Are filial eldercare norms related to intergenerational solidarity with older parents? A typological developmental approach

Different Interpretations of "Honor Your Parents": Implications for Obligation of Parental Caregiving

OBJECTIVES

Many religious and cultural settings embrace the principle to "honor your parents." However, how individuals understand and enact this mandate varies by cultural context and community. The different understanding of "honor your parents" draws attention to motivations for parental caregiving across cultural contexts. This study investigates how individuals in 3 different cultural settings conceptualize "honoring your parents" and how these conceptualizations affect their perceptions of obligations to care for an older parent.

METHODS

Semistructured interviews with 153 individuals in the United States, Ghana, and Nigeria explored the concept of "honor your parents," how it is understood, and its relationship to the perceived obligation to care for one's parents. A content analysis was applied to all transcripts and analyzed for discussion.

RESULTS

Among individuals in the United States, "honor your parents" is less likely to be conceived as providing material and instrumental care to a parent, and more in terms of emotional care. In contrast, individuals in Nigeria and Ghana closely associated "honor your parents" with providing material and instrumental care to a parent.

DISCUSSION

Understanding how different conceptions of "honor your parents" translate to expectations for and modes of parental caregiving can illuminate how caregiving needs can be met for the aging populations of the United States, Ghana, and Nigeria.

Intergenerational solidarity of adult children with parents from emerging to established adulthood

Although researchers have focused on adult children's intergenerational solidarity with their parents following the transition to adulthood, less is known about continuity and change in the multiple dimensions of solidarity as children transition from emerging to established adulthood. Therefore, we focused on reciprocal longitudinal associations between dimensions of latent forms of solidarity (normative and affectual solidarity) and manifest forms of solidarity (associational and functional solidarity) as reported by young adults at three stages from emerging to established adulthood. Data were derived from young adult children participating in the Longitudinal Study of Generations who reported about 260 daughter-mother, 214 son-mother, 244 daughter-father, and 205 son-father relationships in 2000 (18-29 years old), 2005 (23-34 years old), and 2016 (34-45 years old). Multigroup autoregressive cross-lagged models prospectively predicted reciprocal influences among the dimensions of solidarity across four parent-child gender groups. Results showed that young adults' perceived intergenerational solidarity with parents was stable across three-time points. In addition, young adults' perceived associational solidarity with parents in emerging adulthood (2000 survey) predicted functional solidarity with parents (receiving support from parents and providing support to parents) in intermediate young adulthood (2005 survey), and in established adulthood (2016 survey). However, parents' and children's gender differences were not identified in the above associations. The study concludes that frequent contact with parents in emerging adulthood is a key factor in establishing intergenerational solidarity with parents from early-to-middle stage of adulthood regardless of parents' and children's gender. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

Intergenerational solidarity with digital communication and psychological well-being among older parents during the COVID-19 pandemic

We aimed to identify intergenerational solidarity (emotional closeness, in-person contact, phone contact, geographic proximity, consensus, and conflict) with digital communication (texting, video call, and social media interaction) with adult children among older parents during the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition, we aimed to investigate whether intergenerational solidarity with digital communication latent classes were associated with older parents' psychological well-being. We used the 2022 survey of the Longitudinal Study of Generations (LSOG). The sample consisted of 519 older parents who reported about 1245 adult children. Two-level latent class analysis identified six classes at the child level (Level 1: distant but digitally connected, tight-knit and digitally connected, tight-knit traditional, detached, intimate but distant, and sociable). In addition, the analysis identified three classes at the parent level (Level 2: digitally connected, mixed, and intimate but distant). Results of multivariate regression showed that older parents in the digitally connected latent class had better psychological well-being than those in the mixed latent class. Consequently, our finding indicates that digital solidarity with adult children can be beneficial for older parents' psychological well-being during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Intergenerational Solidarity With Grandparents in Emerging Adulthood: Associations With Providing Support to Older Parents in Established Adulthood

We examined the link between types of intergenerational solidarity with grandparents among young adults in emerging adulthood and whether they provided instrumental and emotional support to their older parents in established adulthood. We used the 2000 and 2016 waves of the longitudinal study of generations and a sample of 229 grandmother-child and 175 grandfather-child dyads. Latent class analysis identified three classes describing intergenerational solidarity with grandparents (tight-knit, detached, and intimate-but-geographically distant) in grandmother-child and grandfather-child dyads in emerging adulthood. Path analyses showed that young adults who had a tight-knit relationship with their grandparents in emerging adulthood provided more instrumental and emotional support to their parents in established adulthood, compared with those who had a detached relationship with their grandparents in emerging adulthood. Results are interpreted in contexts of multigenerational interdependence within families and the sensitivity of young adults to the needs of older parents through their earlier connection to grandparents.

Digital and Non-Digital Solidarity between Older Parents and Their Middle-Aged Children: Associations with Mental Health during the COVID-19 Pandemic

We incorporated intergenerational digital communication (frequency of texting, video call, and social media interaction) into the intergenerational solidarity paradigm and identified new types of intergenerational and digital solidarity with adult children among older parents during the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition, we examined whether those types are associated with older parents' mental health (depressive symptoms, psychological well-being, and self-esteem). We used the 2021/2022 wave of the Longitudinal Study of Generations (LSOG), and a sample of 519 older parents (mean age = 69 years). Latent class analysis identified four classes describing intergenerational and digital solidarity with adult children (distant-but-digitally connected, tight-knit-traditional, detached, and ambivalent). We found that older parents who had distant-but-digitally connected and tight-knit-traditional relationships with their adult children reported better mental health, compared to those who had detached and ambivalent relationships with their adult children during the COVID-19 pandemic. Our findings suggest that intergenerational digital communication should be considered as a digital solidarity in intergenerational solidarity paradigm, which is useful for measuring multidimension of intergenerational relationships within family members during and after the pandemic.