pp. 643-684

This article presents an analysis of relations between generations, within the family and with public/private interface, based on the study of cultural transmission and forms of mutual assistance. It uses data from a three-generation survey built in such a way that the notion of generation becomes operative, by making family, historical and welfare generations coincide. The results show that transmission and transfer between generations, similar to the way they operate in family interactions, work as mediators of social change, transmission links of the welfare state and economic and social regulators. The relations between generations are closely connected to the relations between sexes. Social mobility plays an important role in the determination of their solidarity and of their cultural influence. This study also shows the necessity to take into account a minimum of three generations in order to perceive the temporal dimension which establishes the specificity of these relations.