Intergenerational relations of second-generation immigrants in Switzerland

Author(s) : Pirmin Pfammatter

Source : https://edoc.unibas.ch/95957/

Abstract:

Intergenerational relations have come to belong to the most important relations in the 21st century. Our Western societies have seen unprecedented immigration, with a considerable number of immigrants already belonging to the second generation. Contrary to their parents, who were socialized into one culture, the second-generation naturally gets acculturated into two cultures (i.e., the parent’s and the host country’s culture). This has important implications for the intergenerational relations of immigrants and their well-being. However, there are only few European studies investigating the role of acculturation in intergenerational relations and well-being in ethnically diverse samples of adult second-generation immigrants.
This dissertation had three goals: (1) to investigate feelings of indebtedness toward the parents, a new concept called sense of indebtedness toward the parents (SIP) in association to the established concepts of filial obligations and support exchange in intergenerational research. (2) to understand the role of acculturation for the consensus on filial obligations and its relevance for relationship quality and support exchange with parents. And (3) to shed light on the association of acculturation with well-being.