Father-Son Distancing and Restricted Intergenerational Transfer

This chapter explores intergenerational transfer processes and outcomes empirically, examining the transfer of norms, beliefs and practices amongst fathers and sons. It contextualises fathers as to when they were born, how they were fathered, the kinds of work in which their fathers were engaged, the different ways family life was organised across different settings, how involved they were in family life, how far their paid employment facilitated or curtailed this and the gendered ideas forming part of their socialisation and what they learnt from their fathers. It next examines how masculinities and fathering practices are reconstructed and transmitted in the context of migration. More broadly, it examines the extent to which sons felt they were able to use these transfers to achieve human wellbeing. Specifically, this chapter examines cases where sons had become distant from their fathers complicating take-up of intergenerational transfers and their conversion into human wellbeing outcomes.