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Yes / As the population ages, a key question is to how support older people who are in need of some form of care. This article highlights how older people may be embedded in multigenerational familial care networks. It explores the ways in which care and support for great-grandparents are worked out in multigenerational families, as well as between informal and formal sources of support. Methods involve qualitative life history interviews with five four-generation families. Findings suggest that care is worked out through a balance of care, need and support across generations. Depending on available resources, this produces a variety of support outcomes including: home based family care with and without supplemented professional help, sheltered accommodation with family care, institutional care as well as fluctuations between different support patterns. Supporting informal care networks through professional support can help multiple generations balance intergenerational relationships across the shifts between greater dependency and independence. / PhD Scholarship attached to the ESRC funded Timescapes study within the School of Sociology and Social Policy at the University of Leeds

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that millennials will soon represent 46% of the workforce. The anticipated changes in the workforce are of great concern to business leaders who may manage individuals from different generations. The purpose of this multiple case study was to explore the strategies that administrative leaders in an advisory group of community-based organizations and educational institutions used to improve the productivity of a multigenerational workforce. The conceptual frameworks that grounded this study were the social constructivist perspective and generational theory. Data were collected from semistructured interviews to elicit narratives from 6 administrative leaders from 6 different nonprofit organizations selected via purposive sampling throughout the northeast region of the United States with experience improving the productivity of a multigenerational workforce. Data also came from a review of company documents and a reflexive journal. Data analysis entailed coding, identifying relevant themes, using Yin's 5 step analytic strategy approach, and member checking to strengthen the validity of the interpretations of participants' responses. Two principal themes emerged from the data: effective leadership strategies and essential retention strategies to improve productivity. The overall analysis of the 2 principal themes revealed the importance of communication, teamwork, training, work-life programs, recognition, knowledge sharing, and feedback in improving the productivity of a multigenerational workforce. Findings from this study may contribute to social change because chief executive officers (CEO) may use the strategies to implement corrective measures to positively influence the productivity of a multigenerational workforce.

Many nonprofit organizations lack systematic approaches to succession planning. The absence of a strategic succession plan can limit leaders' abilities to maintain organizational sustainability and fulfill the organization's mission. The purpose of this single-case study was to explore strategies nonprofit leaders used to develop succession plans. The conceptual framework for the study was the knowledge transfer theory. Participants included 3 nonprofit leaders from an educational organization in the southeastern United States. Data were collected through semistructured interviews and analysis of internal organizational documents and publicly available data. Using an inductive content analysis, 3 themes emerged: boards of directors were critical to the process of developing a strategic plan for succession; leadership transition, whether planned or unplanned, necessitated preparation; and leadership development was a valued practice that contributed to a succession planning strategy. The results of this study might contribute to positive social change by providing nonprofit leaders with succession strategies to recruit, retain, and prepare leaders to ensure organizational sustainability and mission attainment. Nonprofit educational leaders who develop succession planning strategies can enhance organizational continuity and develop competent volunteers to provide much-needed programs for the communities they serve.

The U.S. Office of Personnel Management reported the productivity levels of the American multigenerational workforce decreasing as leaders strive to actively engage employees to improve organizational output. The purpose of this qualitative single case study was to explore what leadership strategies federal government managers use to engage a multigenerational workforce. The conceptual framework consisted of Kahn's employee engagement theory and Strauss and Howe's generational cohort theory. The sample consisted of 3 federal government managers within metro Atlanta, Georgia who had successfully managed a multigenerational workforce, demonstrated through the feedback they received from their employees. Data were collected using face-to-face semistructured interviews and a review and analysis of company documents. Data analysis consisted of applying Yin's 5 step data analysis process, and member checking and methodological triangulation of the data strengthened the trustworthiness of interpretations. Emergent themes included generational differences; strategies for working with multigenerational differences; and strategies for engaging a multigenerational workforce. The most effective strategies involved training, communication skills, and team building. Findings from this study may contribute to social change by providing federal government managers with the framework for understanding and engaging its multigenerational workforce, which can result in promoting positive relationships between coworkers, families, and communities. Positive relationships in the workforce may increase employee morale and motivation and decrease employee turnover and the unemployment rate.

