The concept of ambivalences has been introduced in family research as a tool to widen the perspective, not only considering different relationship characteristics and perceptions separately but taking into account the potential role of the simultaneous occurrence of conflicting emotions, perceptions, and behavioral tendencies. Ambivalences are assumed to play an important role in relationship dynamics, personal development, in the processes of individual adjustment and with regard to subjective well-being. About half a decade ago, a group of researchers used the opportunity of the ESFR conference to present and debate the particular potential and implications of the concept of ambivalences for family research. Based on evermore growing attention to the apparent relevance of ambivalences in intergenerational relationships, it is now the task to scrutinize the emergence, the handling, and the outcomes of ambivalences taking into account the complexity and the dynamic quality of social life.

This symposium offers new insights into the diverse social and personal contexts, specific occasions and individual tracks of ambivalence experiences across the human life course. It also presents a set of different analytical strategies bearing specific potential to identify ambivalences, and to examine their antecedents and implications for personal development as well as relationship processes.

The first two contributions provide insights into the significance of ambivalences for the dynamic nature of relationships and personal development, modeling change using longitudinal data. The following two contributions focus on the multitude and the interplay of social, cultural, and individual factors potentially promoting ambivalence experiences and allowing for different ways to handle them. Finally, the discussion will explore new achievements and implications for future family research, paying special attention to the developments in the field of ambivalence research during the past decade.

Although family relations have been extensively studied, previous research has often examined the various aspects of family relations in isolation from each other. However, in order to capture the complexity of family relations, researchers should consider multiple characteristics of family relationships simultaneously. The current presentation will show how latent class models provide the means to conduct such a multidimensional approach. Using data from two longitudinal panel studies on family relations (the U.S.-based Longitudinal Study of Generations and the Netherlands Kinship Panel Study), it is shown how a typology of relations can be derived from the most common combinations of characteristics in family relations and how the latent class model can be extended into a latent transition model to study dynamics in relation types over time. Both in the U.S. and Dutch data, and both among intergenerational and intragenerational (sibling) relations, a (behaviourally) ambivalent type was identified among a total of five relation types. While the majority of relations showed great stability over time, ambivalent relations were more apt to transition into a different type than others – which is in accordance with ambivalence theory. Moreover, when transitions in relationship types occurred, it was primarily structured by factors affecting the availability of either family member, as well as circumstances that elevated the dependency of family members and promoted both positive and negative reactivity (i.e., ambivalence) in the other party.

Adolescence is typically marked by individual growth of action capacities and self-esteem. During this period, offspring is likely to “oscillate” between the aims to become autonomous and to stay intimately affiliated with the parents. The latter face the challenge to provide their child with options to realize self-reliance while remaining a “safe haven” to turn to. These developments imply the fundamental restructuring of the adolescent-parent relationship. Although previous research suggests that conflicting desires and changing relationship structures are likely to come along with ambivalence experiences, the associations of ambivalences with individual development and relationship characteristics in adolescence are largely understudied. This paper examines the dynamic relations between parenting characteristics, adolescents’ ambivalence experiences, and their self-esteem development. The analysis is conducted with panel data of a representative sample of Swiss adolescents (N = 1.258) surveyed at the ages of 15, 18, and 21 in 2006, 2009, and 2012 (COCON). We employ latent change modeling techniques, with parental responsiveness, ambivalence experiences, and self-esteem defined as multi-item factors based on the adolescents’ self-reports. The results show a declining intra-individual trajectory of ambivalence experiences between mid- and late-adolescence. We also find negative correlations between the levels and rates of change of adolescent ambivalence experiences and parental responsiveness and self-esteem, respectively. Self-esteem is negatively affected particularly when ambivalence persists across the adolescent years. Altogether, the findings suggest that ambivalence experiences are dynamically interrelated with relationship characteristics and individual development. The study thus highlights the significance of investigating ambivalences in the eventful period of adolescence.

Re-constituted families are a form familial living together that became more relevant in the past few decades within changing conditions. Those “patchwork-family-figures” are emerging because of divorce or the separation of both biological parents and the following decision to be in a new relationship, again. I expect that the specific structure stimulates the genesis of the phenomenon of ambivalent experiences in various forms (e.g. role and dyad according to the constitution of familial relationship).

The focus, then, is the question of how people in re-constituted families are living their everyday lives, cope with ambivalent situations and find new arrangements. Furthermore, there is the issue of how they arrange their relationships in a modified family frame.

Although research interest regarding intergenerational ambivalence has steadily grown in the last years, not much is known yet about how young adults deal with feelings of ambivalence towards older parents within the context of migration. Also, it is still an open question whether grown-up sons and daughters experience ambivalences towards both of their parents differently.

The present study focused on gender, generation and culture effects regarding the experience of ambivalence in the relations of young adult children to their parents in migrant compared to non-migrant families. The sample was part of the project IRMA (“Intergenerational Relations in the Light of Migration and Ageing”) and comprised N = 86 Luxembourgish and N = 68 Portuguese young adult children, all living in Luxembourg. About 62% of the Portuguese participants were already born in Luxembourg, the remaining arrived to the host country with an average age of M = 4.84 years (SD = 4.14).

First results show different patterns of gender effects in Portuguese immigrant compared to Luxembourgish families. Whereas PT young adult children tended to report a higher felt ambivalence towards mothers compared to fathers, this was not the case for their LUX counterparts. Further, PT sons reported significantly higher feelings of ambivalence towards their fathers compared to PT daughters. A similar tendency was found for LUX sons.

Results will be discussed within an integrative framework regarding ambivalence as well as subjective well-being in the light of migration and aging taking into account the relative effects of gender, generation and culture.