Integrating the Generations ~ Page 1 of 5
Wilma L. West Library Resource Notes
Integrating the Generations
January 2002
For most of Christmas Eve and Christmas day, four generations of my family ate, told stories,
argued, laughed, played games, or watched movies at my brother's home where my Mom has a
small apartment. My Mom, the matriarch, is approaching 85, and the youngest great grandchild
just turned 5. Through her three grandchildren and then, in turn, her five great grandchildren,
my mother keeps her inner child alive. She has shared her love of family, humor, sewing,
reading, and jigsaw puzzles with all of them, and she so enjoys listening to them talk about their
passions and their lives.
In the Boston neighborhood where I lived through college, it was common for multi generations
to live in the same house or apartment building. As we have become a more mobile society,
such a living arrangement has become less common. Families living in the same city are rare.
Add to this phenomenon, the increasing number of divorces and the opportunity for the
generations to share their stories and lives become fewer and fewer. Children miss having
frequent interaction with grandparents, and grandparents miss out on the daily adventures of
their grandchildren. All of us miss out on the benefit of learning from each other. The Foster
Grandparent Program of the District of Columbia Senior Citizens Counseling and Delivery
Service began in 1972. To find a list for your state, visit the web site of Senior Corps, of the
Corporation for National and Community Service.
Many communities are developing programs that bring the generations together. The more
creative of them are helping to alleviate the issues of latch key kids and lonely elders. Children
and teens are finding surrogate grandparents and mentors, while the elders in the programs are
becoming more engaged in the life of the community and finding that they still have valuable
roles to play.
Again, occupational therapy (OT) practitioners recognize the value of intergenerational
activities, and you will find references specific to OT amidst the citations below. Several
organizations exist just to promote and support intergenerational programs:
Generations United (GU)
The Grandparenting Organization
Intergenerational Innovations
Into the 21st Century: Intergenerational Programming
Integrating the Generations ~ Page 2 of 5
Select Citations
Adams, C. (2001). Kids dig the past. Better Homes & Gardens, 79(11), 104-6.
Abstract: Children have a natural curiosity regarding whom they are and where they come
from. Sifting through old photos, sharing family stories, and filling in family trees can link
parents and grandparents to children like nothing else. In addition, as more people trace their
family roots today with the aid of the Internet and new software, useful research skills can be
picked up in the process. The writer provides advice on getting children interested in
genealogy.
Bowers J. (1999). Effects of an intergenerational choir for community-based seniors and
college students on age-related attitudes. Journal of Music Therapy, 35(1), 2-18.
ABSTRACT: The purpose of this study was to examine attitudes of college students and
senior citizens towards each other by incorporating successful components of a senior citizens'
music program into the "Adopt-A-Choir" program established in a university music
education/therapy program. Data collection was accomplished using the Age Group Evaluation
and Description Inventory (AGED), providing insight into attitudes classified in 4
domains/evaluative scales: Goodness, Positiveness, Vitality, and Maturity. Subjects ware
members of the Senior Singers (n = 15, 15) and music education/therapy students enrolled in
the Woman's Glee Club at a local university (n = 15, 12). Results of the pre/post AGED survey
warn compared using the Wilcoxon Matched Pairs test, with means increasing significantly for
the four domains (p <. 02). Gains were greatest for the seniors, suggesting a stronger move
from negative to positive attitudes. Though the gains were smaller with the university students,
all changes were positive, with one exception: in the "vitality" domain, university student attitude
ratings decreased on the continuum for "timid-assertive." Informal predictors further suggested
the partnership between seniors and university students was enjoyed by both sets of
participants.
Camp, C.J., Judge, K.S., Bye, C.A., Fox, K.M., Bowden, J., Bell, M., Valencic, K. & Mattern,
J.M. (1997). An intergenerational program for persons with dementia using Montessori
methods. Gerontologist, 37(5), 688-92.
ABSTRACT: An intergenerational program bringing together older adults with dementia and
preschool children in one-on-one interactions is described. Montessori activities, which have
strong ties to physical and occupational therapy, as well as to theories of developmental and
cognitive psychology, are used as the context for these interactions. Our experience indicates
that older adults with dementia can still serve as effective mentors and teachers to children in an
appropriately structured setting.
