The Sandwich Generation refers to middle –aged adult children, usually between the ages of 35 and 59, who find themselves taking care of their elderly parents along with their own adolescent children, often under the same roof. Multiple generations living under one roof is a common occurrence in other countries such as South Africa and India; it is only recently that it has been re-introduced as common in the United States. Factors such as today’s economic state, home foreclosures, the declining job market, single parent households and the increase in life expectancy are a few key factors that have contributed to the rise in multi-generational households in the United States. Why have these types of living arrangements become some popular? Multi-generational households are often formed for financial reasons but in turn provide for a stronger, mutually beneficial relationship between generations.
The Development of the Sandwich Generation
One of the fastest growing groups in in the United States is known as the Sandwich Generation. The “sandwich generation” name was first heard in 1981 when social worker Dorothy Miller developed the phrase to describe middle aged adults who were caring for aged relatives, while still looking after adolescent children (Steelman, 2014). In the last century (1900-2000), the expected life span of a person residing in the United States increased from 47 to 76 years. The U.S. Census Bureau estimates that the number of Americans aged 65 or older will double by the year 2030, to more than 70 million. This increase in the elderly population has placed a strain on the government systems of Medicare for healthcare and Social Security for living expenses. High costs along with the decline in the job mark...
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The 1950’s family claims to have provided more of a family-friendly economic and social environment (Coontz, 29). All the mothers were staying home it was easier for the women to have friends and make connections. More mothers could be involved with their children’s lives. Yes, in today’s society there are mothers that are still very involved in their children’s lives but it is harder for them to be. For the majority of the families in the 21st century, “it’s really fanning out into all kinds of family structures” (Schulte). Now women are working and having more independence than they ever have which have been creating all these different structures. “Many people assume dual income families are now the predominant family structure” (Schulte). The women have now taken the role to bring in some income to help support the family as well. Now the minority have the 1950’s nuclear family. There were more jobs for the men and they could support the family so that the women did not have to
There appears to be widespread agreement that family and home life have been changing dramatically over the last 40 years or so. According to Talcott Parsons, the change in family structure is due to industrialization. The concept that had emerged is a new version of the domestic ideal that encapsulates changed expectations of family relations and housing conditions. The family life in the postwar period was highly affected. The concept of companionate marriage emerged in the post war era just to build a better life and build a future in which marriage would be the foundation of better life. Equality of sexes came into being after...
Jacobsen, L. A., Kent, M., Lee, M., & Mather, M. (2001). America's aging population. Population Bulletin, 66(1).
Family and Demographic change is a very broad yet understandable and extremely variable topic. Ever since human first landed or should I say spread out to create larger families and to reproduce in order to keep humanity survive and evolve and to create a more sustained and developed civilizations. Through civilizations and generations the population of each generation begins to increase dramatically that’s of course without the deaths of war and hunger or even human demand. In early civilizations the birth rate was reasonably high as well as the death rates, but ever since the rise of human logic and medicine, the death rates tremendously decreased although the birth rate started to increase.
The present structure of the average family in America is changing, mainly due to the growing number of mothers who now work outside the home. The current mark of dual-earner families stands at 64 percent, making it a solid majority today. This alteration of the "traditional" structure of the family is a channel for other changes that may soon occur.
The second article summarizes “the Accordion Family.” The main premise found in this article is more of acceptance. The author focuses more on accepting the idea of taking care of adult children and allowing them to stay home. The article states that the author Katharine Newman believes that high unemployment and short-term employment, staggered birth rates, longer life expectancies, and the high cost of living has changed societies views on multigenerational housing. The very definition of adulthood is changing causing a shift in acceptance.
After World War II, Americans experienced a time of rapid social change. American soldiers were discharged and returned home from the battlefields, hoping to find work and to get on with their lives. Marriage rate increased dramatically after the war. North American population experienced what is known as the “Baby boom” – an 18-year period of rapid population growth from 1946 to 1964. During this period, many children were born than in the same period before or after. During the post war years, the United States embarked on one of its greatest periods of economic expansion. Many Americans had enjoyed economic prosperity. However, the United States has changed since 1950. American society today is different from our grandparents’ generation. The rising divorce rates, population growth in the suburbs, the lives of women and mothers working outside the home marked the tremendous social changes in American society today.
The existing U.S. population is over 315 million and rising. In the year 2030, 72 million Americans will be 65 or older, a 50 percent change in age demographics since the year 2000. The change is primarily due to the aging baby boomers, who were born at the end of World War II. Americans are living longer than ever befo...
Rubin’s research shows that a lot can happen in just one generation. Much has been spoken lately of what Tom Brokaw has declared “The Greatest Generation;” those who fought in WWII. These Americans came back from the war, started families, and worked hard to achieve “The All American Dream.” But somewhere they must have missed something because this generation is the generation that produced the “pot smoking, free love hippies” who then produced the adults in Rubin’s study. What changed so much with a generation that was the epitome of hard work, discipline, and structure? Stephanie Coontz’s article, “What We Really Miss about the 1950’s” addresses that. The world between 1920-1950 is not what we think. There was a high murder rate, a substantial divorce rate, and “an older generation of neighbors or relatives who tried to tell them how to run their lives and raise their kids.” (Skolnick 33) It’s this sense that their children see the world so differently that’s so hard for working-class parents. “For it seems to say that now, along with ...
The future of healthcare will largely be affected by the changing demographics in the United States. Halaweish & Alam (2015), suggest by 2050 1 in 5 Americans will be 65 years or older, an increase from the current 1 in 9 Americans. In addition to the increase in aging adults, the oldest Americans, those 85 and older will also demonstrate a significant
As the population of the United States ages and lifespan increases, the U.S. is being faced with challenges that could either hurt the country or benefit it if plans are executed correctly. By the year 2050, more than thirty-two million Americans will be over the age eighty and the share of the 80-plus generation will have doubled to 7.4 percent. Health care and aging population has become a great deal considering the impact it is having on the U.S. The United States is heading into another century with an outstanding percentage of people within the aging population. Today’s challenges involving health care and the aging populations are the employees of health professions being a major percentage of the aging population, the drive into debt, and prevention and postponement of disease and disability.
Each family unit exhibits concepts and themes found within Bowen’s Family System Theory. In my family unit, I see the following concepts and themes from a family system theory perspective exhibited through my genogram; boundaries, levels of differentiation, family projection process, and emotional cutoff. Each of these will be expanded on further below:
The discussion of the sandwich generation was revelatory for me in that I had not fully contemplated the position of such women in our society. It is obvious now that I think about it how the ‘baby boomer’ generation is aging, putting considerable strain on the generation of adults below them. This strain can be seen in the healthcare system as medical programs are pleading with the public to invest more manpower into the
According to the Pew research center, “Adults who are part of the sandwich generation-that is, those who have a living parent age 65 or older and are either raising a child under age 18 or supporting a grown child- are pulled in...
The term “Sandwich Generation” is what some are using to describe those people who, for one reason or another, are ‘sandwiched’ between the need to provide care not only for their own children but also for at least one aging parent. There has been much debate on what classifies someone as being included in such group, and little emphasis on the hardships that accompany the transition between child and caregiver. This paper will discuss the classification that make up the “sandwich generation’ and some of the financial and emotional stress that comes with this new responsibility.