Intergenerational Conflict Experienced by Elderly Parents on Their Children in South Korea

Abstract

Most of the studies have been mainly dealt with intergenerational conflict only from the perspective of the non-elderly. This has led to the development and reproduction of theories that explain conflict only from the perspective of the younger generation. The perspective of the older generation, another subject of conflict, is being overlooked. This study aimed to examine intergenerational conflict experienced by aged Korean parents and its impact. This study was conducted to interviewed and conducted a qualitative analysis of five people aged 65 years old or above with adult children. The results of the study revealed the following themes which were “children who take parents for granted,” “incomprehensible differences,” and “presence that they do not want to lose” were proposed. While the participants experienced difficulties due to intergenerational conflict, they do not want to manifest the conflict to the outside because the person in the conflict is their own child. By examining intergenerational conflict from seniors’ viewpoint, this study contributed to filling the gap in the existing literature, which mainly addresses the viewpoint of adult children. This study can be a reference material for developing programs to resolve intergenerational conflict between children and their aged parents.