Responses from 331 elderly mothers and 261 elderly fathers were compared on four indexes of filial responsibility expectations with significant gender differences being found in two of the four measures. The findings indicate that women in this cohort tend to expect more filial support than do their male counterparts. Reasons for these gender differences are explored, along with some policy implications.
Gender Differences in Expectations for Filial Responsibility1 Wayne C. Seelbach, PhD2
In the later years of life various needs and crises arise, any one of which may require major adaptive efforts on the part of the individuals and their families. The aged often experience increased social isolation, along with an increased need for assistance in personal maintenance tasks and in the activities of daily living. There is, moreover, an increase in physical, economic, social, and psychological dependencies among elderly populations (Blenkner, 1969; Bloom & Monroe, 1972; Clark, 1969; Kalish, 1969). Needs of the elderly often are fulfilled through expressions of filial responsibility. Emphasizing duty, protection, and care, filial responsibility is an attitude of personal responsibility toward the maintenance of parental well-being. In short, it refers to the obligations of adults to meet their parents' needs (Blenkner, 1965; Schorr, 1960). As friends are lost and as dependencies increase, notions of filial responsibility may become quite real to elderly parents. The family may become socially and instrumentally more important for the older individual (Shanas & Streib, 1965). Many older persons, especially those who have lost spouses, find themselves somewhat dependent upon their offspring for various forms of aid (Adams, 1970). Some, in fact, become unquestionably dependent upon their families for assistance, primarily upon adult children (Brody, 1966).
About one-third of all older Americans have to ask their children for some kind of help at one time or another (Riley & Foner, 1968). It seems also that children may often feel strong obligations toward their parents. Services involving physical care, provision of shelter, escorting, shopping, household tasks, and the like are among the types of assistances which children sometimes provide for their aged parents (Macdonald, 1964; Shanas, 1968; Sussman & Burchinal, 1962). In short, the family is a most important source of aid and support for the majority of old people today (Black, 1973). This is certainly not to say that older persons do not desire independence and autonomy. Such "virtues" are, however, sometimes difficult to achieve, particularly under conditions of economic and medical crises often characteristic of later life (Streib, 1972). Neugarten (1975) has recently concluded that most old people want to be independent of their families as much as possible but that, when they no longer can manage for themselves, they generally expect their children to come to their aid.
'Revised version of a paper presented at the annual meeting of the Southwestern Sociological Assn., Dallas 1977. 'Assistant Professor of Sociology, Lamar Univ., Beaumont, TX 77710.
Vol. 17, No. 5,1977
421
The Research Problem and Hypotheses
The problem with which this research is concerned is to ascertain whether elderly women and men differ in their expectations for filial responsibility. The study focuses upon beliefs of aged parents concerning offsprings' obligations to parents. For present purposes, only adult chilclrens' obligations were considered.
Previous literature on sex roles provides a basis for expecting some gender differences in many facets of social life. Much attention has been particularly focused upon attitudinal and behavioral manifestations of sex roles among children and youth. However, comparatively little effort has been made to examine the manifestations of gender related role differentiations among older adults. Certain aspects of sex roles, which have been learned and internalized in earlier years, may have some long-term effects which become important, especially during the last stages of the family life cycle. One illustration may be seen in elderly parents' filial responsibility expectancies. Females' traditional socialization into affective, nuturant-supportive, dependent, and "maternal" types of roles might lead them to expect more in the way of filial support than might be the case for their male counterparts, who typically have had somewhat different socialization experiences which emphasized independence and autonomy (Booth, 1972; Chafetz, 1974; D'Andre, 1966). The effects of earlier socialization do seem to exhibit some continuity into adulthood (Kagan, 1969; Mussen, 1969). In a two-generation sample of college students and their parents, Wake and Sporakowski (1972) found that willingness to support aged parents varied independently of gender, although