The aquatic environment is severely impacted by xenobiotics that are released due to anthropogenic activities, threatening ecosystem health. Some of these contaminants accumulate in lipophilic fish tissues and are maternally transferred to developing offspring, affecting their growth and performance. However, knowledge about the long-term and generational impacts associated with maternal transfer of contaminants is limited in fish. In this thesis, the hypothesis tested was that maternal transfer of bisphenol A (BPA) leads to disruption in the developmental programing of growth and stress axes functioning in rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss), and that these changes are passed on to the next generation. This was tested by exposing oocytes to either control (vehicle; <0.01% ethanol) 0.3, 3.0, and 30.0 mg l-1 BPA in ovarian fluid for 3 h, prior to fertilization, to mimic maternal transfer. This led to the accumulation of 0, 0.8, 4.4 and 41.3 ng BPA embryo-1. Oocytes were fertilized with milt from clean males, and offspring growth, development and stress performances were assessed in a clean environment for a year (F1 generation). For F2 generation, oocytes collected from F1 females, raised from the different BPA accumulated eggs, were fertilized with milt from clean males and raised in a clean environment for one year as described for F1 generation. The accumulated BPA in eggs was quickly cleared and it was no longer detected in the F1 embryos at hatch. BPA exposure reduced specific growth rate and increased food conversion ratio in larvae reared from BPA-laden oocytes. Moreover, BPA-exposed fish had an altered cortisol developmental profile and a delay in stress axis maturation. In addition, the mRNA abundance of genes involved in somatotropic [insulin-like growth factor (IGF) -1; IGF-2; IGF receptor b (IGF-1rb)] and stress axes functioning [steroidogenic acute regulatory protein (StAR); cytochrome P450 side chain cleavage (P450scc)] were altered. Also, changes in thyroid signaling [thyroid receptor (TR) mRNA levels] and cortisol signaling [glucocorticoid receptor (GR) protein expression] were disrupted temporally during development. These results demonstrate that BPA accumulation in eggs, mimicking maternal transfer, impacts growth and development, and delays stress axis maturation via non-reproductive endocrine disrupting routes in trout. Some of the BPA changes seen in F1 generation also persisted in the F2 generation. For instance, ancestral exposure to BPA led to reduced growth and whole body glycogen content prior to feeding in the F2 fish. The developmental transcript profile of growth hormone-1and -2, IGF-1 and -2 and IGF-1rb, along with whole body cortisol levels were impacted by ancestral exposure to BPA. Moreover, a delay in cortisol dynamics post-stress was noted in the F2 fish of BPA exposure lineage. Our results show that ancestral exposure to BPA leads to effects on growth and stress performance in rainbow trout, but the mechanism is not known. To further investigate the long-term effect of BPA accumulation in eggs on stress performances, F1 and F2 juvenile fish were subjected to an acute stressor. Also, head kidney tissues from these juvenile fish were subjected to adrenocorticotrophic hormone (ACTH) stimulation in vitro to assess cortisol production capacity. BPA accumulation in eggs led to a reduced acute handling stressor-induced plasma cortisol response in trout from the F1 and F2 (only high BPA group) generations. Also, BPA exposure had a pronounced impact on acute handling stressor-mediated plasma glucose (only F2 generation) and lactate levels, indicative of a metabolic disturbance. BPA exposure (only the 4.4 ng group) did affect unstimulated but not stimulated [ACTH or 8-bromo-cyclic AMP (8-B-cAMP)] cortisol production from head kidney slices of juvenile fish from F1 generation. In the F2 generation, there was an increase in ACTH-stimulated cortisol production only from the high BPA-exposed group. Overall, BPA in eggs disrupts long-term cortisol and metabolic stress performances in rainbow trout. While the impaired plasma cortisol stress performance was dose-related in the F1, the effect was apparent only for high BPA group in the F2 generation, suggesting that the generational effects on cortisol stress axis functioning may be concentration-dependent. A metabolomics approach further confirmed multigenerational effects associated with BPA accumulation in eggs. Analysis of the metabolome profile at hatch and prior to first feed, using gas chromatography-time of flight-mass spectrometry (GC-TOF-MS), revealed a BPA-mediated metabolic disruption, including changes in pathways involved in carbohydrate, lipid and amino sugar metabolism, and amino acid metabolism and synthesis. Pathways involved in citric acid cycle and alanine, aspartate and glutamate metabolism were altered in both generations, suggesting that these pathways have the potential to be markers with predictive value for multigenerational effects of BPA in fish. Altogether, the study provides novel insights on the impact of BPA on rainbow trout metabolome at hatch and first feed. The results suggest that pathways involved in energy metabolism are targets for BPA impact and should be investigated as potential markers for BPA toxicity. Overall, BPA accumulation in oocytes induces long-term delays in growth and stress axis maturation in F1 generations fish, and these effects persist in the F2 generation. The developmental profiles of key genes of the somatotropic and HPI axes were altered by BPA, along with whole body composition, suggesting that BPA exposure leads to a metabolic disturbance in fish, resulting in reduced growth. Additionally, the altered plasma cortisol response to acute stress in F1 and F2 juveniles provides evidence for multigenerational effects of BPA on stress axis functioning. The current study proposes that BPA-induced epigenetic modifications during early development may be playing a key role in the generational effects on growth and stress axes disruption in trout. The finding that the growth and developmental changes to BPA exposure also corresponds with endocrine and metabolome changes in multiple generations in trout is novel, and underscores the necessity to develop new risk assessments tools for chemicals that are maternally transferred in fish.

