Within the context of social and demographic transformation, including trend toward globalization, changing patterns of longevity and immigration, this study examines the informal support exchanges between older parents and their adult children in Indian (South Asian) multi-generational families in the United States. Guided by symbolic interactionist thought and a life course perspective, this paper draws on qualitative data from in-depth, semi-structured interviews with 10 older adults in Atlanta, Georgia to study their expectations of and experiences with family support and the principles of Grounded Theory Methods informed our analysis. Filial piety, known as seva in the Indian culture, was used as a framework by the participants to make sense of support exchanges and intergenerational relationships within their own families. Participants' accounts of support exchanges with their parents in India do not always match with the support exchanged with their children in the U.S. The similarities and differences participants speak of as they compare themselves to the traditional practices surrounding seva suggest "individualized" practices of intergenerational relationships/familial support and the influence of and interplay between individual, familial, and wider societal forces. Our findings have implications for policy and practice with older immigrant adults and their families, and shed light on the experiences of growing old in a foreign land. © 2011 Elsevier Inc.

qualitative research Social support Filial piety (seva) Traditions intergenerational relations Ethnicity Immigration

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