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A Multigenerational Paradigm for Gero Education,
Practice and Research

Nancy Hooyman University of Washington School of
Social Work Presented at University of
Pennsylvania, March 23, 2006
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Overview

• Infusion model of Gero-Ed Center
• Multigenerational approach to curriculum
  infusion/transformation
• Rationale for multigen approach
• Defining key terms
• Conceptual model rationale
• Implications education research

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National Center for Gero Social Work Education
(Gero-Ed)

• Infusion of gero sw competencies into foundation
  courses (BSW 1st year MSW) textbooks
• Gerontological pervasiveness sustainability
• Cross-cutting principles (e.g., life course,
  intergenerational, strengths-based)
• Intersections with other substantive areas

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UW Institute for Multigen Health, Development and
Equality

• One model for curriculum infusion and
  transformation
• Goal to promote health, development equality
  across multiple generations through
  cross-disciplinary education, research
  community-based partnerships
• Issues of age and aging are addressed within a
  multigen framework

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Rationale Conceptual

• Growth in 3, 4 and 5 generation families
• Of those age 35 and older, 80 members of 3
  generation family, 16 in 4 generation
• Growing evidence of cross-generational
  transmission of disease, behaviors, and
  disparities that affect well-being
• Cross-generational relations are part of our
  social identity affect quality of life and
  community cohesion
• Importance of cross-generational exchanges
• Older adults as underutilized resource civic
  engagement, productivity

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Rationale Pragmatic

• 75 of social workers work in some capacity with
  older adults and family members (NASW 2005)
• Child welfare, schools, mental health, chronic
  care, disability services, HIV/AIDS
• Lack training to serve multiple generations of
  families
• Retirement of geriatric social workers

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Rationale Pragmatic

• With reduced resources, need to break down
  silos of funding ? competition
• Develop collaborative models across populations
  and age groups (life span approach to service
  delivery)
• Way to hook students who dont want to work
  with those old people
• Pre and post tests of MSW students

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Broad Definition of Families

• Subjective interactional quality of
  relationships, not necessarily by blood ties or
  living together
• Cultural context Fictive kin, families of
  choice, grandparents as caregivers, friend
  families
• Latent networks of support, including
  neighborhood community

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Defining Key Terms

• Cohort
• Set apart by time and common experiences
  (historical, economic, political) that influence
  individual, family community attitudes,
  behaviors well-being across generations
• Generation
• Average period between birth of parents and birth
  of their offspring
• May share common historical cultural
  experiences, but may come from more than one
  cohort

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Key Terms Intergenerational

• Reciprocal obligations, rights influences
  between two generations
• Personal interaction between individuals from
  two generations, typically intra-family
• Generational transfers Macro-level processes of
  welfare economic exchange without empirical
  grounding in everyday lives
• Politicizing of intergenerational competition

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Critique of Intergen Approach

• Focus on macro level transfers may overlook those
  at individual, family, community or neighborhood
  level
• Focus on young and old
• Individuals, micro level
• Assume alienation, negative attitudes, conflict
• Inter-generational programs evaluation

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Critique of Intergenerational

• Assumes that intergen relations are generally
  problematic that intergen practice is always
  worthwhile
• Changing attitudes, typically of young toward old
• Does not consider role function of middle
  generations interactions that occur across
  multiple generations in families, neighborhoods
  communities

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Key Terms Multigenerational

• Generational interdependence rather than
  independence
• More than two generations, not just young and old
• Includes intergenerational identity
• Age and generation are socially constructed
  distinctive cohort experiences impact multiple
  generations (families, organizations
  communities)
• Takes into account generational exchanges across
  the life course in family, neighborhood,
  organizations

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Key Terms Multigenerational

• Acknowledges how ageism may lead to multigen
  conflicts
• Explicitly includes the middle generation
• Kinship care the invisible generation
• Incarcerated mothers
• Women in the middle as caregivers
• Caregiving across multiple generations and across
  life course

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Multigen Relations Diversity

• High degree of heterogeneity (individual
  variation) diversity across generations (groups
  relative to their structure in society)
• Complexity of multigen dynamics across different
  cultures

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Cultural Variations

• Within and across cultural variations in how
  generational and multigen relations are defined,
  valued experienced
• Ethnicity, race, gender, class sexual identity
  influence how generations perceive and relate to
  each other
• Multigen exchanges often source of resilience
  among families of color
• Fictive kin, kinship care, friends neighbors
• Policies that work against multigen strengths
  e.g., single family housing

