Childcare is regarded as a family business in Turkey, especially due to the lack of public services and the political discourses around ‘familialism.’ Childcare responsibilities create a major obstacle for women, resulting in very low female economic participation in the country. In this context, grandmothers are usually asked to step into the role of caregiver for their grandchildren to support their daughters’ and daughters-in-law’s participation in the workforce. Yet, contemporary mothers have a drastically different approach to childrearing compared to their own mothers or mothers-in-law. This study explores how these intergenerational differences in childrearing ideals and practices play into the childcare experiences by examining qualitative data derived from in-depth semi-structured interviews with 20 older grandmothers who were caring for their grandchildren under the age of six. The findings revealed that the grandmother-mother interactions on childcare tasks and childrearing methods fall into three categories: mothers knowing best, complete trust in grandmothers, and conflictual relationships. This study shows how intergenerational differences regarding childrearing can create conflict between mothers and grandmothers, and thus complicating childcare arrangements. Therefore, social policies should consider that childcare arrangements involve multiple actors with potentially different ideas about what is best for the child’s well-being.

With the population aging in Türkiye, the nature of intergenerational relationships in society has begun to change, which has brought about ageism and age-based discrimination. Acquiring a higher visibility during the COVID-19 pandemic, ageism has serious negative consequences both for those exposed to it and for the society. This study aims to examine the prevalence of ageist stereotypes and attitudes towards older people in Türkiye. Quantitative analyses were conducted on secondary data obtained from a survey with a nationally representative sample on ageism and age discrimination. Results showed that older people were more commonly described as 'wise', 'competent' and 'reliable', while less commonly described as 'healthy', 'in touch with life,' and 'friendly'. Additionally, the prevalence of describing older people as healthy, friendly, and trustworthy was lower among younger people compared to middle-aged and older people. Younger people’s agreement with four ageist statements regarding the participation of older people and their impact in social life is higher than middle-aged and older people. Ordinal regression analyses were conducted to investigate the factors associated with negative attitudes towards older people. They revealed that age and lifestyle are the most significant factors shaping ageist attitudes, but a distinct set of factors shape each attitude.

How does one's connectedness in their social relationships affect their health? For a long time, this question has piqued the interest of sociologists. From Durkheim's theory of suicide to recent empirical studies in medical sociology, the positive association between social integration and well-being has been well established. In this paper, we revisited this topic by focusing on how different sources of social contact is associated with self-rated health in Turkey. To do so, we examined how contact with a close friend, a parent, a sibling, and other family member - outside of one's nuclear family - compares in terms of their association with self-rated health by using ISSP Social Network Data. We found that frequency of contact with a parent and other family member showed statistically significant and positive associations with self-rated health in some models, which was not the case for a sibling. In the full model accounting for all contact variables, however, only the frequency of contact with a close friend had a statistically significant and positive association with self-rated health. This study aims to start a discussion about the growing importance of non-kin ties in people's lives in Turkey despite the increasing familialism in Turkish politics and social policymaking. Policymakers and social workers tackling issues such as social isolation, social exclusion, and loneliness in Turkey should consider the prevalence of non-kin networks on individuals' well-being.

Older adults all around the world encountered numerous challenges during the COVID-19 pandemic. Some of these challenges were pertinent to biological factors, like the risk of infection, while others resulted from social factors, like ageism and government regulations. Employing a capability approach, this study examined how age-based pandemic regulations that were imposed in Turkey affected the freedom and social environment of older adults. We used Bachhi's What is the Problem Represented to Be? (WPR) approach to analyze the memorandums issued by the central government between March 11, 2020, and June 30, 2021. Our analysis revealed that the problem is represented in these memorandums as older people's increased vulnerability to health risks, which resulted in violations of their mobility and health capabilities, as well as (mis)recognition of diversity within the older population. These findings provide vital insight into how age-based pandemic regulations define the problem based exclusively on chronological age, thereby creating circumstances that compromise older people's capabilities beyond simply maintaining health. Thus, we recommend that policymakers pay closer attention to both the intended and unintended consequences of any proposed regulations, and account for individuals' capabilities rather than merely their functionings.

