THE « PROBLEM » OF INTERGENERATIONAL RELATIONSHIPS :

POLITICAL RHETORICS AND SOCIAL INTERVENTIONS

Cornelia Hummel

Marie Débois

Léonor Després

Nora Meister

Liliia Isambaeva

Alexandre Pillonel

Department of sociology, University of Geneva

Intergenerational relationships outside the family : a social problem ?

Analysis in two fields: political discourse and social work

Remi Lenoir (1999)

1. Increase of visibility of one social category

2. Constitution of a discourse about this category

3. Legitimation

4. Institutionnalization

Research questions:

• Which aspects of intergenerational relationships ?

• Which definitions of the term “generation” (./. the scientific

literature: genealogical generation, socio-historic generation -

Mannheim, welfare state generation - Attias-Donfut, generation

as age group or age strata - Riley) ?

• How is the “intergenerational problem” presented as a fact ?

• Which preventive or palliative solutions are proposed to restore

or maintain the ties between generations ? Who are the actors of

this prevention or restoration?

Method:

Qualitative analysis (Atlas.ti) on a corpus including:

a) Political reports produced by the Swiss Federal Council (5)

b) Intergenerationnal projects (37, in the french speaking part of

Switzerland, between 1990 and 2000).

Results: a) Political reports

- A changing society (demographic transformations, changes in

the family, unemployment, etc.).

direct or indirect impact on intergenerational relationships.

Regulation: sustainability of social tranfers, social participation

break-up with policies based on age, « society for all ages ».

- Generation = position in the life course (childhood, adulthood,

old age) associated with roles (education, work, pension).

Distinction between actives and unactives.

Results: a) Political reports

- Intergenerational relationships = a challenge. How can

intergenerational solidarity and equity be redefined in a

changing society ?

Regulation on national and local level

Results: b) Intergenerational projects

- Holders: childhood institutions, old age institutions, social

affairs services. Professionnals.

- Participants: children and elderly; Mr and Mrs Everybody

- Activities: leisure, « being together » (e.g meals). Ordinary

activities, the age of the participants makes it

« intergenerational ».

Results: b) Intergenerational projects

- Living together: sharing an apartment, intergenerational

housing (éco-quartiers, « eco neighborhood »).

! In the « éco-quartiers » projects, different definition of

« intergenerational » all generations, all ages (not only

children and elderly). Ecological and social sustainability.

Results: b) Intergenerational projects

- Arguments: population ageing, increasing longevity; age

segregation; time-capital of seniors, intergenerational

transmission.

No mention of intergenerational conflict: preference given to

positive values (participation, solidarity, social bonds).

Results: b) Intergenerational projects

In the projects, the argument chain jumps from population

ageing to the need of action at the local level. The negative

impact of the demographic transformations on

intergenerational relationships is taken for granted.

Population ageing problems at the global level (risk of

generation gap) = problems at the local level (loss of

intergenerational ties) need for action at the local level.

Discussion:

• Stages of Lenoir:

a) Political reports = stage 2 (constitution of discourse)

b) Intergenerational projects = stage 4 (institutionalization).

Examples:

- Federal Social Insurance Office, one domain renamed

« Families, Generations and Society ».

- Education, in the field of social work: courses on

« intergeneration ».

Discussion:

• The same term for two different meanings:

- Political reports: Intergenerational relations (symbolic), e.g. Generational contract

- Projects: intergenerational relationships (concrete) between different different age groups.

! In french, same term (= « relations intergénérationnelles »).

Discussion:

• Intergenerational projects: shift from the symbolic to the concrete (relations relationships), from the global to the local, from the macro level to the micro level.

Thank you !