Ambivalent Reactions in the Parent and Offspring Relationship

Dyadic Ambivalence in Couples Managing Early-Stage Alzheimer's Disease: Linking Behavioral and Psychological Symptoms of Dementia to Life Satisfaction

OBJECTIVES

Caring for a spouse with Alzheimer's disease (AD) can elicit considerable distress but there are also positive moments. A growing body of work has examined caregivers' ambivalence in the care relationship and linked it to negative caregiver outcomes such as depression, but dyadic assessments of both parties' perspectives are missing. We examined ambivalence in both people with AD and their spousal caregivers, seeking to identify the correlates and well-being outcomes of such ambivalence in this unique context.

METHODS

Participants included 72 couples managing early-stage AD. People with AD and spousal caregivers independently self-reported positive and negative relationship qualities (used to indirectly calculate their ambivalence) and life satisfaction. Caregivers reported both partners' demographic characteristics and their spouses' behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia (BPSD), focusing on memory-related behaviors and psychological symptoms.

RESULTS

Path analyses revealed that the number and frequency of psychological symptoms in people with AD were positively associated with their own and caregivers' ambivalence. Caregivers' distress ratings of memory-related behaviors and psychological symptoms were positively associated with their ambivalence. Greater ambivalence was associated with lower life satisfaction in both spouses. BPSD directly affected both spouses' life satisfaction but there were also indirect effects via ambivalence.

DISCUSSION

This study utilizes a dyadic approach to assess ambivalence in dementia care. Findings reveal the conflicting emotions that couples experience as they cope with early-stage AD, identify sources of such ambivalence, and shed light on the development of dyadic interventions that can promote positive outcomes in both partners.

Trajectories of Intergenerational Emotional Closeness in Multi-Child Aging Families in China

Intergenerational emotional closeness (IEC) in multi-child families manifests not only in the overall parent-child relationship but also by the extent of its within-family differentiation. This study aimed to identify distinct trajectories of collective IEC in multi-child families and to examine its potential associated factors. The study used four waves of the China Family Panel Studies (2010-2018). Based on a sample of 3474 older adults (age >60), growth mixture modelling and logistic regression were conducted. Two latent trajectory patterns of IEC were identified: increasingly tight-knit (93%) and persistently collectively ambivalent (7%). Compared to the latter trajectory, older adults who had a married/cohabiting partner, had better health and received support from all children, were more likely to have increasingly tight-knit trajectories of IEC. The study tells a story more about emotional cohesion between Chinese older adults and multiple offspring over time. Aging families experiencing persistently collectively ambivalent IEC deserve more attention.

Why LGBTQ Adults Keep Ambivalent Ties with Parents: Theorizing "Solidarity Rationales"

Many LGBTQ adults have ongoing relationships with their parents that are ambivalent, typified by both solidarity (e.g., frequent contact, emotional or financial exchange) as well as conflict (e.g., parents' heterosexism and cissexism). Yet, why LGBTQ people remain in-rather than end-their ambivalent intergenerational ties is underexplored. We analyze qualitative in-depth interview data with 76 LGBTQ adults to answer this question. We find that LGBTQ adult children deploy narratives that privilege intergenerational solidarity over strain-what we call "solidarity rationales"- to explain why they remain in their ambivalent intergenerational ties. Four solidarity rationales were identified: 1) closeness and love, 2) parental growth, 3) the unique parent-child role, and 4) the importance of parental resources. Identifying LGBTQ adults' solidarity rationales pulls back the curtain on the compulsory social forces driving persistent intergenerational relationships. This study also advances our thinking about how socially marginalized people cope with complex social ties that include interpersonal discrimination and stigma.

Do the Marital Statuses of Adult Offspring Affect Their Parent's Mental Health? Empirical Evidence from China

Given the aging population, various issues pertaining to the elderly attract attention, including their mental health. Using data from the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Survey (CHARLS), and adopting a propensity score matching (PSM) method, this study investigated the impact of offspring's marital statuses on their elderly parents' mental health. Parental depression was positively correlated with single and divorced/separated offspring aged 30 and above; this was not the case with widowed children. We then analyzed the heterogeneous influence of offspring's marital statuses on parents' mental health based on gender, region, and educational background, further expanding the research.

