Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-8ctnn Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2025-01-02T19:24:00.621Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

‘I sort of pay back in my own little way’: managing independence and social connectedness through reciprocity

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  14 August 2009

MARY BREHENY  and
CHRISTINE STEPHENS
MARY BREHENY*
Affiliation:
School of Psychology, Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand.
CHRISTINE STEPHENS
Affiliation:
School of Psychology, Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand.
*
Address for correspondence: Mary Breheny, School of Psychology, Massey University, Private Bag 11 222, Palmerston North, New Zealand E-mail: [email protected]
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

There is increasing emphasis in the media, public and policy discourses about the implications of the ageing population on promoting independence and self-reliance in old age, which is linked to the importance of social connection and the dangers of social exclusion. This paper examines how the potentially contradictory moral imperatives of independence and connectedness are managed by older people through reciprocity. Thirty-six interviews were conducted with people aged 55–70 years in New Zealand, and the data have been analysed discursively. Older people drew upon social conventions of independence as well as describing firm ties to family and community. One way in which the contradictions between the discourses of independence and connectedness were managed was through the notion of reciprocity. This allowed the participants to describe their lives as linked to others through acts that benefited both parties, constructing both a sense of connection and a rejection of the position of dependency on others. Using this linguistic resource has both possibilities and limitations for older people's attempts to manage a moral identity as they age. Although many approaches can be used to construct an equal relationship between people, a commitment to reciprocity in social exchanges may restrict older people from accepting help if they do not see the interactions as contributions to others.

Keywords

reciprocityindependencesocial connectiondiscourse analysisidentity
Type
Submitted Articles
Information
Ageing & Society , Volume 29 , Issue 8: Minimal Families: Childlessness and Intergenerational Transfers , November 2009 , pp. 1295 - 1313
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2009

