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Although a minority in assisted living facilities (ALFs), couples do reside in these settings and the numbers are predicted to rise. Despite this prediction, little is known about these couples' experiences. Endeavoring to advance knowledge and inform policy and practice, this article presents an analysis of qualitative data from an exploratory study involving 20 married couples living in ALFs. Analysis considers couples' pathways and responses to assisted living. Findings show couples' pathways to ALFs typically involved a major health transition for one or both spouses and required enabling resources paired with the desire to remain together. For most, the need for relocation was asynchronous. Couples' ALF experiences were variable in terms of how spouses reported interacting with one another and how they interacted with others. A couple's degree of health synchronicity, level of disability, and previous social patterns influenced activity in ALFs. Implications for research, policy, and practice are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Within the context of social, demographic, and historical change and informed by a life course perspective, this article examines patterns of relating between grandparents and grandchildren within families across and within generations. Using qualitative data from a study of 10 multigenerational families (N = 86), the analysis assesses continuity and change in grandparent--grandchild ties across three generations of adults. Although findings reveal change in social and family circumstances over time, half the families experienced considerable continuity in grandparent--grandchild ties and whether close or distant, were characterized by distinct grand cultures. In the remaining families, different configurations of individual, family-related, and social factors led to intra- and intergenerational variations. Divorce and remarriage influenced grandparent--grandchild relationships in most families, yielding highly variable outcomes. Ultimately, the study families' experiences demonstrate how social, historical, familial, and individual circumstances merge to influence grandparent--grandchild ties, producing behaviors ranging from loving and supportive to indifferent and abusive. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]