Journal of Modern Science (Jun 2024)
The Covid-19 pandemic and social support. Analysis of the impact of lockdowns on intergenerational family ties in European societies
Abstract
Objectives The aim of this article is to answer the question of whether the lockdowns introduced in 2020 and 2021 during the Covid-19 pandemic had an impact on intergenerational family ties in the area of social support in European societies. If so, was the impact positive or negative? Was it more concerned with the support provided to parents or children living separately? Material and methods The analysis used data from representative SHARE Corona Survey 1 and SHARE Corona Survey 2, conducted among respondents aged 50 and over, between June and August 2020 and between June and August 2021. Results The results of the analysis indicate that during the first wave of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020, the frequency of providing assistance in dealing with necessary matters to parents increased in almost all European countries, while assistance provided to children decreased. A similar situation occurred in the case of personal care. During the next spring lockdown in 2021, it was noticeable that there was a greater decrease in both care and frequency of support given to children than to parents. Conclusions The Covid-19 pandemic has undoubtedly had an impact on the frequency of social support provided. In the case of support provided to children, we see a negative impact. However, in the case of parental support, the situation was different. It should be remembered that the respondents are aged 50 and over, and therefore their parents are elderly people who often struggle with health problems and, in many cases, with dependency. This leads to the conclusion that in the case of people requiring support (elderly parents) in the form of assistance in dealing with necessary matters and personal care, the Covid-19 pandemic did not have a negative impact on the strength of intergenerational family ties.
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