Being Daughter and Mother: Middle-aged Women in Three-generation Living

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to analyze the position of middle-aged women who are part of multigenerational households. Drawing on 20 in-depth interviews with these women, we investigate how middle-generation women understand their roles in the family and intergenerational relations, how they position themselves in relation to older and younger generations, and how they interpret the responsibilities and expectations and their fulfillment in the context of multigenerational living. What are the pressures, tensions, and advantages of being in the middle? We demonstrate several levels of being “in between” while analyzing the care demands, responsibilities, and expectations that these women experience in daily life. The article investigates three kinds of activities that women perform in multigenerational living: care for people, care for intergenerational family relationships, and care for homes. We conclude that middle-generation women struggle between the drive for independence and the appreciation of interdependency among the generations that is both a burden and a relief.