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Intergenerational transfers in families are increasingly a topic of interest in the context of reductions in the welfare state and increased longevity. This paper draws upon data from a study of four-generation families which afforded an opportunity to examine the transfer of material and care resources across family generations. It explores ways in which family members from different generations talked about family obligations and the relevance of the concept ‘cultures of transmission’ in classifying these discourses. It addresses the questions: How far are cultures of transmission familial in the sense of typifying particular families? And how far are they shaped by life course phase and by historical context? [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In examining 'family policy', previous work on 'family ideology' is developed to demonstrate that 'traditional family sociology' has been 'doing things with words'. In this area sociology, far from being innocuous, has had real impact upon society and may well have been oppressive and deeply reactionary.
Sociological interest in 'family life'[1] and 'family policy' seems to be a growth area in the UK.[2] Many, however, seem to regard 'family policy' debates as somehow neutral, even a technical issue (e.g., Family Impact Statements as discussed by Ory and Leik, 1983 or the Study Commission on the Family, 1983, 46--9). The central argument here is that 'family policy' debates, especially those in which sociology has taken part, are very much 'political', have substantive results and are in fact both dangerous and repressive.[3]. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]