| Abstract: | In this study 116 men and 200 women randomly selected from phone books in the midwestern United States responded to a vignette designed to assess their attitudes about the obligation of men toward intergenerational family financial obligations following divorce. The hypotheses were: (1) Men will be perceived to have greater obligations to financially assist a father than to assist a stepfather or former father-in-law, and (2) men will be perceived to have greater obligations to financially assist a son than to assist an elderly family member. An additional research question was addressed: What rationale do people give to explain their beliefs about men's intergenerational financial obligations following divorce? Data were analyzed using chi-square tests (forced-choice responses) and qualitative methods (open-ended responses). Both hypotheses were supported. Obligation was greatest to offspring, followed by fathers, stepfathers, and former fathers-in-law. However, attitudes about intergenerational obligations were contextual, and they depended on relationship quality, resources available, acuity of need, and ongoing commitments. |