males did perceive slightly greater responsibility than females. In contrast, however, other studies suggest that feelings of filial responsibility are more characteristic of women (Gray & Smith 1960; Townsend, 1968). Based on these conceptualizations and empirical findings, the following research hypothesis was formulated: Elderly women have higher filial responsibility expectancies than do their male counterparts. The reputed strength of the mother-child over the fatherchild bond lends further support to the hypothesis. The Sample The data presented and analyzed here come from the larger Aged Services Project (ASP) directed by the late Donald P. Kent of The Pennsylvania State University, under the sponsorship of the Pennsylvania Department of Public Welfare and funded by the United States' Administration on Aging (Kent & Hirsch, 1972). The ASP was a general inquiry into the conditions of urban, low-income, 422
minority group elderly, with emphasis upon delineation of the major needs of this population and measurement of the degree and manner in which social and health services were provided. The study population was drawn from areas of low socioeconomic status in the city of Philadelphia. Data were collected from interviews with 1,022 elderly individuals aged 65 or older, approximately three-fourths of whom were black. Since the present inquiry emphasized filial responsibility, only those 595 respondents having at least one living child at the time of the interview were utilized. Of these, 55.6% (N = 331) were women and 44.4% (N = 264) were men; mean age was 71.9 years. It must be emphasized that the unique nature of this sample restricts the generalizability of the findings. The respondents were urban, low-income, and predominately black. Thus, for example, one could not infer that the same findings would emerge from a study of rural, middle-class whites. Operational Definitions Four single-item indexes were employed to define and measure filial responsibility expectancies. For Items 1-3, a response of "children" was taken to indicate high expectations; and, a "yes" response to Item 4 indicated high expectations. The four index items areas follows: (1) When people reach old age and are unable to care for themselves physically, where do you think they should live? (2) When people reach old age and do not wish to live by themselves, where do you think they should live? (3) When old people are too old to support themselves, who do you think should support them financially? (4) Do you think one important reason for having children is so that you will have someone to take care of you when you are old? Analytical Techniques Responses to each of the four filial responsibility indexes were cross-tabulated with gender in order to determine the existence and extent of gender-related variations. Chisquare and gamma were used to measure statistical significance and degree of association, respectively. Place of Residence —Physically Disabled As shown in Table 1, significant gender difThe Gerontologist
cantly more likely to select the response indicating greater filial responsibility expectations, i.e., "children."
Table 1. Places Where Physically Dependent Old People Should Live, by Gender. Women (%) Men (%) Total (%) Nursing Home Relatives Children
40.8 5.1 54.1 N = 331
54.2 3.8 42.0 N = 264
Place of Residence —Solitude Not Desired
46.7 4.5 48.8 N = 595
The data presented in Table 2 show the same pattern of gender differences as found for Index Item 1 and also support the research hypothesis. Again, female respondents were more apt than males (58.9% compared to 45.1%) to select the response indicating greater filial responsibility expectancies (X 2 = 11.374, df = 2, p = .003, C = .241). Some 47.0% of the males thought that old people who do not wish to live alone should live in "old age homes," while only 35.6% of the females shared this opinion
X 2 = 10.579,df=2,p = .005, C = -.241 Table 2. Places Where Old People Should Live When They Do Not Wish to Live Alone, by Gender. Women (%)"Men (%)" Total (%)" Old Age Home Relatives Children
35.6 5.4 58.9 N = 331
47.0 8.0 45.1 N = 264
40.7 6.6 52.8 N = 595
Financial Support
No significant gender differences were found when the respondents were queried concerning who should financially support old people in financial need. Large majorities of both sexes (76.7% of the women and 80.3% of the men) saw financial support to be the responsibility of the government rather than offspring. Thus, these data call for rejection of the stated hypotheses (X2 = 0.900, df = *\, n.s., C = -.106). Interestingly, over three-fourths of the total sample believed that financial support for the aged was the responsibility of the government rather than adult children, as shown in Table 3. This finding should be of major interest to planners and political leaders, as well as to family members.
