Abstract
[Autom. eng. transl.] The family is the place of the bond and the exchange between the generations but the theme of the transmission of the family inheritance is little present in the psychosocial literature. The transmission of the inheritance includes the genetic baggage of each individual but also the material and symbolic heritage, with the passage of names, stories and traditions. The transmission (etymologically, sending from one place to another) has to do with the exchange between one generation and another, while the passing down (in its etymological sense of giving into the future) concerns the re-signification of this dynamic to the inside a story of ties. Handing down therefore allows going beyond an exchange that occurs in the here and now of the relationship between the generations. The transmission of family inheritance is a process that unfolds throughout existence, in the various evolutionary transitions, is divided into different forms, involves multiple generations and hinges around the intergenerational exchange of symbolic and material heritage. The generative character of a generation is linked to the desire to transmit, which provides the opportunity to re-launch what has been received and therefore to revitalize the family bond. It is only in a climate of hope and confidence that generations can feel the desire to relaunch the symbolic and material heritage and value of family history in a generative and invigorating way. The challenge is a need to connect the inheritance to the system of values that guide it and to the affections that signify it. The risk lurks in the ambiguity of the intergenerational passages of the inheritance that have wide spaces of unpredictability. Resentment as a feeling that fuels the need for revenge between generations is a sort of landing for those who find themselves in the midst of the storm of family pain. When generations develop a rancorous fixation on the family legacy, or rather, when they fail to give it a new meaning that allows them to re-recognize, restore value to their ties, they find themselves imprisoned in the deadly immobilism of resentment. The past is spreading in the present and in the future. Generations are enmeshed in a past with respect to which they have an open account in terms of what has been given and how these passages have been implemented. Present and future are mortgaged in order to erase the weight of the unfair distribution of goods that has characterized the past. The temporal experience of families who experience resentment consists in a continuous rumination of resentment which can also culminate in real revengeful actions, which reverberate their own harmful effects along the intergenerational chain. Resentment gives rise to a circular and repetitive movement between generations. Methodology. The qualitative research has set itself the objective of outlining the main criteria to understand how the care of family inheritance is differently characterized by resentment or instead by forgiveness and reconciliation. The simultaneous presence of several generations on the family scene constitutes the main criterion for recruiting the sample and responds to the need to investigate the transmission of inheritance in an exquisitely familiar perspective. The research sample is composed of 5 whole families, composed of at least three generations, for a total of 28 subjects. With each family, individual, dyadic and family semistructured interviews were carried out, also using non-verbal tools (genogram, coat of arms, suitcase) to collect elements on the intergenerational transmission process and on how to divide the family legacy. Analysis of the results. The analysis, through comparative reading grids of the different tools used, showed how some elements are indicative
Translated title of the contribution | [Autom. eng. transl.] What resources in the transmission of the family inheritance? qualitative research |
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Original language | Italian |
Title of host publication | Epistemologia della complessità nella ricerca psicologica |
Editors | CARLO GALIMBERTI, GIUSEPPE SCARATTI |
Pages | 97-128 |
Number of pages | 32 |
Publication status | Published - 2010 |
Externally published | Yes |
Keywords
- eredità familiare
- ricerca qualitativa