Intergenerational family relations in Luxembourg: Adult children and their ageing parents in migrant and non-migrant families

Most studies in the context of acculturation research have focused on family relations between first generation parents and their second generation children in adolescence, but less is known about immigrant families at later stages in the family life cycle. As first generation immigrants are currently approaching retirement age in many Western European countries, the question of how parent-child relations in adulthood are regulated, gains – however – particular importance. Older migrants and their adult children might be confronted with very special tasks compared to families without migration background. In general, first generation parents might need higher intergenerational support from their adult children due to a smaller social network in the host country or due to fewer sociocultural resources such as language competences. There might also be an acculturation gap between parents and their adult children regarding different identity constructions, value orientations, norms and expectations with regard to intergenerational solidarity and support. These differences in expectations and beliefs might affect relationship quality between the family members from different generations as well as their well-being.
In the present study, a cross-cultural comparison of altogether N = 120 Portuguese and Luxembourgish triads of older parents and their adult children, both living in the Grand-Duchy of Luxembourg, is envisaged. The aims of the study are, firstly to examine similarities and differences in family values, internalized norms and mutual expectations of older parents and their adult children in migrant and non-migrant families; secondly, to analyze in how far an acculturation gap respectively a generation gap might have an impact on the relationship quality between parents and their adult children; thirdly and related to this, to explore subjective well-being (SWB) of all involved family members.
Results will be discussed in the framework of an integrative model of intergenerational family relations in the light of migration and ageing. This model will be proposed as a heuristic to explain similarities and differences in adult child-parent relations in migrant and non-migrant families.