X2 = 11.374, dr = 2, p = .003, C = -.241 "Percentages do not equal 100.0 due to rounding. Table 3. Sources That Should Support Financially Dependent Old People, by Gender. Women (%) Men (%) Total (%) The government Children
76.7 23.3
80.3 19.7
N = 331
N = 264
78.3 21.7 N = 595
X2 = 0.900, di = 1, n.s., C = -.106 Table 4. Responses to the Question of Whether an Important Reason for Having Children Is to Insure One's Support and Care in Old Age, by Gender. Women (%) Men(%) Total (%) Agree Disagree
34.7 65.3 N = 331
34.8 65.2 N = 264
Reason for Having Children
34.8 65.2 N = 595
X2 = 0.004, df = 1, n.s., C = .002
ferences were found in responses to the first filial responsibility index item. The elderly women were more likely than the men (54.1% compared to 42.0%) to think that old people who are physically unable to care for themselves should live with their children (X 2 = 10.579, df = 2, p = .005, C = .241). Conversely, the male respondents were more prone to select nursing homes over children as places where physically dependent old people should live (54.2% versus only 40.8%). Thus, on this item, the hypothesis is supported, since aged women were signifiVol. 17, No. 5,1977
On the general item which asked whether an important reason for having children is to insure one's support and care in old age, no significant gender differences were found. Thus, the research hypothesis was not supported (X2 = 0.004, df=-\f n.s., C = .002). These data are presented in Table 4, where it can be seen that a similiarly large majority of both sexes (65%) rejected filial responsibility as a prime motivation for having children. Summary
Significant gender differences were found in two of the four single-item filial responsibility measures. Specifically, females were more likely than males to think that old people who do not wish to live alone should live with their children. Similarily, the aged
423
women were more apt than their male counterparts to believe that old people who are physically unable to care for themselves should live with their children. However, no significant gender differences were found in either expectations for financial aid or in opinions concerning children's roles as potential caretakers. Thus, two of the four index items supported the stated research hypothesis. While not overwhelming, these findings provide some limited empirical support for the notion that contemporary aged women have greater filial responsibility expectancies than do elderly men. This tendency might be due to this female cohort's traditional socialization into affective, passive, and dependent types of sex roles. Conversely, this cohort of males might be anticipated to have lower filial responsibility expectancies because of their socialization into traditional roles of instrumentality, independence, and autonomy. An equally plausible alternative is that individual familial patterns throughout life are of greater influence than sex-role socialization experiences perse. Yet another possible explanation for the observed gender differences might be that the aged mothers, who have traditionally invested and spent much of their lives in roles of nuturance and support of their children, come to expect their offspring to repay in kind when old age takes its toll. Elderly fathers, whose traditional roles are more instrumental vis-a-vis their spouses, may have less "reason" to expect aid and support from their children during old age. Moreover, elderly men might expect to "go it alone" when faced with the needs and dependencies associated with advanced age, while elderly females may be more prone to expect assistance from their offspring. This is suggested even though one recent study found that aged women more often than men turn outside the family for social and emotional support (Powers & Bultena, 1976). A key question which future studies could explore is whether these gender differences reflect age-changes or if they are better explained in terms of cohort effects. Will future generations of elderly mothers and fathers be more similar in their expectations of offspring as a result of today's awareness of sexism and the movement toward more adrogynous socialization experiences? And if so, will the males' expectations increase, or will the 424
females come to expect less? And particularly in light of the present finding concerning financial support, there is yet another policy question raised by the cohort concept. Will future cohorts of elderly expect more of government and less of families, thus increasing the demand and costs for governmental programs? The presence of sex-linked differences in filial responsibility expectations could lead to differential consequences in terms of their fulfillment. For example, gender-related differences may exist in terms of the degree to which elderly parents' filial responsibility expectations are actually realized (this, of course, is dependent upon the actual extent of offspring's filial behaviors). If, as the present findings suggest, aged women have significantly higher expectations than their male counterparts, a likely hypothesis would be that the females' expectancies would more often go unfulfilled. Conversely, the males who seem to expect less in the way of filial responsibility would run less chance of having their expectations unmet. Hawkinson (1965) found that elderly parents often held unfulfilled wishes for more sustained intimate relationships with their adult children but he did not analyze gender differences. With the increases in life expectancy and increasingly large numbers of older adults, filial responsibility has become a reality for more and more individuals and families. Thus, family counselors and other interventionist can anticipate more problems in this area. Parents may feel disappointed and neglected if filial responsible behaviors are not consistent with their expectations. Their offspring may have guilt feelings should they experience difficulty or inability in discharging the full traditional responsibilities of sons and daughters toward aged parents. Or, the adult offspring may resent the demands which parents make upon them, thereby producing individual as well as family discontent. With factual data on the nature and sources of gender differences, interventionists hopefully can deal more effectively with these problems. References
Adams, B. N. Isolation, function, and beyond: American kinship in the 1%0's. journal of Marriage & the Family, 1970,32,575-597. Black, D. The older person and the family. In R. Davis (Ed.), Aging: prospects and issues. Cerontol. Or., USC, Los Angeles, 1973.
