Families and Intergenerational Relationships in an Era of Intergenerational Ambivalence

is paper argues that a ʻfamily strategyʼ perspective is of theoretical import in order to better analyze contemporary intergenerational relationships.A family strategy perspective began to be used in studies of family history and is now widely applied in various areas of contemporary family studies.Due to social structural changes in the past few decades such as changing age structures and changing family norms, todayʼs intergenerational relationships are more likely to be characterized by ʻintergenerational ambivalenceʼ: the existence of contradictory expectations between generations.A family strategy perspective can describe and interpret how ʻintergenerational ambivalenceʼ is experienced by different actors and managed by them in everyday practice.e author argues that there are two different approaches to pursue studies on intergenerational ambivalence: the rational choice approach and the symbolic interactionist approach.is paper shows how intergenerational proximity can be examined effectively from a family strategy perspective.