Intergenerational flows of support between parents and adult children in Britain

Has COVID-19 Been the Great Leveler? The Changing Use of Intergenerational Digital Communications Amongst Older People in England During the Pandemic

This research examines patterns of intergenerational digital contact before and during the COVID-19 pandemic in England, using data from the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing (ELSA) Wave nine and the first Wave of the ELSA COVID-19 Sub-study. Multivariate binary logistic regressions were applied to assess the determinants of frequent intergenerational digital communication. The findings indicate that when the pandemic began, many older persons shifted towards more frequent intergenerational digital contact, but a small minority shifted away. As a result, the pre-existing gender gap amongst older people in the use of digital communication technology narrowed, as did the disparity associated with family relationship closeness. However, pre-pandemic gaps in the intergenerational digital connection between internet users and non-users widened during the pandemic. Overall, the results suggest that the pandemic resulted in more frequent digitally-mediated social interactions within the family, which may strengthen ties between older and younger family members.

Informal Care and Subjective Well-Being among Older Adults in Selected European Countries

A person’s health status is one of the strongest determinants of well-being. The negative impact of poor health on subjective well-being may be moderated by providing care to individuals in need. In this paper, we investigate the relationships between receiving informal care and the amount of care received and subjective well-being among people aged 65 or older in selected European countries. Our analysis of data from the 6th wave of the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARE) showed that receiving regular informal care was associated with higher subjective well-being among older people in Northern European countries, and with lower subjective well-being among older males in Southern European countries. Moreover, we found that the perception of the amount of help received affected the subjective well-being of older people, as those who reported that the support they received was either insufficient or met their needs had lower subjective well-being than those who were not in need of care. Our results also showed that receiving formal care was negatively related with subjective well-being among older adults in Northern Europe and Central and Eastern Europe. In the context of population ageing and the growing need for care, social policies that support both sides of the caregiving relationship could enhance subjective quality of life.

Exploring the type of social support available to aged male hypertensive clients in Ghana

Objective

To explores the social support available to aged hypertensive male clients in a municipality in Ghana.

Methods

The inclusion criteria were as follows: age ≥60 years and are known hypertensive patients. Data were collected from 186 selected aged male hypertensive patients for 3 months. The questionnaire was self-developed and open-ended. The data were processed and analyzed using SPSS version 23. Some of the variables were subjected to statistical tests and ranks in the order of importance to respondents. The enrolled respondents were allowed to participate in the study after their informed consent was obtained. It was evident that respondents do not obtain much support or help in taking care of their condition.

Results

The result revealed that the repondents has no support to help take care of their condition as evident by the responses in the study. The scores on average mean for some variables are (AM = 2.25, SD = 0.381) more than the test value of 2.50. Some of these supports were on feeding support (M = 3.97, SD = 0.278, n = 186), health support (M = 2.87, SD = 0.167, n = 186), and cleaning support (M = 2.59, SD = 0.868, n = 186). Supports such as clothing, socialization, medication, washing, transportation, and financial support were lacking.

Conclusions

Based on the finding that certain forms of support were lacking, the study concludes that steps undertaken by the government, community, religious bodies, and family toward improving these supports can be of immense help for aged male hypertensive patients living in the Ejura-Sekyedumase municipality.

Caring trajectories and health in mid-life

Previous research has found varied effects of informal care provision on the carer's health status. Few studies have, however, examined this relationship dynamically. This paper is the first to analyse trajectories of care among men and women in mid-life and their impact on health outcomes using a nationally representative prospective cohort study. Data from three waves of the United Kingdom (UK) National Child Development Study (N = 7,465), when the respondents were aged 46, 50 and 55, are used to derive care trajectories capturing the dynamics of care provision and its intensity. Logistic regression investigates the impact of caring between the ages of 46 and 55 on the carers' report of depression and poor health at age 55. At age 46, 9 per cent of men and 16 per cent of women provided some level of informal care; rising to 60 per cent for both genders at ages 50 and 55. Just 7 per cent of women and 4 per cent of men provided care at all observation points, with the most common trajectory being ‘starting to care’ at ages 50 or 55. New carers experienced a lower risk of depression at age 55, reflecting that they may not have experienced the caring role long enough to have an adverse impact on their wellbeing. The findings highlight that the majority of individuals with surviving parents experience caring at some point during mid-life, underlining the need for further longitudinal research to better understand the complex relationships between care-giving and health for different groups of cares.