The Gerontologist
Blenkner, M. Social work and family relationships in later Negro and white aged, Vol. I & II. Pennsylvania State, life with some thoughts on filial maturity. In E. Shanas University Park, 1972. & G. Streib (Eds.), Social structure and family: Genera-Macdonald, R. Intergenerational family helping patterns. tional relations. Prentice-Hall, Englewood Cliffs, 1965. Doctoral dissertation, Univ. Minnesota, 1964. Blenkner, M. The normal dependencies of aging. In R. Mussen, P. H. Early sex-role development. In D. A. Coslin Kalish (Ed.), The dependencies of old people. Instit. of (Ed.), Handbook of socialization theory and research. Cerontol. Univ. Michigan-Wayne State, Ann Arbor, Rand McNally, Chicago, 1969. 1969. Neugarten, B. The future and the young-old. GerontoloBloom, M., & Monroe, A. Social work and the aging gist, 1975, 15, 4-9. family. Family Coordinator, 1972,27, 103-115. Powers, E., & Bultena, C. Sex differences in intimate friendships of old age. Journal of Marriage & the Family, Booth, A. Sex and social participation. American Socio1976,38,739-747. logical Review, 1972,37, 183-192. Riley, M., & Foner, A. Aging and society, Vol. I. Russell Brody, E. M. The aging family. Gerontologist, 1966, 6, Sage Foundation, New York, 1968. 201-206. Schorr, A. L. Filial responsibility in the modern American Chafetz, J. Masculine/feminine or human? Peacock, family. HEW, Social Security Admin., Div. of Program Itasca, IL, 1974. Research, Washington, 1960. Clark, M. Cultural values and dependency in later life. In R. Kalish (Ed.), The dependencies of older people. Shanas, E. The family and social class. In E. Shanas, P. Townsend, D. Wedderburn, H. Friis, P. Milhoj, & J. Instit. of Cerontol., Univ. Michigan-Wayne State, Ann Stehouwer, Old people in three industrial societies. Arbor, 1969. Atherton Press, New York, 1968. D'Andre, R. Six differences and cultural institutions. In E. Maccoby (Ed.), The development of sex differences Shanas, E., & Streib, C. (Eds.) Social structure and the Stanford Univ. Press, Palo Alto, 1966. family: Generational relations, Prentice-Hall, EngleCray, R., & Smith, T. Effect of employment on sex differwood Cliffs, 1965. ences in attitudes toward the parental family. Streib, G. Older families and their troubles: Familial and Marriage & Family Living, 1960,22, 36-38. social responses. Family Coordinator, 1972,27, 5-19. Sussman, M. B., & Burchinal, L. G. Kin family network: Hawkinson, W.P. Wish, expectancy, and practice in the Unheralded structure in current conceptualizations of interaction of generations. In A. Rose & W. Peterson family functioning. Marriage & Family Living, 1962, 24, (Eds.), Older people and their social worlds. F.A. 231-240. Davis, Philadelphia, 1965. Kagan, J. The three faces of continuity in human develop- Townsend, P. The structure of the family. In E. Shanas et al. (Eds.), Old people in three industrial societies. ment. In D. A. Coslin (Ed.), Handbook of socialization Atherton Press, New York, 1968. theory and research. Rand McNally, Chicago, 1969. Kalish, R. A. The dependencies of older people. Inst. Wake, S., & Sporakowski, M. J. Intergenerational comCerontol. Univ. Michigan-Wayne State, Ann Arbor, parison of attitudes toward supporting aged parents. 1969. journal of Marriage & the Family, 1972,34, 42-48. Kent, D. P., & Hirsch, C. Needs and use of services among
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Vol. 17, No. 5,1977
425
Gender Differences in Expectations for Filial Responsibility1 Wayne C. Seelbach, PhD2
In the later years of life various needs and crises arise, any one of which may require major adaptive efforts on the part of the individuals and their families. The aged often experience increased social isolation, along with an increased need for assistance in personal maintenance tasks and in the activities of daily living. There is, moreover, an increase in physical, economic, social, and psychological dependencies among elderly populations (Blenkner, 1969; Bloom & Monroe, 1972; Clark, 1969; Kalish, 1969). Needs of the elderly often are fulfilled through expressions of filial responsibility. Emphasizing duty, protection, and care, filial responsibility is an attitude of personal responsibility toward the maintenance of parental well-being. In short, it refers to the obligations of adults to meet their parents' needs (Blenkner, 1965; Schorr, 1960). As friends are lost and as dependencies increase, notions of filial responsibility may become quite real to elderly parents. The family may become socially and instrumentally more important for the older individual (Shanas & Streib, 1965). Many older persons, especially those who have lost spouses, find themselves somewhat dependent upon their offspring for various forms of aid (Adams, 1970). Some, in fact, become unquestionably dependent upon their families for assistance, primarily upon adult children (Brody, 1966).
