Pearl Dykstra is Professor of the Erasmus University Rotterdam and co-leader of the work package on intergenerational linkages within Families And Societies, a European project investigating the diversity of life courses and demographic change in Europe. AGE Platform Europe, dissemination partner of the project, had a chat with her, looking at the relationship between generations within families and the issue of informal care.
In the interview, Mrs Dykstra underlines the importance of adding a fourth generation when analysing the intergenerational linkages within the families. She explains how important the availability of long-term care services is regarding the structure of these linkages, and she discusses the cultural and political explanations of the diversity of long-term care arrangements across Europe. She thinks that political factors explain specific care arrangements more satisfactorily than cultural ones. Her work package will be producing very interesting research on these topics in the coming year.