Carnes, L.R. (1997). Intergenerational occupation: An alternative programming option.
Developmental Disabilities Special Interest Section Quarterly, 20(2), 1-3.
Goldstein, H., Vasquez, V., Runyon, C., Lohman, M. & Gabriel, L. (1991). Intergenerational
experiences for occupational therapy students. Physical & Occupational Therapy in Geriatrics,
10(2), 17-30.
Integrating the Generations ~ Page 3 of 5
ABSTRACT: As the percentage of elders to the overall U.S. population continues to grow,
there will be an increased need for occupational therapy services. Some, but not all,
occupational therapy professional curricula currently emphasize coursework in gerontology.
This paper presents a means of supplementing academic coursework with intergenerational
experiences. These experiences involve contact with both the well and frail elderly using
graduated levels of activity. The purposes of intergenerational experiences are: (1) to provide
students with positive contact with an aged person who they are, for the most part, segregated
from, yet with whom they are expected to function effectively as future clinicians; (2) to help
eliminate stereotypes and to enable them to perceive the elder population as a heterogeneous
group; and (3) to instill clinical skill of critical thinking as applied to treatment planning.
Ivey, J.B. (2001). Somebody's grandma and grandpa. Children's responses to contacts with
elders. MCN American Journal of Maternal and Child Nursing, 26(1), 23-7.
ABSTRACT: PURPOSE: This article describes the planning, implementation, and evaluation
of a program that introduced children into a nursing home. METHOD: A qualitative descriptive
design was employed to measure the responses of children to the program. The sample
consisted of 61 children, including preschoolers and adolescents. Data were collected from
children who participated in the activities (n = 33), and from children who had not participated (n
= 28).
Content analysis was used to analyze the data. RESULTS: There were no differences in
perceptions of preschoolers who participated or did not participate in the nursing home visitation
program. In contrast, adolescents who had not participated in the activities with elders described
physical infirmities and negative experiences with elders, and talked about smells and boredom.
However, adolescent participants in the program demonstrated positive perceptions and
descriptions of elders. A favorite activity for all ages was hearing the residents' stories and
memories. Adolescent participants reported that their experiences and activities in the program
had altered their opinions and beliefs, and they expressed the intent to include elders in their
lives in the future. CLINICAL IMPLICATIONS: Because adolescent children exposed to these
visits expressed positive perceptions of elders it is prudent to plan larger scale studies with
these populations, and also to evaluate the effects of the visits on nursing home residents.
Joe, B.E. (1989). Buddies bridge generation gap. OT Week, 3(37), 20-1.
Katzman, B. (1987).
family.
Elderly play mutually supportive role...As grandparents in changing
OT Week, 1(30), 4-5, 14.
Musick, J.S. (1994). Grandmothers and grandmothers-to-be: Effects on adolescent mothers
and adolescent mothering. Infants and Young Children, 6(3), 1-9.
ABSTRACT: Analyses of observational, survey, interview, and journal data gathered on a
diverse group of pregnant and parenting adolescents indicate that the relationships between
adolescent girls and their mothers are influential forces in promoting (or in preventing) teenage
childbearing and in shaping adolescent mothers' attitudes and behaviors toward their children.
Although in some ways overlapping with a range of other social, economic, and psychological
factors, mother-daughter relationships also play a distinct and prominent role in patterns of
teenage childbearing and child rearing.
Integrating the Generations ~ Page 4 of 5
Raphael, E.I. (1988). Grandparents: A study of their role in Hispanic families. Physical &
Occupational Therapy in Geriatrics, 6(3/4), 31-62.
ABSTRACT: This pilot research project focuses on a description of the role and identifying
activities of grandparenting within a lower income New York City Hispanic community. This
study has three components: a comparison of Hispanic and white grandparents, an exploration
of models derived from the gerontological and growing grandparenthood literature, and a
discussion of the therapeutic potential of grandparenting activities. The research design
involved two interviews with 10 subjects at a senior center. Research instruments included:
Kornhaber and Woodward's Life Story Approach and Grandparenting Questionnaire, a
genogram activity and the McNevins Test, "Describing the Older Person." Results of the
comparison between the two groups of grandparents suggest that interesting differences exist.