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Alpass, F., Towers, A., Stephens, C., Fitzgerald, E., Stevenson, B. and Davey, J. 2007. Independence, well-being, and social participation in an aging population. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 1114, 241–50.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Antonucci, T. C. 1985. Personal characteristics, social support, and social behavior. In Binstock, R. H. and Shanas, E. (eds), Handbook of Aging and the Social Sciences. Second edition, Van Nostrand Reinhold, New York, 94–128.Google Scholar
Antonucci, T. C., Fuhrer, R. and Jackson, J. S. 1990. Social support and reciprocity: a cross-ethnic and cross-national perspective. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, 7, 4, 519–30.Google Scholar
Barrett, P., Twitchin, S., Kletchko, S. and Ryan, F. 2006. The living environments of community-dwelling older people who become frail: another look at the Living Standards of Older New Zealanders survey. Social Policy Journal of New Zealand, 28, July, 133–57.Google Scholar
Beel-Bates, C. A., Ingersoll-Dayton, B. and Nelson, E. 2007. Deference as a form of reciprocity among residents in assisted living. Research on Aging, 29, 6, 626–43.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Biggs, S. 2001. Toward critical narrativity: stories of aging in contemporary social policy. Journal of Aging Studies, 15, 4, 303–16.Google Scholar
Breheny, M. and Stephens, C. 2007. Older Adults' Experience of Family Life: Linked Lives and Independent Living. Report for the Families Commission, Ministry of Social Development, Wellington.Google Scholar
Cylwik, H. 2002. Expectations of inter-generational reciprocity among older Greek Cypriot migrants in London. Ageing & Society, 22, 5, 599–613.Google Scholar
de Jong Gierveld, J. 2006. Perspectives on the integration of older men and women. Research on Aging, 28, 6, 627–37.Google Scholar
Fine, M. and Glendinning, C. 2005. Dependence, independence or inter-dependence? Revisiting the concepts of ‘care’ and ‘dependency’. Ageing & Society, 25, 4, 601–21.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gilbert, T. and Powell, J. L. 2005. Family, caring and ageing in the United Kingdom. Scandinavian Journal of Caring Science, 19, 1, 53–7.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Grant, B. C. 2006. Retirement villages: an alternative form of housing on an ageing landscape. Social Policy Journal of New Zealand, 27, March, 100–13.Google Scholar
Greene, R. R. and Cohen, H. L. 2005. Social work with older adults and their families: changing practice paradigms. Families in Society: Journal of Contemporary Social Services, 86, 3, 367–73.Google Scholar
Grundy, E. 2005. Reciprocity in relationships: socio-economic and health influences on intergenerational exchanges between Third Age parents and their adult children in Great Britain. British Journal of Sociology, 56, 2, 233–55.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Harré, R. and Gillett, G. 1994. The Discursive Mind. Sage, London.Google Scholar
Hollway, W. 1984. Gender difference and the production of subjectivity. In Henriques, W. H. J., Urwin, C., Venn, C. and Walkerdine, V. (eds), Changing the Subject. Methuen, London, 227–63.Google Scholar
Holstein, M. B. and Minkler, M. 2003. Self, society, and the ‘New Gerontology’. The Gerontologist, 43, 6, 787–96.Google Scholar
Ingersoll-Dayton, B. and Antonucci, T. 1988. Reciprocal and nonreciprocal social support: contrasting sides of intimate relationships. Journal of Gerontology, 43, 3, 565–73.Google Scholar
Ingersoll-Dayton, B. and Talbott, M. M. 1992. Assessments of social support exchanges: cognitions of the old-old. International Journal of Aging and Human Development, 35, 2, 125–43.Google Scholar
Kemp, C. L. and Denton, M. 2003. The allocation of responsibility for later life: Canadian reflections on the roles of individual, government, employers and families. Ageing & Society, 23, 6, 737–60.Google Scholar
Korobov, N. 2001. Reconciling theory with method: from conversation analysis and critical discourse analysis to positioning analysis. Forum: Qualitative Social Research, 2, 3, 11. Available online at http://www.qualitative-research.net/fqs/fqs-eng.htm [Accessed March 2009].Google Scholar
Kunemund, H., Motel-Klingebiel, A. and Kohli, M. 2005. Do intergenerational transfers from elderly parents increase social inequality among their middle-aged children? Evidence from the German Aging Survey. Journal of Gerontology: Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences, 60, 1, S30–6.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Lawrence, A. R. and Schiller Schigelone, A. R. 2002. Reciprocity beyond dyadic relationships: aging-related communal coping. Research on Aging, 24, 6, 684–704.Google Scholar
Motenko, A. K. and Greenberg, S. 1995. Reframing dependence in old age: a positive transition for families. Social Work, 40, 3, 382–90.Google Scholar
Murray, M., Pullman, D. and Rodgers, T. H. 2003. Social representations of health and illness among ‘baby-boomers’ in eastern Canada. Journal of Health Psychology, 8, 5, 485–99.Google Scholar
New Zealand Ministry of Social Development 2001. The New Zealand Positive Ageing Strategy. Ministry of Social Development, Wellington. Available online at http://www.osc.govt.nz/documents/nzpositiveageingstrategy.pdf [Accessed 5 September 2006].Google Scholar
New Zealand Office for Senior Citizens 2002. Briefing to the Incoming Minister for Senior Citizens: Towards Lifelong Participation and Independence. Office for Senior Citizens, Wellington. Available online at http://www.osc.govt.nz/documents/briefing-to-the-incoming-minister-for-senior-citizens-2003.pdf [Accessed 1 November 2006].Google Scholar
Powell, J. L. 2001. Theorizing gerontology: the case of old age, professional power, and social policy in the United Kingdom. Journal of Aging and Identity, 6, 3, 117–35.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Robertson, A. 1999. Beyond apocalyptic demography: toward a moral economy of interdependence. In Minkler, M. and Estes, C. L. (eds), Critical Gerontology: Perspectives from Political and Moral Economy. Baywood, Amityville, New York, 75–90.Google Scholar
Rudman, D. L. 2006. Shaping the active, autonomous and responsible modern retiree: an analysis of discursive technologies and their links with neo-liberal political rationality. Ageing & Society, 26, 2, 181–201.Google Scholar
Seeman, T. E., Lusignolo, T. M., Albert, M. and Berkman, L. 2001. Social relationships, social support, and patterns of cognitive aging in healthy, high-functioning older adults: MacArthur Studies of Successful Aging. Health Psychology, 20, 4, 243–55.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Smith, J. A., Braunack-Mayer, A., Wittert, G. and Warin, M. 2007. ‘I've been independent for so damn long!’ Independence, masculinity and aging in a help seeking context. Journal of Aging Studies, 21, 4, 325–35.Google Scholar
Statistics New Zealand 2004. Older New Zealanders: 65 and Beyond. Statistics New Zealand, Wellington. Available online at http://www.stats.govt.nz/NR/rdonlyres/CF82C033-BE57-49E4-8F43-ECCDED9B30ED/0/OlderNZrs2004.pdf [Accessed 5 September 2006].Google Scholar
Townsend, J., Godfrey, M. and Denby, T. 2006. Heroines, villains and victims: older people's perceptions of others. Ageing & Society, 26, 6, 883–900.Google Scholar
Unger, J., McAvay, G., Bruce, M., Berkman, L. and Seeman, T. 1999. Variation in the impact of social network characteristics on physical functioning in elderly persons: MacArthur Studies of Successful Aging. Journal of Gerontology: Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences, 54, 5, S245–51.Google Scholar
Verbrugge, L. M. and Chen, A. 2008. Giving help in return: family reciprocity by older Singaporeans. Ageing & Society, 28, 1, 5–34.Google Scholar
Vincent, J. A. 1995. Inequality and Old Age. UCL Press, London.Google Scholar
Williams, G. 1993. Chronic illness and the pursuit of virtue in everyday life. In Radley, A. (ed.), Worlds of Illness: Biographical and Cultural Perspectives on Health and Disease. Routledge, London, 71–91.Google Scholar
Zunzunegui, M. V., Kone, A., Johri, M., Beland, F., Wolfson, C. and Bergman, H. 2004. Social networks and self-rated health in two French-speaking Canadian community dwelling populations over 65. Social Science and Medicine, 58, 10, 2069–81.Google Scholar