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Change and Stability in Parent–Child Contact in Five Western Countries
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Change and Stability in Parent–Child Contact in Five Western Countries
Matthijs Kalmijn1  and Jannes De Vries2
| (1) |
Department of Sociology, Tilburg University, P.O. Box 90153, 5000 LE Tilburg, The Netherlands |
| (2) |
Statistics Netherlands, Kloosterweg 1, 6412 CN Heerlen, The Netherlands |
Received: 2 June 2008 Accepted: 21 November 2008 Published online: 20 December 2008
Abstract Although much is known about changes in the conjugal family, little is known about trends in contact between parents and adult
(independently living) children. Using unique survey data, we study changes in contact with the mother and the father in five
western countries over a 15-year period (Austria, West Germany, Great Britain, the United States, and Italy). We describe
changes and we examine the role of compositional changes in the trend. We find no evidence for a decline in intergenerational
contact, in contrast to notions of individualism. In two countries, there has been an increase in contact with the mother
and in three countries no net trend is observed. Contact with the father has not changed. Other forms of contact (e.g., telephone
contact) have increased. Some compositional changes have had a downward pressure on the trend, leading to a decline in contact
(i.e., rising education, declining church attendance), but these pressures have been compensated by counteracting compositional
changes (declining sibsize) and by behavioral changes.
Keywords Family change - Intergenerational relations - Individualization - Trends - Parent–child contact
Résumé Alors que beaucoup de connaissances ont été accumulées sur la famille conjugale, on dispose de peu d’éclairage sur l’évolution
de la fréquence des contacts entre parents et enfants adultes noncohabitants. A l’aide de données d’enquête tout à fait uniques,
cette étude explore la fréquence des contacts avec la mère et avec le père dans cinq pays occidentaux, sur une période de
15 ans. Les changements sont décrits, de même que le rôle joué par les évolutions de la composition de la population dans
ceux-ci. Aucun recul des contacts entre générations n’est mis en évidence, contrairement à ce que les notions d’individualisme
pourraient laissent supposer. Dans deux des pays, on observe une hausse des contacts avec la mère, et dans trois autres, aucune
tendance nette n’émerge. La fréquence des contacts avec le père n’a pas varié. D’autres formes de contacts (par exemple, les
contacts téléphoniques) sont en augmentation. Certains facteurs de composition ont eu un effet à la baisse sur les contacts
(par exemple, la hausse du niveau d’instruction, le déclin de la pratique religieuse), mais ces effets ont été compensés par
des facteurs ayant des conséquences inverses (réduction de la taille des fratries) et par des changements de comportements.
Mots-clés Changement familial - Relations intergénérationnelles - Individualisation - Tendances - Contacts parents–enfants
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