“Unrealized” grandmothers and grandfathers: the resource capacity of grandparents vs the deprivation of grandparents 

Alina L. Yanak, Candidate of sociological sciences, senior lecturer, sub-department of general sociology and social work, Lobachevsky State University of Nizhny Novgorod (23 Gagarin avenue, Nizhny Novgorod, Russia), E-mail: alinayanak91@yandex.ru 

316.4 

10.21685/2072-3016-2021-1-6 

Background. The aging of population determines research interest in various spheres of life of the older generation, their resource and relevance in family and society. The purpose of the research is to pose the problem of family self-realization of (potential) grandparents, the author’s interpretation of the concepts of “the resource capacity of grandparents” and “the deprivation of grandparents” for study of the position and role of older generation in the family, the quality of intergenerational relations.
Materials and methods. The theoretical and methodological basis of the research is based on a resource approach in sociology. The article systematizes the views of foreign and domestic scientists about resources, capital and family resources. The empirical basis of the study is a series of pilot studies conducted by the author or with his participation in 2019–2020: interviews with potential grandparents aged 44 to 63 years old with children of fertile age and (or) stable family relationships (n = 13), student youth survey “Students’ perceptions of the family” (n = 362), “Intergenerational relations in a modern family: grandparents and grandchildren” (n = 270), “Students’ perceptions of violence” (n = 267).
Results. Offered the author’s interpretation and scheme of the ancestral resource, its key properties and patterns. Indicated and described the combinations of ancestral resources: social, material, moral, human (personal). Introduced the concept of “the deprivation of grandparents”, identified its factors and types (primary and secondary). Research materials represent scientific novelty and have high scientific and practical significance.
Conclusions. The ancestral resource is an integral part of the family, personal, social resource of older women and men. It can be demand and unclaimed, limited or wasted. Deficit, the loss or lack of demand for ancestral resources may lead to ancestral deprivation, expressed the feeling of discomfort, frustration due to lack of self-realization in the role of grandmothers/grandfathers. Research data will improve the practice of social work with families and older people. 

family, grandparenthood, resources, social capital, the resource capacity of grandparents, the deprivation of grandparents 

1. Bekker G. Chelovecheskoe povedenie: ekonomicheskiy podkhod = Human behavior: an economic approach. Moscow: GU VShE, 2003:672. (In Russ.)
2. Emerson R. Power-dependence relations. American Sociological Review. 1962;27(1): 31–41.
3. Koulman Dzh. Social and human capital. Obshchestvennye nauki i sovremennost' = Social sciences and modernity. 2001;3:122–139. (In Russ.)
4. Giddens E. Ustroenie obshchestva: Ocherk teorii strukturatsii = Organization of society: an outline of the theory of structuralization. Moscow: Akademicheskiy Proekt, 2005:528. (In Russ.)
5. Burd'e P. Forms of capital. Translated by M. S. Dobryakova, V. V. Radaev. Ekonomicheskaya sotsiologiya = Economic sociology. 2002;3(5):60–74. (In Russ.)
6. Putnam R. Social capital: Measurement and consequences. Isuma: Canadian Journal of Policy Research. 2001;2:41–51.
7. Radaev V.V. The concept of capital, forms of capital and their conversion. Obshchestvennye nauki = Social sciences. 2003;2:20–32. (In Russ.)
8. Tikhonova N.E. Resource approach as a new theoretical paradigm in stratification research. Sotsiologicheskie issledovaniya = Sociological researches. 2006;9(269):28–41. (In Russ.)
9. Saralieva Z.Kh. Social and psychological counseling and family competence. Vestnik Nizhegorodskogo universiteta imeni N. I. Lobachevskogo = Bulletin of Lobachevsky State University of Nizhny Novgorod. 2002;1:192–200. (In Russ.)
10. Zborovskiy G.E., Ambarova P.A. Age communities and problems of regulation of temporal strategies of their behavior. Vestnik VEGU = Bulletin of the Eastern Economics and Law Humanities Academy. 2017;3(89):50–59. (In Russ.)
11. Hobfoll S.E., Halbesleben J., Neveu J., Westman M. Conservation of Resources in the Organizational Context: The Reality of Resources and Their Consequences. Annual Review of Organizational Psychology and Organizational Behavior. 2018;5:103–128.
12. Krasnova O.V. Grandmothers in family. Sotsiologicheskie issledovaniya = Sociological researches. 2000;11:108–116. (In Russ.)
13. Saralieva Z.Kh., Sud'in S.A., Yanak A.L. Parental relationships in the modern russian family: the experience of a pilot study. I Rossiysko-Iranskiy sotsiologicheskiy forum: sb. tez. dokl. uchastnikov foruma (g. Moskva, 16–18 noyabrya 2020 g.) = The 1st Russian-Iranian sociological forum (Moscow, November 16–18, 2020). Moscow: Perspektiva, 2020:509–521. (In Russ.)
14. Vertyakova E.F., Urakanova V.M. Features of raising children in an Islamic family. Problemy sovremennoy nauki i obrazovaniya = Issues of contemporary sciences and education. 2015;5(35):90–93. (In Russ.)
15. Ermilova A.V. Loneliness as the antipotential of older people: a sociological aspect. Sotsial'nyy potentsial pozhilykh lyudey: usloviya, opyt, problemy effektivnogo primeneniya: materialy Mezhregion. nauch.-prakt. konf. (g. Saransk, 15 noyabrya 2018 g.) = Social potential of older people: conditions, experience, problems of effective use: proceedings of Interregional scientific and practical conference (Saransk, November 15, 2018). Saransk: Izdatel' V. S. Afanas'ev, 2019:1–4. (In Russ.)
16. Vdovina M.V. Elder abuse, violence and opportunities to get over them. Obshchestvo: sotsiologiya, psikhologiya, pedagogika = Sociaty: sociology, psychology, pedagogy. 2018;1:9–13. (In Russ.)