Support Now to Care Later: Intergenerational Support Exchanges and Older Parents' Care Receipt and Expectations

OBJECTIVES

Older parents' previous support exchanges with adult children could influence which child currently provides care, or which child they expect to provide care in the future. Distinguishing between support and care, we investigated how different types of past support exchanges with children were associated with care receipt and expectations from the parent's perspective.

METHODS

Older parents (N = 190; Mage = 79.98) reported on exchanges of tangible and non-tangible support, and provision of childcare support with each of their adult children (N = 709; Mage = 52.69) in two waves of the Family Exchanges Study (2008 and 2013). Multilevel, within-family, logistic regression models were estimated to examine how past patterns of support exchanges were associated with which child the older parent receives or expects to receive care from.

RESULTS

Parents with functional limitations at Wave 2 were more likely to receive care from children whom they received more tangible support from at the prior wave. Parents without current limitations more likely named children whom they previously provided childcare support to and received more tangible support from as their expected future caregiver.

DISCUSSION

This study distinguished different types of support to examine unique pathways to received and expected care within families. Taking the older parent's perspective, these findings endorse previous studies that emphasize continuity in the transition from receiving tangible support to receiving and expecting care from adult children. The findings also suggest the importance of older parents' childcare support given to adult children, highlighting reciprocity in intergenerational care exchanges.

The effects of adult children's gender composition on the care type and care network of ageing parents

Although the literature on informal care-giving for older parents shows that daughters have a higher tendency to provide care compared with sons, only a few studies have focused on the gender composition of all children or parents’ entire range of care options. Our study examines the effect of children's gender composition on informal and formal care types, as well as the informal care network. Using data from the 2015 Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (N = 40,312), we found that parents with daughters tended to use less formal care because daughters take on additional informal care-giving responsibilities. Daughters were the main care-givers among parents’ informal care networks. Further analysis indicated that daughters-in-law play an important role in the care-giving process when parents have only sons. We concluded that the presence of a daughter among the children reduces the use of formal care. The results indicated that children's gender composition is an important factor in explaining the allocation of informal care to parents.

Gender and family structures affecting intergenerational support from adult children to older parents: A cross-national study in a developing country

In Latin America, informal support from adult children to their older parents ("upward support") is crucial with an aging population and insufficient coverage of social protection systems. This article examines variables associated with upward support, distinguishing by gender of parents and their children. The research design is quantitative, correlational, and cross-sectional. It is based on primary survey data collected by the authors for the study. The authors hypothesized that upward support depends on children's opportunities to provide support and on the needs of parents. The results show that upward support depends more on children's opportunities than on parents' needs, although upward support is higher for parents with poorer health. Daughters are more supportive than sons, but sibling characteristics do not moderate associations between children's gender and receipt of support. Cohabiting with the parent, receiving support from the parent, and having a good relationship were also associated with greater upward support. Therefore, policies should consider the gender of adult children when allocating resources to older people.

There at any distance? Geographic proximity and the presence of adult children in older Europeans' core discussion networks

Adult children are key confidants for their aging parents, often providing emotional and advisory supports. Still, adult children are not a guaranteed presence in older people's core discussion networks. Geographical distance is a leading explanation for why some children are excluded from the confidant network, but we hypothesize that certain parent- and dyadic-level factors make these intergenerational ties more or less resilient to distance. Using wave six of the Survey of Health, Ageing, and Retirement in Europe, we identified whether a living adult child was also a member of the parent's egocentric confidant network. We found that fifty-eight percent of children were excluded from a parent's network and that such network exclusion was more common the greater the distance between parent and child. Random slope logit models indicate that parents with higher education were less sensitive to longer distances when listing a child as a confidant, whereas poor parental health exacerbated distance consequences. We also observed regional differences, with Northern Europeans being more impervious to geographical distance than older adults living in areas of the continent considered most familistic. Together, results point to the contingency of distance, as a number of demographic factors and personal and social resources contribute to the elasticity of parent-child ties across geographic space.

