent empirical evidence will be furthermore provided of the growing importance of migrant care work in households with dependent older people across the Continent, in particular when the formal care system is unable to tackle the challenge of very heavy care needs. The chapter will finally describe the effects of lacking family and support networks, which might take the form of elder abuse and neglect, identifying the main risk factors and possible strategies to prevent it.]

Published: Sep 26, 2012

Keywords: Family network; Caregiving; Migrant care workers; Care services; Reconciliation of care and work

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