"I'm Getting Older Too": Challenges and Benefits Experienced by Very Old Parents and Their Children

Very old parents and their "old" children are a growing group in industrialized countries worldwide. However, virtually nothing is known about the nature and implications of this relationship constellation. To fill this gap, this study explored the challenges and rewards of the very old parent-child relationship. In-depth interviews were conducted with 114 parent-child dyads (parent age ≥90; child age ≥65). While both challenges and rewards were present, the balance of challenges and rewards was notably less favorable for children with more challenges experienced overall. Challenges reported by children were often characterized by references to children's own advanced age and health problems, and the prolonged caregiving involvement due to their parents' longevity. Health care professionals, policymakers, and families should be made aware of this increasingly common phenomenon, and specific services and policies will be needed to adequately support very old adults and their families.

Mothers' Functional Limitations and Relationship Quality With Adult Children: Exploring the Moderating Roles of Race and Gender

Theory and research on intergenerational relations emphasize the salient role that mothers and their adult children play in one another's lives. However, little is known about how mothers' health may shape mother-child relationship quality in later-life. We utilized data from the Within Family Differences Study to explore how mothers' functional limitations affect multiple dimensions of mother-child relationship quality, as reported by mothers and their offspring, with particular emphasis on whether race, child's gender, or generational position moderated these associations. Although mothers' reports of relationship quality were not predicted by their functional limitations, adult children reported higher ambivalence when they perceived their mothers had limitations. Further, adult children in White families reported higher ambivalence when mothers had limitations than did those in Black families. This study highlights the importance of considering the roles of structural factors in shaping the conditions under which health limitations affect mother-child ties.

Social Interactions between Family and Community-Based Service Providers in Dementia Caregiving

Objectives: This study aimed to evaluate the psychosocial experiences in community-based dementia caregiving by assessing the characteristics of social interactions between family caregivers and community-based service providers and associated psychological responses.Methods: Two independent groups of participants (family caregivers and community-based service providers) completed a one-time survey to report their social interactions and psychological states. A linear regression model was fit for each outcome (satisfaction, 10-item CES-D) while controlling for significant relevant covariates.Results: Higher perceived levels of collaboration were associated with higher job satisfaction and lower depression score among service providers, and higher satisfaction with providers among family caregivers. Higher perceived social support from the provider was associated with higher satisfaction among family caregivers.Conclusions: Participants reported varying levels of provider-family collaboration. The extent of collaborations and support exchange may have implications on the psychological well-being of those providing care to individuals with dementia including families and providers.Clinical implications: It may be beneficial to identify providers and families who perceive low levels of collaboration and implement intervention to facilitate positive social interactions. Developing organizational culture and payment systems that value high-quality social interactions may help enhance the psychological well-being of service providers and satisfaction among families who receive their services.

Intergenerational Ambivalence and Loneliness in Later Life

OBJECTIVE

This brief report examined the relationship between intergenerational ambivalence and loneliness in later life among a group of older adults with at least one child.

BACKGROUND

Previous work has explored the links between intergenerational ambivalence and other indicators of well-being but has not examined loneliness. Although studies show an association between positive and negative relationship quality with children and loneliness, there are conflicting findings, and there is also insufficient exploration of the role of gender.

METHOD

Utilizing pooled data from the 2012 and 2014 waves of the Health and Retirement Study (HRS) (n = 10,967) (https://hrs.isr.umich.edu/documentation), structural equation models were used to examine the hypothesized relationships, and multiple group analysis was utilized to assess potential gender differences.

RESULTS

The results indicated that greater intergenerational ambivalence was associated with increased loneliness in later life. However, there were no significant gender or marital status differences in the relationships.

CONCLUSION

This study adds to the existing literature on ambivalence and well-being by showing that ambivalent relationships are related to loneliness. Results underscore the emotional complexity of parent-child relationships and suggest the need for investigating the consequences of holding contradictory feelings.

Mothering in later life: Older mothers and their challenging adult children

This study uses constructivist grounded theory to explore older women's responses to the unexpected need to provide financial, emotional and residential support to their adult children who were experiencing problems with mental illness, substance abuse and/or absence of employment. Twenty-nine American women (>60) were interviewed:55 per cent were poor and half were women of colour. Using the theoretical model of intergenerational ambivalence, three types of structural ambivalence are discovered: mothers’ reactions to their adult children's behaviour that violate expectations for reciprocity; women's dismayed reactions to their adult children's aggressive behaviours towards themselves as their mothers; and the women's struggle regarding balancing their role as a mother to protect their adult children alongside their wish and identified needs for self-care. All of the conflicts were expressed within the frame of their role of mother. The internalised mandate to be ‘a good mother’ resulted in many experiencing shame, self-blame and guilt, and this self-blame was an obstacle to reaching out for help. This study adds to the growing body of feminist gerontological research and examines the ideological and structural variables that influence the predominance of female unpaid family care-givers in later life. The dilemma for older women with troubled adult children is both personal and political.

