Very close parent/child relationships: The perspective of the elderly person

Over the past ten years, increasing attention has been paid to the nature of kin relationships, in particular focusing on their fragile negotiated character. Using a sample (n=134) of Elderly Social Service Department Clients in North London, a thematic content analysis of qualitative interview material was undertaken. Drawing on material in interviews with those who had children whom they identified as very close (42/134), the paper identifies a number of themes in these elderly respondents' experience of their very close parent/child relationships. It explores their perception of their children's conflicting obligations, and the conditions under which they consider the waiving of these obligations legitimate. As in Aronson's (1992, 1990) work, the paper provides a qualitative insight into the complex nature of such relationships from the viewpoint of the elderly persons themselves.