A systematic review of longitudinal risk factors for loneliness in older adults

OBJECTIVES

To effectively reduce loneliness in older adults, interventions should be based on firm evidence regarding risk factors for loneliness in that population. This systematic review aimed to identify, appraise and synthesise longitudinal studies of risk factors for loneliness in older adults.

METHODS

Searches were performed in June 2018 in PsycINFO, Scopus, Sociology Collection and Web of Science. Inclusion criteria were: population of older adults (M = 60+ years at outcome); longitudinal design; study conducted in an OECD country; article published in English in a peer-review journal. Article relevance and quality assessments were made by at least two independent reviewers.

RESULTS

The search found 967 unique articles, of which 34 met relevance and quality criteria. The Netherlands and the United States together contributed 19 articles; 17 analysed national samples while 7 studies provided the data for 19 articles. One of two validated scales was used to measure loneliness in 24 articles, although 10 used a single item. A total of 120 unique risk factors for loneliness were examined. Risk factors with relatively consistent associations with loneliness were: not being married/partnered and partner loss; a limited social network; a low level of social activity; poor self-perceived health; and depression/depressed mood and an increase in depression.

CONCLUSION

Despite the range of factors examined in the reviewed articles, strong evidence for a longitudinal association with loneliness was found for relatively few, while there were surprising omissions from the factors investigated. Future research should explore longitudinal risk factors for emotional and social loneliness.

Do Social Timing and Gender Matter to Parental Depression Aroused by Traumatic Experience of Child Bereavement? Evidence from China

Child loss is a rare but traumatic life event that often has a detrimental effect on parental wellbeing. However, parents' resources and strategies in coping with the stressful child bereavement event may depend on timing of the event. This study intends to examine how parental depression could be aroused by the occurrence and timing of child bereavement, and how the influences vary by child gender. Drawing on the theoretical framework of the stress and life course, and using three waves of data from the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study, we find that both the occurrence and timing of child bereavement are significantly associated with parental depression in later life. Bereaved parents are more likely to report depression than non-bereaved parents. Child bereavement in children's young adulthood is more likely to spark off parental depression than that occurring in children's midlife or later. Further analysis confirms that the timing effect of child bereavement differs by child gender. Parents whose son died during young adulthood are more likely to report depression than their counterparts whose daughter died. Future studies need to address how to build up a specific social welfare program targeting child bereavement groups in different life stages.

Scoping Review: Intergenerational Resource Transfer and Possible Enabling Factors

We explore the intergenerational pattern of resource transfer and possible associated factors. A scoping review was conducted of quantitative, peer-reviewed, English-language studies related to intergenerational transfer or interaction. We searched AgeLine, PsycINFO, Social Work Abstracts, and Sociological Abstracts for articles published between Jane 2008 and December 2018. Seventy-five studies from 25 countries met the inclusion criteria. The scoping review categorised resource transfers into three types: financial, instrumental, and emotional support. Using an intergenerational solidarity framework, factors associated with intergenerational transfer were placed in four categories: (1) demographic factors (e.g., age, gender, marital status, education, and ethno-cultural background); (2) needs and opportunities factors, including health, financial resources, and employment status; (3) family structures, namely, family composition, family relationship, and earlier family events; and (4) cultural-contextual structures, including state policies and social norms. Those factors were connected to the direction of resource transfer between generations. Downward transfers from senior to junior generations occur more frequently than upward transfers in many developed countries. Women dominate instrumental transfers, perhaps influenced by traditional gender roles. Overall, the pattern of resource transfer between generations is shown, and the impact of social norms and social policy on intergenerational transfers is highlighted. Policymakers should recognise the complicated interplay of each factor with different cultural contexts. The findings could inform policies that strengthen intergenerational solidarity and support.