Marital Quality and Well-Being Among Older Adults: A Typology of Supportive, Aversive, Indifferent, and Ambivalent Marriages

A large body of work has linked marital quality to the health and well-being of older adults, but there is a lack of agreement on how to best measure dimensions of marital quality. Drawing on a stress-process life course perspective, we construct a typology of marriage type that captures the synergistic relationship between positive and negative marital qualities and health. Using data from Wave 1 (2005/2006) and Wave 2 (2010/2011) of the NSHAP survey from the United States, we examine the association between supportive, aversive, ambivalent, and indifferent marriages for older adults that remained married over the study period on multiple indicators of well-being (depression, happiness, and self-rated health; N = 769 males and 461 females). Results suggest that older adults in aversive marriages reported lower happiness (men and women) and physical health (men). There was less evidence that those in ambivalent and indifferent marriages reported worse well-being.

Revisiting Intergenerational Contact and Relationship Quality in Later Life: Parental Characteristics Matter

Contact and relationship quality between adult children and aging parents are two widely used indicators of intergenerational solidarity and are often assumed to be positively correlated. However, the association between the two may depend on characteristics of the parent involved. Using Family Exchanges Study Wave 1, this study assessed whether parental difficulties-measured as functional limitations and life problems-and gender moderated the associations between middle-aged adults' contact and relationship quality with their parents. We found that more frequent email or phone contact was associated with worse relationship quality for fathers who had functional limitations. For life problems, however, more contact was not related to relationship quality for fathers with life problems. The associations did not differ by mother's difficulties. These results suggest that frequent contact between middle-aged adult children and aging parents does not uniformly reflect better relationship quality but rather depends on parents' characteristics.

Links Between Perceptions of Successes, Problems and Health Outcomes Among Adult Chinese Children: The Mediating Role of Perceptions of Parents' Feelings and Intergenerational Relationships

Several studies have focused on adult children's successes and problems and implications for their own well-being, but few studies have paid attention to their implications for adult children's health outcomes. In the present study, we tested the links between perceptions of successes, problems, and their own health outcomes, as well as the mediating role of perceptions of parents' feelings and intergenerational relationships. Adult children (n = 314; age 18-59) completed surveys on perceptions of successes (compared with counterparts, speculated how parents rate their successes, and compared with same-gender parent); problems (self's, father's, and mother's); parents' feelings (positive and negative); intergenerational relationships (intergenerational ambivalence and instrumental solidarity); and health outcomes [subjective well-being (SWB), psychological distress (PD), and self-rated health (SRH)]. Path analysis was conducted, a bootstrapped test was used. Results showed that perceptions of successes compared with counterparts were positively correlated with SWB and SRH; perceptions of successes compared with counterparts and perceptions of successes compared with same-gender parent were positively correlated with SWB and SRH via parents' positive feelings; perceptions of successes that speculated how parents rate their successes and perceptions of successes compared with same-gender parent were negatively correlated with PD via parents' negative feelings. Self's problems were negatively correlated with SWB via direct ambivalence (DA), and were positively correlated with PD via parents' negative feelings and DA, while mother's problems were positively correlated with PD via parents' negative feelings. There were no significant correlations between father's problems and adult children's health outcomes. This study underscores the importance of considering perceptions of parents' feelings and DA in understanding the mechanisms of an individual's mental health in family systems. This study sheds lights on considering an individual's health in family systems and cultural contexts.

Caregiving for ageing parents: A literature review on the experience of adult children

BACKGROUND

More and more adults in their fifties and sixties are confronted with the need to support their ageing parents. Although many aspects of filial caregiving have been researched, a well-documented and comprehensive overview of the caregiving experience is lacking.

AIM

This study aims for a better understanding of the caregiving experience of adult children by generating an overview of main themes in international research.

METHOD

A literature review of qualitative studies, focusing on the experiences of adult children caring for their ageing parents, was performed. The electronic EBSCO databases Academic Search Premier, CINAHL and PsycINFO, and Google Scholar were searched to identify relevant qualitative studies published between 2000 and 2017. The 'SPIDER' eligibility criteria directed the approach. The quality of studies included was screened with the assessment sheet designed by Hawker and colleagues. The experiences reported were analysed and themes were synthesized.

ETHICAL CONSIDERATION

Ethical requirements were respected in every phase of the research process.

FINDINGS

Nineteen qualitative studies met the inclusion criteria. The quality of the relationship with the parent appears to be an important determinant of the children's caregiving experience. Within this context, three themes were found: caregiving as an emotional rollercoaster, a normatively demanding experience and an opportunity for personal development.