About one-third of all older Americans have to ask their children for some kind of help at one time or another (Riley & Foner, 1968). It seems also that children may often feel strong obligations toward their parents. Services involving physical care, provision of shelter, escorting, shopping, household tasks, and the like are among the types of assistances which children sometimes provide for their aged parents (Macdonald, 1964; Shanas, 1968; Sussman & Burchinal, 1962). In short, the family is a most important source of aid and support for the majority of old people today (Black, 1973). This is certainly not to say that older persons do not desire independence and autonomy. Such "virtues" are, however, sometimes difficult to achieve, particularly under conditions of economic and medical crises often characteristic of later life (Streib, 1972). Neugarten (1975) has recently concluded that most old people want to be independent of their families as much as possible but that, when they no longer can manage for themselves, they generally expect their children to come to their aid.
'Revised version of a paper presented at the annual meeting of the Southwestern Sociological Assn., Dallas 1977. 'Assistant Professor of Sociology, Lamar Univ., Beaumont, TX 77710.
Vol. 17, No. 5,1977
421
The Research Problem and Hypotheses
The problem with which this research is concerned is to ascertain whether elderly women and men differ in their expectations for filial responsibility. The study focuses upon beliefs of aged parents concerning offsprings' obligations to parents. For present purposes, only adult chilclrens' obligations were considered.
Previous literature on sex roles provides a basis for expecting some gender differences in many facets of social life. Much attention has been particularly focused upon attitudinal and behavioral manifestations of sex roles among children and youth. However, comparatively little effort has been made to examine the manifestations of gender related role differentiations among older adults. Certain aspects of sex roles, which have been learned and internalized in earlier years, may have some long-term effects which become important, especially during the last stages of the family life cycle. One illustration may be seen in elderly parents' filial responsibility expectancies. Females' traditional socialization into affective, nuturant-supportive, dependent, and "maternal" types of roles might lead them to expect more in the way of filial support than might be the case for their male counterparts, who typically have had somewhat different socialization experiences which emphasized independence and autonomy (Booth, 1972; Chafetz, 1974; D'Andre, 1966). The effects of earlier socialization do seem to exhibit some continuity into adulthood (Kagan, 1969; Mussen, 1969). In a two-generation sample of college students and their parents, Wake and Sporakowski (1972) found that willingness to support aged parents varied independently of gender, although males did perceive slightly greater responsibility than females. In contrast, however, other studies suggest that feelings of filial responsibility are more characteristic of women (Gray & Smith 1960; Townsend, 1968). Based on these conceptualizations and empirical findings, the following research hypothesis was formulated: Elderly women have higher filial responsibility expectancies than do their male counterparts. The reputed strength of the mother-child over the fatherchild bond lends further support to the hypothesis. The Sample The data presented and analyzed here come from the larger Aged Services Project (ASP) directed by the late Donald P. Kent of The Pennsylvania State University, under the sponsorship of the Pennsylvania Department of Public Welfare and funded by the United States' Administration on Aging (Kent & Hirsch, 1972). The ASP was a general inquiry into the conditions of urban, low-income, 422