Consequences on depression of combining grandparental childcare with other caregiving roles

Objective: This study examines the effect of combining grandchild care with other care roles on depression among individuals aged 50 to 84. Previous research investigating the health consequences of multiple care roles among older adults found mixed evidence, with most studies being predominantly cross-sectional.Methods: We use longitudinal data from the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARE) to understand how grandparents' mental health, measured as depressive symptoms, is affected when combining multiple care roles. We estimate logistic regression models, for grandfathers and grandmothers separately, to investigate how depression at wave 2 is affected by multiple care roles at wave 1, controlling for depression at baseline.Results: Consistent with previous studies, we find that providing grandchild care only reduces risk of depression for grandmothers, but not for grandfathers. For both genders, we find a higher risk of depression among those who provide intensive care to co-residents. The negative effect of grandchild care on depression found for grandmothers disappears if they also provide other types of care. In particular, grandmothers who provide care both to grandchildren and to a sick or disabled person show a higher risk of depression compared to those who only provide grandchild care.Conclusions: While multiple caregiving roles are not common, it is important to understand their combined effect on caregivers' health. Grandmothers who provide childcare and other intensive types of care may lose the positive effects grandchild care exert over their wellbeing.

Intergenerational Support between Older Adults and Adult Children in Nigeria: The Role of Reciprocity

The rapid change in the family support structure in developing countries could jeopardize the concept of reciprocal support an older adult receives in later life. This study explored the perception of reciprocity between older parents and adult children on intergenerational support in Northern Nigeria. We purposely selected 18 participants and conducted face-to-face interviews. We analyzed the data using descriptive phenomenological method analysis. Three major themes emerged: characteristics of support, perceived support given and received to/from children, and perceived indebtedness/credit. Financial support is one of the most common types of support received by older adults. The perceived support given to adult children was expressed as "huge and sacrificial" by older adults. The adult children felt they are providing less support than they have received from their parents and expressed the feeling of indebtedness to their older parents. Generally, adult children perceived the need to reciprocate past support received from their older parents. The perception of reciprocity remains strong among Nigerians and plays a vital role in promoting intergenerational support between older parents and adult children. We discuss the implications of the findings, including the role of professionals to promote provision of other forms of support to older adults.

Short-term reciprocity between adult children and parents: A within-person investigation of longitudinal data

Although reciprocity of intergenerational support has been widely considered in family studies, empirical investigations utilizing panel data are still rather scarce. This study used data from four waves of the German Family Panel (pairfam), which were collected in two-year intervals between 2009 and 2016. We examined whether the frequency of received support from parents previously is associated with the frequency of provided support to parents later. Multiple forms of support were considered that may be used as currencies of intergenerational exchange (i.e., one could be exchanged for another): emotional support, practical help, financial aid and personal care. Our analyses used multilevel regression models and investigated both between- and within-person effects. Between-person effects indicated mainly positive associations between different forms of received and provided support. However, these associations were confirmed by only a few of the within-person effects, which examined individuals' variations over time. According to within-person effects, an increase in the frequency of emotional support that a son received from a parent was positively associated with subsequent provision of financial support for that parent. Additionally, an increase in the frequency of practical help that daughters received from their fathers was positively associated with subsequent provision of financial aid to their fathers. The magnitude of these positive within-person effects was smaller compared to the between-person effects. Within-person effects did not provide further evidence for causal intergenerational reciprocity within the investigated time period.

Caught in the middle in mid-life: provision of care across multiple generations

With a large baby-boomer generation entering mid-later life in the United Kingdom, and families spanning across multiple generations, understanding how individuals support multiple generations is of increasing research and policy significance. Data from the British 1958 National Child Development Study, collected when respondents were aged 55, are used to examine how mid-life women and men allocate their time to support elderly parents/parents-in-law and their own adult children in terms of providing grandchild care, and whether there is a trade-off in caring for different generations. Binary logistic and multinomial regression models distinguish between individuals supporting multiple generations, only one generation or none. One-third of mid-life individuals are ‘sandwiched’ between multiple generations, by having at least one parent/parent-in-law and one grandchild alive. Among them, half are simultaneously supporting both generations. Caring for grandchildren increases the probability of also supporting one's parents/parents-in-law, and vice versa. More intense support for one generation is associated with a higher likelihood of supporting the other generation. Good health is associated with caring for multiple generations for men and women, while working part-time or not at all is associated with such care provision for women only. Facilitating mid-life men and women in responding to family support demands whilst maintaining paid employment will be critical in fostering future intergenerational support.