Abstract
The central issue of this paper is the new theory explaining the three-generation family in contemporary Japan instead of the “ie” theory. Theoretical and empirical bases are presented for considering the conditions on which the three-generation family is formed. A three-generation family is composed of two nuclear families ; the parents' family and their children's family, I derive some hypotheses based on previous findings of family developmental tasks and relationships between the parents and their married children.
1. The parents and their married children find merits in living together. If they find no merits, they break the three-generation family down into two nuclear families.
2. They live together and create a family system, which has the effective function in coping with difficulties at the critical stages of life. At the same time, some mechanism is necessary to relieve tension between the two generations.
I compared the three-generation family with the nuclear family regarding parent-offspring relationships and resources. Important findings include :
1. The three-generation family has more resources than the nuclear family. The forming of a three-generation family has two kinds of merits. One is the manifest merit of the reduction of expenses of housing or food, and the exchange of help for care. The other is a latent merit, the relief of loneliness. Married children receive help from parents during the early stages, and parents receive help from children during the aging family stage.
2. Living together sometimes gives rise to emotional conflict between the two generations. Wisdom is necessary to avoid this. It seems to be a common way of life in the three-generation family to use the rooms or facilities independently, especially when the parents are relatively young and live with their son.
These are the characteristics of the three-generation family in contemporary Japan. I call it the “modified stem family”.
