Cohort change in perceptions of filial obligations among immigrants and Dutch

Djamila Schans, University of Amsterdam
Helga A.G. de Valk, Vrije Universiteit Brussel

In this paper we study perceptions of filial obligations among different immigrant groups and Dutch natives in the Netherlands. This article expands on previous research by investigating differences in perceptions between cohorts for each of the ethnic groups. We question whether cohort changes are larger among immigrant groups than among the Dutch. Overall we expect a decline in attachment towards norms of filial obligations over cohorts among each of the groups. Given the fact that in the Netherlands the welfare state provides a safety net of care for elderly we expect that especially the cohorts grown up in this welfare state society will attach less importance to filial obligations. Based on theories of acculturation of immigrants we, however, assume that cohort changes will be larger for immigrants than for the native population. In our analyses we assess whether cohort changes are exclusively related to ethnic origin or to socio-demographic position. Data from the Netherlands Kinship Panel Study (main and migrant sample, 2002) are used. Perceptions are studied among all respondents aged 18 to 80 years (N = 3,200) with a Turkish, Moroccan, Surinamese, Antillean and Dutch background. Findings show that immigrants have higher expectations regarding filial obligations than Dutch. First analyses do, however, not show larger cohort differences for the immigrant groups than for the Dutch.