"We're not speaking any more": a cross-cultural study of intergenerational cut-offs.
This study of individuals in the U.S. and Tamil Nadu, India, examines the reasons given for voluntary limitations on contact between adult children and their parents ("cut-offs"). We examine the possibly that these breeches occur as a solution to the problem of negative social relationships by looking at the different cultural contexts of the U.S. and India. We challenge Bowen's (1978) assertion that intergenerational cut-offs always occur in the vain attempt to promote differentiation and propose a system for categorizing the reasons given for cut-offs, and explore the research and practice implications of the findings. Although based on a limited sample, this paper provides an important contribution to this understudied aspect of interpersonal relationships.
Ungar
Lauren R
LR
University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA.
Mahalingam
Ramaswami
R
D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D003431:Cross-Cultural Comparison; D003466:Cultural Characteristics; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007194:India; D016901:Intergenerational Relations; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010287:Parent-Child Relations; D010290:Parents / Q000523:psychology; D012945:Social Values; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014481:United States