ABSTRACT
Parent-child relationships are a lifespan issue. Rather than ceasing when children are launched from the family, these relationships endure with often complex patterns of interaction, support, and exchange that wax and wane around key transitions in the adult years. Indeed, family issues such as intergenerational conflict, mutual assistance, and inheritance have a timeless feel to them. Several trends in contemporary society, however, have made these issues different and more complex. Changes in mortality and morbidity have resulted in more people who live longer, often with disabilities. Altered patterns of marriage and divorce have also meant that more individuals enter old age without the support of a spouse. Finally, lower rates of savings and accumulation of wealth are likely to affect the economic prospects of younger generations and cause a decline in confidence that extrafamilial institutions will help.