This descriptive study of 45 multi-generational families contributes empirical knowledge about grandparent-grandchild relationships. A questionnaire was developed and completed by 74 subjects who were part of a randomly selected sample taken from a tax roll of homeowners over age 65 in Denton County, Texas. The responses provide information which expands the existing data base in the area of grandparenting. The study pinpoints areas in the grandparenting literature which need refinement and contributes data to those areas, rather than producing a set of conclusions. Areas as yet undocumented or inadequately documented in the literature are identified as the following: (a) family structural composition; (b) grandparents' personal characteristics; (c) selected aspects of grandparent-grandchild contact; and (d) satisfaction with the grandparent role. Data for these areas should help reveal factors having an impact on grandparent-grandchild relationships. A base for further investigation in these areas is established, and data are also analyzed to determine satisfaction or lack of satisfaction with grandparenting. The seventy-four subjects, from 45 households, included 44 grandmothers and 30 grandfathers. The number of generations per family was used as the base to report the findings. The study substantiates other research on grandparenting, particularly in the area of timing of grand-parenthood. Data collected in this study support the view that the grandparent's chronological age and the time in his or her life cycle when grandchildren appear (role entry), religious affiliation, lineage, and frequency of contact all contribute to satisfaction with the role of grandparent. Almost all of the respondents described themselves as satisfied grandparents and indicated their pride in and pleasure derived from their grandchildren. A strong relationship between satisfaction and any one variable studied is not identified. The major contribution of the study lies in the descriptive detail and in ruling out any one characteristic as "the one variable" that really matters in determining satisfaction among grandparents.

