Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- List of figures and tables
- Notes on the editors
- List of contributors
- Acknowledgements
- Series editors’ preface
- Map of India
- 1 Introduction: Living arrangements and care in India
- 2 Theorising care and relationships in the age of migration
- 3 Emerging living arrangements of older adults in India: patterns and welfare implications
- 4 Living arrangement concordance and the well-being of older persons in India
- 5 Family size and living arrangements among older adults in Kerala: panel data analysis, 2004– 19
- 6 Care arrangements for older adults: exploring the intergenerational contract in emigrant households of Goa, India
- 7 All my responsibilities towards my children are over! Linked lives and life course obligations among older adults with migrant children in India
- 8 Interpreting the landscapes of care for older men in Delhi and Kolkata: perspectives from care receivers and caregivers
- 9 The role of cultural meaning system and place attachment in retaining home ownership while residing in retirement homes in Kerala, India
- 10 Decision-making and choice or sine qua non? Care home entry in Tamil Nadu
- 11 Welfare and development programmes for older adults in India
- 12 Lessons and future directions for caregiving research in India
- Index
7 - All my responsibilities towards my children are over! Linked lives and life course obligations among older adults with migrant children in India
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 13 October 2022
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- List of figures and tables
- Notes on the editors
- List of contributors
- Acknowledgements
- Series editors’ preface
- Map of India
- 1 Introduction: Living arrangements and care in India
- 2 Theorising care and relationships in the age of migration
- 3 Emerging living arrangements of older adults in India: patterns and welfare implications
- 4 Living arrangement concordance and the well-being of older persons in India
- 5 Family size and living arrangements among older adults in Kerala: panel data analysis, 2004– 19
- 6 Care arrangements for older adults: exploring the intergenerational contract in emigrant households of Goa, India
- 7 All my responsibilities towards my children are over! Linked lives and life course obligations among older adults with migrant children in India
- 8 Interpreting the landscapes of care for older men in Delhi and Kolkata: perspectives from care receivers and caregivers
- 9 The role of cultural meaning system and place attachment in retaining home ownership while residing in retirement homes in Kerala, India
- 10 Decision-making and choice or sine qua non? Care home entry in Tamil Nadu
- 11 Welfare and development programmes for older adults in India
- 12 Lessons and future directions for caregiving research in India
- Index
Summary
Introduction
This chapter investigates how life course obligations, expectations and practices are linked to older adults’ sense of well-being. Linked lives, which is one of core dimensions of the life course approach, recognises that life trajectories of individuals are socially embedded and closely linked to the transitions of the significant others (Elder, 1975, 1985; Dannefer, 2003; Moen and Hernandez, 2009). The studies that have examined linked lives in the context of migration (Bailey et al, 2004; Cooke, 2008) tend to focus on western countries or on internal migration (Mulder and Hooimeijer, 1999; Thomas et al, 2017). However there are some new studies emerging on international migration (Kou et al, 2015, 2017; Statham, 2020). Some strands of work in Asia focus on transnational families (Yeoh et al, 2005), aging in diasporas (Lamb, 2002, 2009; Fluit et al, 2019) and marriage migration (Charsley, 2005; Gallo, 2006; Shaw and Charsley, 2006; Gardner, 2009; Le Bail, 2017). In non-Western multi-generational co-residential families the determinants of well-being need to be evaluated in relation to the reciprocity and support exchanged between older adults and other family members (Ugargol and Bailey, 2020). In our study the concept of linked lives is translocal and broadened to include older adults in migrant households, their adult children (co-residing or migrant children), grandchildren, caregivers and non-kin social networks. The focus in this chapter is on how the broader well-being of the older adult is linked to the life course obligations of older adults towards their families. This chapter also discusses how we can better contextualise life course decisions and trajectories in non-Western settings.
Living arrangements, migration and care
The population aged 60 years and older in India constitutes over 7 per cent of the total population (1.21 billion) and is projected to triple in the next four decades, from 92 million to 316 million (James, 2011). In the past, the family has been the major source of support in later life. However, increased mobility may challenge the continued reliance on family in the future. Jamuna (2000) finds that in the Indian ethos elder care was generally seen as a duty of the adult children, which meant the primary caregiver was usually the daughter-in-law.
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- Care for Older Adults in IndiaLiving Arrangements and Quality of Life, pp. 118 - 139Publisher: Bristol University PressPrint publication year: 2022