Do Indian elderly desire culturally prescribed care and reciprocity? A study of the Old Age Home Residents of India

Anindya Jayanta Mishra

IIT Roorkee, India

The tremendous growth of old age homes in India draws attention to the disjunction in relationships between ageing parents and children. Nowadays there is a marked shift in the preference of living arrangement among both parents and children. The old age homes have sprung up to cater to the needs of the elderly from different socio-economic backgrounds. But since the idea of living in old age homes is relatively new in India, the adjustment process of the old age home residents, their feelings of satisfaction and dissatisfaction and expectations from family members, provide an interesting field of inquiry.

The aim of this paper is to study the reasons for the elderly to shift to old age homes and to look at family relationships of the residents in these old age homes in India. The paper is based on the study conducted in old age homes located in four coastal districts of Orissa, a province in India. It was found that the poverty and lack of money was one of the prime reasons for conflict with children. The residents did not prefer “intimacy - but - at - a - distance” as a form of living arrangement as is found in the European countries. They were of the opinion that either the parents should live with children or they should live away from children in some distant place. As to care and reciprocity, the elderly parents do not attach any negative meaning to physical and economic dependence on the children in old age since it is culturally accepted that the children will take care of their elderly parents in old age.

Keywords: living arrangement, elderly, family, India