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Proximity of Older Women to Their Children

A Comparison of Britain and Italy

^a Age Concern Institute of Gerontology (ACIOG), King's College London

Correspondence: Karen Glaser, ACIOG, King's College London, Waterloo Bridge Wing, Franklin-Wilkins Building, Waterloo Road, London SE1 8WA, UK. E-mail: karen.glaser{at}kcl.ac.uk.

Vernon L. Greene, PhD

This research examined differences between Britain and Italy in the proximity of older women (aged 60–74) to their children. We hypothesized that in Britain proximity is more likely to result from the needs of the older generation, whereas in Italy it is more likely to reflect a cultural preference. Employing data from the British Retirement Survey follow-up in 1994, and the 1995 Italian Indagine Multiscopo sulle Famiglie, we applied multinomial logit models to examine the correlates of proximity. Our findings showed that, in Britain, mothers' health had a greater impact on proximity than in Italy, suggesting that the needs of the older generation in Britain were important for determining proximity. An additional analysis showed that children's characteristics were also important in determining proximity in Italy, mainly because of delayed adult transitions. This supports the hypothesis that intergenerational proximity in Italy is more likely to be a response to the needs of children than of parents.

Key Words: Coresidence • Distance • Elderly women • Intergenerational relations

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