minority group elderly, with emphasis upon delineation of the major needs of this population and measurement of the degree and manner in which social and health services were provided. The study population was drawn from areas of low socioeconomic status in the city of Philadelphia. Data were collected from interviews with 1,022 elderly individuals aged 65 or older, approximately three-fourths of whom were black. Since the present inquiry emphasized filial responsibility, only those 595 respondents having at least one living child at the time of the interview were utilized. Of these, 55.6% (N = 331) were women and 44.4% (N = 264) were men; mean age was 71.9 years. It must be emphasized that the unique nature of this sample restricts the generalizability of the findings. The respondents were urban, low-income, and predominately black. Thus, for example, one could not infer that the same findings would emerge from a study of rural, middle-class whites. Operational Definitions Four single-item indexes were employed to define and measure filial responsibility expectancies. For Items 1-3, a response of "children" was taken to indicate high expectations; and, a "yes" response to Item 4 indicated high expectations. The four index items areas follows: (1) When people reach old age and are unable to care for themselves physically, where do you think they should live? (2) When people reach old age and do not wish to live by themselves, where do you think they should live? (3) When old people are too old to support themselves, who do you think should support them financially? (4) Do you think one important reason for having children is so that you will have someone to take care of you when you are old? Analytical Techniques Responses to each of the four filial responsibility indexes were cross-tabulated with gender in order to determine the existence and extent of gender-related variations. Chisquare and gamma were used to measure statistical significance and degree of association, respectively. Place of Residence —Physically Disabled As shown in Table 1, significant gender difThe Gerontologist
cantly more likely to select the response indicating greater filial responsibility expectations, i.e., "children."
Table 1. Places Where Physically Dependent Old People Should Live, by Gender. Women (%) Men (%) Total (%) Nursing Home Relatives Children
40.8 5.1 54.1 N = 331
54.2 3.8 42.0 N = 264
Place of Residence —Solitude Not Desired
46.7 4.5 48.8 N = 595
The data presented in Table 2 show the same pattern of gender differences as found for Index Item 1 and also support the research hypothesis. Again, female respondents were more apt than males (58.9% compared to 45.1%) to select the response indicating greater filial responsibility expectancies (X 2 = 11.374, df = 2, p = .003, C = .241). Some 47.0% of the males thought that old people who do not wish to live alone should live in "old age homes," while only 35.6% of the females shared this opinion
X 2 = 10.579,df=2,p = .005, C = -.241 Table 2. Places Where Old People Should Live When They Do Not Wish to Live Alone, by Gender. Women (%)"Men (%)" Total (%)" Old Age Home Relatives Children
35.6 5.4 58.9 N = 331
47.0 8.0 45.1 N = 264
40.7 6.6 52.8 N = 595
Financial Support
No significant gender differences were found when the respondents were queried concerning who should financially support old people in financial need. Large majorities of both sexes (76.7% of the women and 80.3% of the men) saw financial support to be the responsibility of the government rather than offspring. Thus, these data call for rejection of the stated hypotheses (X2 = 0.900, df = *\, n.s., C = -.106). Interestingly, over three-fourths of the total sample believed that financial support for the aged was the responsibility of the government rather than adult children, as shown in Table 3. This finding should be of major interest to planners and political leaders, as well as to family members.
