Abstract
In this paper we aim to reach beyond the dyadic perspective on intergenerational contact and examine the influence of the sibling network on parent–child contact. We include aggregate sibling network characteristics as well as the adult child’s position in the network vis-à-vis siblings, and use data from the Netherlands Kinship Panel Study (2002–2004 NKPS; N = 4,601 dyads). Regarding aggregate network characteristics results show that having sisters, having stepsiblings, increasing geographical distance between siblings, and decreasing levels of network cohesion are associated with less contact per parent–child dyad. Regarding the position of the adult child vis-à-vis his or her siblings, results show that having geographically or emotionally closer siblings has a negative effect on parent–child contact. The impact of differences in emotional distance among siblings is stronger when the analyses are limited to parents in poor health. Suggestions for future research are made.
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Acknowledgements
This paper is based on data from the Netherlands Kinship Panel Study (NKPS), which was funded through the ‘Major Investments Fund’ of the Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research (NWO). Financial and institutional support for the NKPS also comes from the Netherlands Interdisciplinary Demographic Institute (NIDI), the Faculty of Social Sciences of Utrecht University, the Faculty of Social and Behavioral Sciences of the University of Amsterdam and the Faculty of Social Sciences of Tilburg University. A first draft of this paper was presented at the Master class given by Merril Silverstein and Clemens Tesch-Roemer at the international workshop ‘Diversity in late life (DLL)’, Amsterdam, 6–8 June 2005. We would like to thank Aafke Komter and the participants in the Netherlands Kinship Panel Study (NKPS) seminar for their helpful comments. During this research project, the first author was an employee of the Netherlands Interdisciplinary Demographic Institute (NIDI) in The Hague and was affiliated to the Interuniversity Centre for Social Science Theory and Methodology (ICS) at the Department of Sociology of Utrecht University.
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van Gaalen, R.I., Dykstra, P.A. & Flap, H. Intergenerational contact beyond the dyad: the role of the sibling network. Eur J Ageing 5, 19–29 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10433-008-0076-6
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10433-008-0076-6