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Centre for Policy on Ageing | |
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Decline in material family support for older people in urban Ghana, Africa
— understanding processes and causes of change | | Author(s) | Isabella Aboderin |
| Journal title | Journals of Gerontology: Series B, Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences, vol 59B, no 3, May 2004 |
| Pages | pp S128-S137 |
| Source | http://www.geron.org |
| Keywords | Family care ; Poor elderly ; Social change ; Urban areas ; Qualitative Studies ; Ghana. |
| Annotation | As in other African countries, material support for older people in Ghana has declined in recent decades, exposing increasing numbers to destitution and poverty, particularly in urban areas. The author uses a qualitative investigation of the perspectives of a three-generational respondent sample, spanning major income, ethnic and gender groups, to develop an interpretative grounded understanding of the processes underpinning this decline, specifically in Accra, Ghana's capital. The decline has been underpinned by two major shifts: a declining resource capacity of the young to provide support; and a shift in the basis of filial support toward an increasing dependence on parents' past conduct and the principle of reciprocity. Normative expectations emphasising self-reliance in old age are emerging as a result of this decline. The shifts have been caused by a more complex interaction between growing resources and changing values not captured by existing accounts. The dominant factor driving the change in support norms and patterns has been the change in families' material circumstances. (RH). |
| Accession Number | CPA-041103209 A |
| Classmark | P6:SJ: F:W6: TMH: RK: 3DP: 7MS |
Data © Centre for Policy on Ageing |
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| ...from the Ageinfo database published by Centre for Policy on Ageing. |
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