Intergenerational Support Psychological and Cultural Analyses of Korean and German Women

In this study, adult daughters from an East Asian culture (South Korea: N = 398) and a western culture (Germany: N = 313) were compared with respect to the extent and the direction of intergenerational support, the associations between value orientations, relationship quality and intergenerational support, and with respect to the meaning of perceived reciprocity within these processes. Results showed a more extensive exchange of support in the Korean as compared to the German sample and very similar associations between values and relationship quality with support to parents in both cultures. However, in the German sample a negative association between adult daughters’ perception of giving more than receiving and the quality of the relationship was indicated. The results are discussed in light of the Confucian concept of filial piety and the western theoretical model of intergenerational solidarity. keywords: Germany ✦ intergenerational support ✦ South Korea Most industrialized countries are facing dramatic demographic changes, one of which is increasing life expectancy. At present, the average life expectancy in Korea is 79.3 years for women and 71.8 years for men. In Germany, the average life expectancies are slightly higher: 81.2 years for women and 75.2 years for men (United Nations Population Division, 2004). The increased life expectancy affects the family structure and dynamics since the length of the lifetime that parents and their children share has never before been so long (Lauterbach, 1995; Uhlenberg, 1995). These changes have brought the adult parent–child relationship into the focus of research in recent years. Support exchange is a central issue in intergenerational relationships. Irrespective of the existence of a social security system, the exchange of