The COVID-19 pandemic pushed the governments of the world to implement different regulative and protective measures. Although these measures required serious re-considerations of public health strategies, they were still grounded on pre-existing contexts of countries’ health systems, namely the “new public health” paradigm. Turkey’s neoliberal health reforms since 2003 coincide with the principles of this paradigm’s trends toward marketizing services and responsibilizing individuals; yet the Turkish context of the pandemic also stands out due to its mixed and unique form of governance. Utilizing the tweets of the Turkish Health Minister between March 13th and October 1st, 2020, we conducted a thematic qualitative analysis investigating the Turkish state’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Our analysis revealed that state responsibility was framed around building new pandemic hospitals, informing the public, and building trust. Conversely, his tweets assigned Turkish individuals an active role in shaping pandemic outcomes through their “informed” and “empowered” agency. Finally, he coined “togetherness,” referring to the sum of individual actions, as an indispensable goal in assuring public compliance with precautions. The Minister’s tweets reflect the unique nature of pandemic governance in Turkey with a relatively imposing and swift response of centralized power but a primary focus on “responsibilized” individuals’ collective actions.

Objectives: Healthcare systems' reliance on taxes varies across countries with corresponding heteroge-neity in public's willingness to pay taxes (WTP) for national healthcare provision. Turkey, a developing country that witnessed a major healthcare transformation, provides a unique context to understand what motivates WTP in a non-Western context. Study design: This is a cross-sectional study. Methods: We used the data from the International Social Survey Programme module on health and healthcare in Turkey. The data were collected from a nationally representative sample of adults aged > 18 years (n 1/4 1559). Using logistic regression models, we examine the association of sociopolitical values and sociodemographic factors with individuals' WTP to improve public healthcare. Results: We find that sociopolitical values are more closely associated to the WTP in Turkey compared with sociodemographic factors. However, egalitarianism and humanitarianism were differentially linked to the WTP. Humanitarianism was positively associated, whereas egalitarianism was negatively associated with WTP. Conclusions: This study shows the prevalence of value-based approach to healthcare provision support in a developing country in the height of healthcare reforms. (c) 2022 The Royal Society for Public Health. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Çiftler arasında hane içi ve bakım işlerinin eşitsiz paylaşımı, feminist kuramsal ve ampirik çalışmaların uzun süredir sorunsallaştırdığı konulardan biri olagelmiştir. Bu çalışmalarda, hane içi toplumsal cinsiyet eşitsizliğinin temelini oluşturan karşılıksız emeğin fiziksel yani eylem boyutuna odaklanılmış, zihinsel boyutuna yeterince ilgi gösterilmemiştir. Nitekim Türkiye’de de zihinsel yük üzerine herhangi bir çalışmanın mevcut olmadığı görülmektedir. Bu açığı kapatmak adına, bu çalışmada, pratikte eylemi kimin gerçekleştirdiğinin ötesine geçilerek çiftler arasında çeşitli ev işlerinin zihinsel yük boyutunun ne şekilde paylaşıldığı, niceliksel araştırma yöntemi kullanılarak sorgulanmıştır. Ankara’daki bir vakıf üniversitesinde çalışan personele amaçlı örneklem yöntemiyle uygulanan anket çalışmasında, çeşitli ev içi eylemlerinin hem düşünme hem de planlama/organize etme boyutlarına dair hem kendileri hem de partnerlerine yönelik diyadik (ikili) bilgi toplanmıştır. Uygulanan nicel analizler sonucunda, çalışmada, zihinsel yükün daha sık ve ağır bir biçimde kadınlar tarafından üstlenildiği sonucuna ulaşılmıştır. Dolayısıyla bu çalışma, hane içi emeğin paylaşımında var olan toplumsal cinsiyet eşitsizliklerine odaklanan akademik çalışmalarda ve sosyal politikalarda, zihinsel yük boyutunun dikkate alınmasının önemini ve gereğini ortaya koymaktadır.

