Reciprocity Revisited: Give and Take in Dutch and Immigrant Families

Aafke Komter, University College, Utrecht
Djamila Schans, Utrecht University

Reciprocity Revisited: Give and Take in Dutch and Immigrant Families Using data from the Netherlands Kinship Panel Study (N = 8,155), we analyzed patterns of reciprocity in the intergenerational support exchange among three ethnic groups. We distinguished between four varieties of reciprocity: high exchangers (giving and receiving much), receivers (giving little, receiving much), givers (giving much, receiving little), and low exchangers (giving and receiving little). The Dutch were more often low exchangers than the other two ethnic groups (Mediterraneans and Caribbeans), but the association between ethnicity and reciprocity type did not hold after introducing the other independent variables. Patterns of reciprocity were determined by socio-structural, cultural and relational factors.