The aim of this study was to compare preterm birth (PTB) in daughters (G2) and granddaughters (G3) of foreign- and Swedish-born women (G1), to evaluate patterns in PTB in relation to migrant background over generations. A multigenerational cohort study was conducted using register data. Two generations of women born in Sweden between 1973 and 2016 were identified. Logistic regressions were used to estimate Odds Ratios (OR) at 95%CI for PTB (&lt;37 gestational weeks) for G2 and G3 by G1 country/region of birth (ref: Sweden). G2 daughters born to a migrant mother (G1) faced a disadvantage compared to their counterparts born to a Swedish mother. In G3, odds of PTB declined across all migrant groups revealing an advantage in some select groups relative to the Swedish reference group. The most pronounced decrease in PTB among Swedish-born women with migrant background was found in the Eastern European and Balkan (ORG2 1.55; 95%CI 1.38,1.74; and ORG3 0.85; 95%CI 0.74,0.98 respectively) and Non-Western main groups (ORG2 1.21; 95%CI 1.07, 1.37; and ORG3 0.79; 95%CI 0.68, 0.91). This study shows a decreased difference in PTB over generations among women with and without a foreign background. Further studies should determine the causes for the observed pattern.

While there is a large body of research demonstrating that Asian-Americans underutilize mental health services compared to other ethnic groups, little is known about how Vietnamese-Americans use formal mental health services. The traumatic war, post-war and refugee journey contributed to incidences of PTSD and other mental disorders. This mixed-method study aims to understand how multigenerational Vietnamese-Americans view their serious mental illness and how past experiences, family structure, and social networks influence mental health and use of mental health services. The theories that guided the research were the Network-Episode Model and Social Network Orientation Theory. Quantitative analyses using data from the National Latino and Asian-American Study (NLAAS) examined the relationship of variables assessing acculturation, social support, cultural identity, and health/mental health status with formal mental health service use for the Vietnamese-American subsample (N=520). The qualitative study explored how Vietnamese-Americans in multigenerational households experience severe mental illness and the reasons that influenced their mental health help-seeking and service use. Semi-structured interviews with 17 members of six multigenerational Vietnamese families from the greater Boston and Los Angeles area were conducted in English, transcribed, and analyzed using thematic analysis. Findings from the study highlight the differences between 1st and 2nd generation Vietnamese respondents and provide insight into how generational culture – the prevailing attitudes, values, and beliefs of each generation – influences the social network support of Vietnamese-Americans and affects their mental health help-seeking behavior. The forced migration severed social networks, restricting 1st generation respondents to rely on small family networks for information and support. The traditional matriarchal hierarchy limited access to treatment as younger 2nd generation Vietnamese-Americans were unable to convince their parents to seek help for serious mental health problems or to get their approval to seek treatment. Cultural values such as belief in spiritual healers and self-reliance also insulated families from seeking professional help. The study found that the types of interactions respondents had with their social networks—whether positive or negative in orientation—shaped their beliefs about who and where they could go to for help with serious mental health problems and was instrumental in creating pathways to mental health service use.

Contemporary social science research has often focused on nuclear family relationships, and has largely neglected kinship and family outside the nuclear household. In this doctoral thesis I explore demographic issues from a multigenerational perspective, using Swedish register data and mathematical modeling. In different chapters I examine intergenerational transmission of fertility—the relationship between the number of siblings and other kin, and the fertility of an individual. The thesis demonstrates the possibilities for empirical research on family and kinship based on Swedish register data. Unique linkage opportunities across three and four generations are applied to previously unexplored research questions. The studies in the thesis demonstrate the importance of kin outside the household, such as grandparents, aunts/uncles, and cousins, for fertility and family dynamics. / Samhällsvetenskaplig forskning har i hög grad varit fokuserad på kärnfamiljer, och i lägre grad undersökt släktskap utanför hushållet. Den här avhandlingen undersöker demografiska frågor utifrån ett flergenerationsperspektiv med hjälp av svenska registerdata och matematisk modellering. I de olika studierna undersöker jag den sociala överföringen av barnafödande mellan fler generationer—sambanden mellan antalet syskon och andra familjemedlemmar, och en persons barnafödande. Avhandlingen demonstrerar hur svenska registerdata möjliggör empirisk forskning om familj och släktskap. De unika kopplingsmöjligheterna över tre till fyra generationer appliceras på tidigare outforskade forskningsfrågor. Avhandlingen visar vikten av släktskap utanför kärnfamiljen, så som far/mor-föräldrar samt kusiner, för familjedemografiska processer.