COVID-19 pandemisiyle birlikte toplumun çeşitli katmanlarında yadsınamaz değişimler yaşanmıştır. Koronavirüsün sağlık üzerindeki etkisinin yanında, pandeminin kendini en çok hissettirdiği alanlardan birisi de ekonomi olmuştur. Tüm dünyada, pandemiyle birlikte yaşanan kapanmalar ve alınan önlemler ile sağlık sektörünün üstlendiği yük ile birlikte milli ekonomiler de büyük hasar almıştır. Bu makale, COVID-19 pandemisinin ülke bazındaki ekonomik etkilerini anlamlandırmanın ötesine geçerek bu etkileri hane bazında anlamayı amaçlamaktadır. Makalede kullanılan veriler, 2020 yılında TUBİTAK’ın desteği ile İstanbul’da gerçekleştirilen bir araştırmadan elde edilmiştir. Bu araştırmada, farklı sosyal kırılganlık düzeyine sahip hanelerin pandemiyi deneyimleme biçimleri; sosyal, ekonomik, demografik faktörlerle, sağlık ve kurumsal hizmetlere erişim temaları çerçevesinde değerlendirilmiştir. Bu makalede ise sadece ekonomik boyuta odaklanılmakta ve hanelerin ekonomik yaşamlarına ilişkin deneyimleri; sahip olunan iş/meslek, işsizlik, pandemide çalışma durumu, pandemide iş kaybı, ekonomik destek ihtiyacı, kimlerden/nereden ekonomik destek alındığı ya da kimlere ekonomik destek verildiği kapsamında değerlendirilmiştir. Bu doğrultuda, İstanbul’un sosyal kırılganlık indeks skoruna göre “kırılgan”, “orta-üst kırılgan”, “orta-alt kırılgan” ve “kırılgan olmayan” ilçelerinde yaşayan 18 yaş üstü toplam 441 kişi ile pandeminin ilk 6 ayı içerisinde gerçekleştirilmiş telefon anketlerinden toplanan veriye nicel analizler uygulanmıştır. Makalenin en temel bulgusu, pandemi deneyiminin ekonomik boyutunun pandemi öncesi koşullar tarafından şekillenmekte olduğuna yöneliktir. Makale, hanenin kırılganlık düzeyi arttıkça pandeminin ekonomik etkilerinin de derinleşmekte olduğunu göstermiştir.

Bu makale, Covid-19 pandemisinin mahalle düzeyinde nasıl deneyimlendiğini muhtarların gözünden irdelemektedir. Çalışmada, pandemi deneyiminin ve pandeminin yerel yönetişiminin, farklı sosyal kırılganlıklara sahip mahallelerde farklılaşan ve benzeşen yönlerinin, muhtarların gözünden anlaşılması hedeflenmektedir. Makalede kullanılan veriler, İstanbul ilinin farklı sosyal kırılganlık seviyesine sahip 4 ilçesinin farklı mahallelerinde görev yapan 20 muhtar ile çevrimiçi uygulamalar üzerinden gerçekleştirilmiş yarı-yapılandırılmış görüşmelere dayanmaktadır. Çalışmada gerçekleştirilen analiz sonucunda, mahallenin sosyal kırılganlık düzeyi ile pandemi deneyimi arasında ilişki olduğu ve mahalle muhtarlarının pandemiyi yönetmeye ilişkin çabaları ve mahallenin sosyal kırılganlık düzeyinin ilişkili olduğu bulgulanmıştır. Buna göre, kırılganlık düzeyi daha düşük mahallelerde pandemi deneyim ve yönetişiminde yaşanan sıkıntıların, mahallelerin demografik yapısıyla ilgili olduğu, kırılganlığı daha yüksek olan mahallelerde hem maddi hem de pandemi kurallarına uyumla ilgili sorunların baş gösterdiği ortaya çıkmıştır. Çalışma, mahallelerin pandemi deneyiminin sosyal kırılganlık düzeyine göre biçimlendiğini ve pandemi yönetiminin de mahallenin yapısal ve işlevsel özelliklerine uygun bir biçimde gerçekleştirilmesi gerektiğini ortaya koymuştur. Araştırmanın sonuçları, gelecekte yaşanabilecek benzer pandemilerin yönetilmesine ve ayrıca, kurumların müdahale yöntemlerini etkin bir şekilde uygulamalarına destek sağlayabilecek bazı ipuçları içermektedir.