X2 = 11.374, dr = 2, p = .003, C = -.241 "Percentages do not equal 100.0 due to rounding. Table 3. Sources That Should Support Financially Dependent Old People, by Gender. Women (%) Men (%) Total (%) The government Children
76.7 23.3
80.3 19.7
N = 331
N = 264
78.3 21.7 N = 595
X2 = 0.900, di = 1, n.s., C = -.106 Table 4. Responses to the Question of Whether an Important Reason for Having Children Is to Insure One's Support and Care in Old Age, by Gender. Women (%) Men(%) Total (%) Agree Disagree
34.7 65.3 N = 331
34.8 65.2 N = 264
Reason for Having Children
34.8 65.2 N = 595
X2 = 0.004, df = 1, n.s., C = .002
ferences were found in responses to the first filial responsibility index item. The elderly women were more likely than the men (54.1% compared to 42.0%) to think that old people who are physically unable to care for themselves should live with their children (X 2 = 10.579, df = 2, p = .005, C = .241). Conversely, the male respondents were more prone to select nursing homes over children as places where physically dependent old people should live (54.2% versus only 40.8%). Thus, on this item, the hypothesis is supported, since aged women were signifiVol. 17, No. 5,1977
On the general item which asked whether an important reason for having children is to insure one's support and care in old age, no significant gender differences were found. Thus, the research hypothesis was not supported (X2 = 0.004, df=-\f n.s., C = .002). These data are presented in Table 4, where it can be seen that a similiarly large majority of both sexes (65%) rejected filial responsibility as a prime motivation for having children. Summary
Significant gender differences were found in two of the four single-item filial responsibility measures. Specifically, females were more likely than males to think that old people who do not wish to live alone should live with their children. Similarily, the aged
423
women were more apt than their male counterparts to believe that old people who are physically unable to care for themselves should live with their children. However, no significant gender differences were found in either expectations for financial aid or in opinions concerning children's roles as potential caretakers. Thus, two of the four index items supported the stated research hypothesis. While not overwhelming, these findings provide some limited empirical support for the notion that contemporary aged women have greater filial responsibility expectancies than do elderly men. This tendency might be due to this female cohort's traditional socialization into affective, passive, and dependent types of sex roles. Conversely, this cohort of males might be anticipated to have lower filial responsibility expectancies because of their socialization into traditional roles of instrumentality, independence, and autonomy. An equally plausible alternative is that individual familial patterns throughout life are of greater influence than sex-role socialization experiences perse. Yet another possible explanation for the observed gender differences might be that the aged mothers, who have traditionally invested and spent much of their lives in roles of nuturance and support of their children, come to expect their offspring to repay in kind when old age takes its toll. Elderly fathers, whose traditional roles are more instrumental vis-a-vis their spouses, may have less "reason" to expect aid and support from their children during old age. Moreover, elderly men might expect to "go it alone" when faced with the needs and dependencies associated with advanced age, while elderly females may be more prone to expect assistance from their offspring. This is suggested even though one recent study found that aged women more often than men turn outside the family for social and emotional support (Powers & Bultena, 1976). A key question which future studies could explore is whether these gender differences reflect age-changes or if they are better explained in terms of cohort effects. Will future generations of elderly mothers and fathers be more similar in their expectations of offspring as a result of today's awareness of sexism and the movement toward more adrogynous socialization experiences? And if so, will the males' expectations increase, or will the 424
females come to expect less? And particularly in light of the present finding concerning financial support, there is yet another policy question raised by the cohort concept. Will future cohorts of elderly expect more of government and less of families, thus increasing the demand and costs for governmental programs? The presence of sex-linked differences in filial responsibility expectations could lead to differential consequences in terms of their fulfillment. For example, gender-related differences may exist in terms of the degree to which elderly parents' filial responsibility expectations are actually realized (this, of course, is dependent upon the actual extent of offspring's filial behaviors). If, as the present findings suggest, aged women have significantly higher expectations than their male counterparts, a likely hypothesis would be that the females' expectancies would more often go unfulfilled. Conversely, the males who seem to expect less in the way of filial responsibility would run less chance of having their expectations unmet. Hawkinson (1965) found that elderly parents often held unfulfilled wishes for more sustained intimate relationships with their adult children but he did not analyze gender differences. With the increases in life expectancy and increasingly large numbers of older adults, filial responsibility has become a reality for more and more individuals and families. Thus, family counselors and other interventionist can anticipate more problems in this area. Parents may feel disappointed and neglected if filial responsible behaviors are not consistent with their expectations. Their offspring may have guilt feelings should they experience difficulty or inability in discharging the full traditional responsibilities of sons and daughters toward aged parents. Or, the adult offspring may resent the demands which parents make upon them, thereby producing individual as well as family discontent. With factual data on the nature and sources of gender differences, interventionists hopefully can deal more effectively with these problems. References
Adams, B. N. Isolation, function, and beyond: American kinship in the 1%0's. journal of Marriage & the Family, 1970,32,575-597. Black, D. The older person and the family. In R. Davis (Ed.), Aging: prospects and issues. Cerontol. Or., USC, Los Angeles, 1973.
The Gerontologist
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