Testing the theoretical models opens up new ways of looking at the Hispanic grandparent...
Shipman, M. (1999). How senior volunteers and intergenerational programs contribute to
education and enrich lives.
Education Canada, 39, (1), 31-34.
ABSTRACT: Describes the explosion in intergenerational programs linking school children
and seniors in Ontario and in other Canadian provinces. Discusses program benefits, form and
content of programs, service-reciprocity programs, age segregation in today's society, and
social context for the increase in programs. United Generations Ontario is dedicated to
promoting programs that bring young and old together.
Smith, B.J. & Yeager, A. (1999). Intergenerational communities: Where learning and interaction
go hand-in-hand. 25-32.
Abstract: The authors argue for intergenerational programs based on two contemporary
orientations to teaching and learning: constructivist and sociocultural. They provide examples of
school-based intra- and inter-generational activities that challenge conventional notions about
the capabilities of young children and speak to the learning benefits of collaborative decisionmaking. The authors offer several specific guidelines for intergenerational developers and
researchers that focus on assessing the learning potential of intergenerational initiatives. They
also recommend case studies and participatory research approaches as particularly useful for
gaining insight into intergenerational learning processes.
Travis, S.S., Stremmel, A.J. & Kelly-Harrison, P. (1995). Intergenerational programming for
young children and dependent elders: Current status and future directions. Activities,
Adaptation & Aging, 20(2), 33-50.
ABSTRACT: The results of a mail survey to child and adult day care administrators in
Virginia indicate a preference for certain categories of intergenerational activities and an overall
willingness to provide intergenerational programs for their clients. Included in the paper is a
discussion of the developmental and functional benefits, the child/elder co-exploration value of
frequently offered intergenerational activities and suggestions for future directions of
intergenerational programs targeting young children elders.
VanderVen, K. Intergenerational theory: The missing element in today's intergenerational
programs. Child & youth services, 20(1/2), 33-47.
Integrating the Generations ~ Page 5 of 5
ABSTRACT: Various modifications to current theories of human development are suggested
along with potential applications to intergenerational programming. It is argued that a new
intergenerational theory of human development should be developed that accounts for an
increase in life span, contemporary societal values, and the role of environmental variables in
shaping behavior. Such an intergenerational theoretical approach should be used to examine
the potential developmental outcomes for specific age-group dyads engaged in programmatic
activities. Implications of such an approach for research and program evaluation are also
suggested.
Ward, C.R., Kamp, L.L. & Newman, S. (1996). The effects of participation in an
intergenerational program on the behavior of residents with dementia. Activities, Adaptation &
Aging, 20(4), 61-76.
ABSTRACT: This paper reports on a project that sought to demonstrate the value of
intergenerational activities for long-term care residents who participated in weekly music
activities with young children and in similar activities without the children. Videotaping and a
natural observer gathered data on residents' positive behaviors (for example, laughing).
Analysis found two statistically significant differences between those times when children were
and were not present: touching was more frequent when children were present while head
nodding was less frequent. Caregivers observed residents' agitation levels later in the day on
which the activities took place. Analysis showed that participation in activities with small
children lowered residents' agitation levels.
Wiscott, R. & Kopera-Frye, K. (2000). Sharing of culture: adult grandchildren's perceptions of
intergenerational relations. International Journal of Aging & Human Development, 51(3), 199215.
ABSTRACT: The current study addressed the sharing of traditions, beliefs, and customs
(i.e., culture) between grandparents and grandchildren. Two hundred and forty-six adult
grandchildren were surveyed on both existing and newly created measures of grandparenting.
Results indicated that extent of shared activities, attitudes toward grandparents, and
perceptions of cultural sharing were significantly related. Additionally, it was found that minority
and female participants were more likely to engage in intergenerational culture sharing and
reported more positive statements about this sharing in response to open-ended questions.
Findings highlight the importance of cultural sharing to perceptions of grandchild-grandparent
relationships.