Theories of social gerontology have progressed from a focus on individuals’ later-life decline to theories that emphasize the intra- and interindividual variability of later-life experiences and the ways in which such heterogeneity is conditioned by social structural, cultural, and interpersonal factors that often begin in childhood and continue to shape individuals and members of their social networks across the life course. Consistent with theories across the sciences, theories of social gerontology predict and explain real-world experiences. In the case of social gerontology, the goals of theory address a wide array of phenomena, ranging from individuals’ attitudes and motivations, social networks and social support, the actions and functions of formal organizations, the embodiment of cultural norms and stereotypes, social determinants of health, and sources of inequality throughout the life course.. As the field of social gerontology has developed, theories in the field have shown increasing complexity, particularly regarding the roles of early life course experiences, social structural positions, and interpersonal relations in explaining variations in well-being, longevity, and the quality of life across the lifespan. As part of this increased complexity, social gerontology has become increasingly cross-disciplinary, spanning disciplines such as sociology, psychology, biology, anthropology, public health, medicine, and engineering, with a strong emphasis on how each discipline can contribute to developing principles that transcend individual fields. These integrative theories of social gerontology are crucial to developing comprehensive approaches to improving the health and well-being of individuals throughout the life course. Theories of social gerontology help us comprehensively understand the aging process by emphasizing individual characteristics, social relationships, and the larger cultural contexts in which individuals’ lives are embedded.

This study explores cross-cultural variations in adult children’s perceptions of maternal favoritism during caregiving in Turkey and the United States. Qualitative analysis of interview data from two siblings in each of 14 Turkish and 14 American families revealed differences in adult children’s perceptions of and explanations for maternal favoritism. Most Turkish children perceived that their mothers favored sons because of higher filial expectations from sons. Conversely, most American children perceived that their mothers favored daughters and explained mothers’ preferences as based on socioemotional factors. Furthermore, perceptions of maternal favoritism had detrimental consequences for sibling relationships in both contexts but differently. Turkish daughters reported conflicts over their favored brothers’ lack of cooperation. American daughters perceived themselves as favored and felt obligated to undertake most of the caregiving burden which fueled sibling conflict. Taken together, this study highlights the importance of cultural context for understanding the within-family differences in sibling relationships during caregiving.

Objectives:Family conflict has been found to play a role in caregivers' psychological well-being; however, few studies have considered race differences in the prevalence and consequences of caregiving conflict. In this paper, we use mixed-methods to examine differences in the experiences of conflict among Black and White adult children caring for mothers.Methods:Quantitative and qualitative data were collected from 279 adult-child caregivers (213 White; 66 Black).Results:Multilevel modeling revealed that conflict with mothers predicted depressive symptoms among Black, but not White caregivers, whereas there were not statistically significant race differences in the effects of conflict with siblings. However within-model tests showed stronger effects of conflict with mothers than siblings for Black caregivers, and stronger effects of conflict with siblings than mothers for White caregivers. Qualitative data revealed that Black caregivers' conflict with mothers resulted from their inability to meet their mothers' needs, inducing concern and sadness. White children's conflict stemmed from mothers' resistance to unwanted assistance and requests for support that children considered excessive, evoking irritation and frustration.Discussion:This study highlights ways in which the experiences of caregivers reflect broader patterns of differences between Black and White families in both intergenerational cohesion and health disparities in midlife.