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Key Terms Multigen Practice

• Assist individuals, families communities within
  context of cross-generational relations larger
  social system
• Promote changes that build upon strengthen the
  inherent capacities of multigen systems

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Practitioners Input

• Practitioners in child welfare and aging services
  do not define selves as multigen practitioners
  per se, but rather working with families across
  multiple generations
• Use multigen lens in assessment interventions
  (family group conferencing, kinship care
  legislation, life span respite)

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Barriers to Multigen Practice

• Fields of practice services fragmented by age
• Failure of aging, disability and mental health
  service systems to collaborate
• Fragmentation of age-based categorical services
  gt turf gtcross-generational competition
• Disciplinary specific education organized by age
• Inadequate preparation of professionals

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Barriers

• Separation of individual/structural causes of
  problems
• Practice/policy split
• Potential misunderstanding not arguing against
  all age-based services
• Need for longitudinal research across life course

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Multigenerational Transmission

• Health behaviors, beliefs and values transmitted
  by families communities across the life course
• Obesity, diabetes, hypertension, heart disease,
  depression, trauma, behavioral problems
• Weathering toward poorer health in later life

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Multigenerational Transmission

• Risks for chronic conditions begin in childhood ?
  structural factors (SES, education, race) across
  life course ? health economic disparities
• Regardless of age, chronic disability increases
  the risk of poverty throughout the life course

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Multigenerational transmission

• Cross-generational influences on familial care
  practices, utilization of services helping
  behaviors
• Early childhood exchanges affect social support
  to aging parents
• Positive interactions ? transmission of
  strengths/ resiliency
• Impact of neglect, abuse, conflict ? negative
  caregiving patterns across multiple generations

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Structured Inequities across the Life Course

• Life course rather than age-based approach
• Multigen interdependence across the life course
• Common life course issues
• Interplay between generational/cohort influences
  economic health disparities
• Discrimination by age, race, gender, sexual
  orientation, SES functional ability ?
  inequities structurally determined cumulative
  disadvantage across the life course, which are
  intensified in old age

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Older Adults as Resources

• Resiliency and empowerment
• Strategies to enhance generational
  interdependence rather than independence
• Multigen collaboration to address common problems
  (e.g., life span respite)
• Redefine cross-generational contract not only
  currently, but also over time, to include more
  than two generations

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Educational Implications Infusion in foundation

• Infusion of multigen content into 1st year MSW
  foundation courses
• Pre and post tests of importance extent to
  which students are competent in multigen practice
• More interest in multigen than aging-related
  preparation practice

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Infusion Common Multigen Learning Objectives

• Understand complexity and reciprocity of
  multicultural, multigen dynamics across different
  populations, substantive areas families and
  communities
• Develop ability to bring a multigen,
  multicultural lens to their assessment of
  strengths of individuals, families communities
• Recognize how strengths and challenges may be
  transmitted across generations

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Educational Implications Concentration

• Advanced Multigen Studies HBSE, Practice, Policy
  Social Justice, Practicum
• Functional ability rather than age as basis for
  services
• Common issues across the life course (caregiving,
  loss grief, and trauma)
• Inequities across the life course
• Build on elders strengths to meet needs of
  younger middle generations

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Educational Implications Multigen Policy

• Examine multigen impacts of Social Security,
  Medicaid, Family Medical Leave, National Family
  CG Support Program, TANF
• Policies to address common needs across
  generations reduce intergenerational
  competition (lifespan respite)

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Educational Implications Multigen Policy

• Functional ability, not age based
• Generational interdependence
• Address how policies may discourage multigen ties
• Coalition-building
• Generations United

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Implications for Research

• Obesity diabetes in Native Americans across the
  life course
• The invisible middle generation
• Cross-generational caregiving for GLBT
• Intervention with families in transitional
  housing
• Multigen analysis of state agencies

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Summary

• Effect of life events and social position
  (ageism, racism, sexism) on generation, cohort,
  intergen multigen interactions
• Multigen transmission and inequities across the
  life course
• Strengths of elders, multigen ties
• Multigen practice policy interventions -gt well
  being

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Next steps

• Further development of conceptual model
• Infusion of multigen content into other advanced
  concentrations (health, mental health, substance
  abuse)
• Your critique