ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on power and influence in family groups. It explores vertical connections in the family, as they are found in multi-generational linkages. A central focus of the study was intergenerational influence. All respondents were given a set of detailed questions about conversations with each of the other family members studied. The intensive extensive nature of women’s investments in family ties has not been adequately captured in social and behavioral research. One area in which this is amply illustrated is scholarly work on family power and influence. Family groundrules will have implicit judgments about what resources are to count in the division of power and influence. The number one area of family influence was health. Making sure that other family members took care of themselves vas a concern in all generational combinations, independent of gender. Women seem to have more negotiation, i.e., influence flowing up and down generational lines, in their attempts to find a common base for relating.
