Legacy beliefs across generations: Comparing views of older parents and their adult children
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Date
2019
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
SAGE
Abstract
This mixed-methods study examined legacy beliefs (i.e., anticipated remembrances
and linkages to the self after death) as understood in 14 older parent and adult child
pairs. This work validates and expands on a 2005 typology of legacy beliefs from
gerontologists, Elizabeth Hunter and Graham Rowles. A structured interview was
administered separately to parents and children, coded for legacy examples (i.e.,
those unique to the parent, overlapping, unique to the child), and analyzed with
respect to expectations of similarity reported by each participant. Most predicted
moderate to high overlap in mutual understanding of parent legacy. This was not the
case, as there were far more unique legacy examples given than shared. Pairs agreed
least with respect to material legacies, with half showing no agreement. All reported
finding the structured discussion of legacy to be beneficial, with some indicating an
intention to continue these discussions further. This work may constitute a new
approach to intervention.
Description
Keywords
Legacy beliefs, End of life, Family, Generational, Reminiscence
Citation
Meuser, T. M. et al. (2019). Legacy beliefs across generations: Comparing views of older parents and their adult children. International Journal of Aging and Human Development, 88(2), 168–186. https://doi.org/10.1177/0091415018757212