Scholarship has highlighted the importance of kin relations for well-being in adulthood. Much focus has been on relationships between spouses and between parents and children. However, limited research has explored the role of adult sibling relationships in well-being, and no studies have made direct comparisons among the effects of tension with these multiple family members. Using data collected from 495 adult children nested within 254 families, we examined the differential impact of tension with mothers, siblings, and spouses on depressive symptoms in midlife. Separate multi-level regression analyses showed that tension with spouses, mothers, and siblings each predicted depressive symptoms. Combined analyses revealed that greater tension with spouses was associated with higher depressive symptoms, but tension with mothers and siblings was not. However, Wald tests comparing the strength of these associations between tension and depressive symptoms indicated that these associations did not significantly vary across family members. Interactions with gender indicated that tension with mothers was more strongly associated with higher depressive symptoms for women than men. These findings highlight the importance of the quality of relationships with family members on individuals’ psychological well-being, and call for researchers to consider multiple ties and gender when examining family relationships and well-being.

Purpose: The life course perspective suggests that serious physical or mental health conditions that limit the daily activities of any one family member are likely to be consequential for other family members as well. In this article, we explored whether adult children's serious health conditions affected the flow of expressive and instrumental support between mothers and both the offspring with health conditions and other offspring in the family.Design and Methods: We used data collected from 369 older mothers (M = 78 years) regarding 1,338 of their adult children (M = 49 years), as part of the Within-Family Differences Study-II.Results: Adult children with serious health conditions were more likely than their siblings to be given support by their mothers. The presence of adult children with health issues did not reduce mothers' provision of expressive or instrumental support to their children without health conditions. However, in families in which a higher proportion of children had serious health conditions, mothers received expressive support from a greater proportion of their healthy adult children than in families with a smaller proportion of adult children with health conditions.Implications: These findings contribute to a growing body of research demonstrating the ways in which conditions in adult children's lives affect their mothers.

Perceptions of mothers’ favoritism and disfavoritism in adulthood are strong predictors of psychological well-being; however, it is not known whether perceptions that are sustained across time increase the risk for depressive symptoms beyond those found at a single point in time. In the present paper, we use data collected from 479 adult children nested within 219 later-life families as part of the first and second waves of the Within-Family Differences Study to explore the relative risk of single-time versus sustained perceptions of mothers’ differentiation. Preliminary findings reveal that adult children’s perceptions of both favoritism and disfavoritism are relatively stable, consistent with findings based on mothers’ own reports. Consistent with theories of cumulative stress, perceptions of sustained favoritism and disfavoritism were found to be stronger predictors of depressive symptoms than were perceptions at any single point. The effects are particularly strong for Black offspring who perceive sustained disfavoritism.

In this article, we compare predictors of mothers' differentiation among their adult children regarding emotional closeness, pride, conflict, and disappointment. We distinguish between predictors of relational (closeness, conflict) and evaluative (pride, disappointment) dimensions of favoritism and disfavoritism. Multilevel modeling using data collected from 381 older mothers regarding their relationships with 1,421 adult children indicated that adult children's similarity of values played the most prominent role in predicting mothers' favoritism and disfavoritism, followed by children's gender. Children's deviant behaviors in adulthood predicted both pride and disappointment but neither relational dimension. Contrary to expectations, the quantitative analysis indicated that children's normative adult achievements were poor predictors of both relational and evaluative dimensions of mothers' differentiation. Qualitative data shed additional light on mothers' evaluations by revealing that disappointment was shaped by children's achievements relative to their mothers' values and expectations, rather than by the achievement of specific societal, educational, career, and marital milestones.

Relations between parents and adult children play an essential role across the life course. Three topics of particular importance in the study of relations between parents and adult children are relationship quality, exchanges of support, and caregiving in later life. Parent–child relations are closest when children share their parents' values, when children and parents have a history of support, and when parents' marriages are intact. Although relations are closest between mothers and daughters, these dyads also experience the greatest conflict. Gender also plays an important role in exchanges between parents, with daughters and mothers being the most likely to provide one another with support. Gender continues to shape patterns of caregiving when parents experience health declines and need assistance, support that is much more likely to be provided by daughters than sons. Research from Asia, Europe, and the United States shows both differences and similarities in patterns of parent–adult child relations by race, ethnicity, and nationality.