DISCUSSION

Children caring for their ageing parents have to deal with a wide range of contradicting and conflicting norms and values. Implications for healthcare professionals and future research have been discussed.

CONCLUSION

Caring for ageing parents is a continuous quest for giving the best possible care and living up to one's personal values, within the context of the parent's declining health. Professionals who support filial caregivers should address not only practical responsibilities but also the normative questions and moral considerations caregivers are dealing with.

Filial piety and intergenerational ambivalence among mother–adult child dyads in rural China

This study examines the relationship between filial piety (adult children's filial behaviours and attitudes as well as elderly mothers’ overall evaluation of children's filial piety) and elderly mothers’ reports of intergenerational ambivalence (positive feelings, negative feelings and combined ambivalence) in rural China. We analysed the data from a survey in 2016 covering 2,203 adult children and 802 elderly mothers in Sichuan Province using a two-level mixed-effects modelling analysis. The results indicate that most components of filial piety are associated with mothers’ ambivalence, in that less ambivalence was reported by mothers when their adult children provided more emotional support to, had less conflict with and were evaluated as more filial by their mothers. Interestingly, mothers demonstrated greater positive feelings when their children were more filial in behaviour and attitude, but they also reported greater negative feelings and ambivalence when their children were more obedient, implying that absolute obedience to elderly parents might no longer be accepted by people. These findings may provide further understanding about the correlation between the culture of filial piety and intergenerational relationships in rural China.

Middle-Aged Children's Coping Strategies With Tensions in the Aging Parent-Child Tie

Middle-aged children may cope in different ways with interpersonal tensions with their aging parents. This study examined coping strategies as a function of parent's age and disability and children's emotions (i.e., guilty feelings and worry). Middle-aged children (N = 378) reported coping strategies when encountering interpersonal tensions with each of parents (N = 482): engagement, acceptance, avoidance, and confrontation. Middle-aged children also indicated how guilty and worried they felt about each parent. Multilevel models indicated that middle-aged children were most likely to use engagement and acceptance strategies, followed by avoidance, and least likely to use confrontation. Results also revealed that middle-aged offspring were more likely to use engagement toward their parents who were older and acceptance toward parents with more disabilities. Furthermore, when middle-aged children had stronger feelings of guilt toward parents, they were more likely to be avoidant and less likely to engage with parents. Worries about parents were positively associated with the use of engagement strategies.

A Social Relations and Networks Perspective of Depressive Symptoms in Older African Americans Relative to Two Other Ethno-racial Groups

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES

Family ties and role relationships through their effects on exchanges of resources and social support are critical health contexts for older African Americans. We studied the influence of affect-based (positive or negative) social relations and respondent-role network centrality on depressive symptoms in older African Americans compared to two ethno-racial groups, Black Caribbeans and Non-Hispanic Whites.

RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS

We used data from the multigenerational 2004 National Survey of American Life Family Connections across Generations and Nations Study (NSAL 3-Gen). For respondents aged 50 years or older, we used tie affect (positive or negative) to code family role relations and two-mode (where an entity or thing is connected to a different type of entity, here individuals are connected to role relations) family networks. We used survey linear regressions to probe the independent association of relations and networks on depressive symptoms among older African Americans as compared to Black Caribbeans and Non-Hispanic Whites.

RESULTS

Negative and positive relations are significantly associated with depressive symptoms, but there were some ethno-racial differences. For example, the negative Father relation is significantly associated with greater depressive symptoms among African Americans, but not in Black Caribbeans and Non-Hispanic Whites. Negative two-mode networks (connections from individuals to role relations) are significantly associated with depressive symptoms among African Americans and in the two comparison ethno-racial groups, while there is no significant association between positive networks and depressive symptoms.

DISCUSSION AND IMPLICATIONS

We found that negative relations had larger effects on depressive symptoms than positive ones, and conversely that negative networks had larger effects than positive networks. Simultaneously modeling social relations and networks could potentially enhance our understanding of the links between social structure, and depressive symptoms among older adults in African American and other ethno-racial minorities.

Intergenerational Ambivalence and Dyadic Strain: Understanding Stress in Family Care Partners of Older Adults

OBJECTIVES

The present study used Pearlin, Mullan, Semple & Skaff's (1990) caregiving stress process model as a framework to examine the comparative influence of two stressors: (a) intergenerational ambivalence as a unified construct and (b) dyadic strain, which is one isolated component of intergenerational ambivalence.

METHODS

Participants were 120 women providing healthcare and medication assistance to an earlier generation family member with physical and/or cognitive impairments.

RESULTS

Hierarchical regression confirmed that intergenerational ambivalence explained perceived stress in family care partners, beyond the variance accounted for by other commonly reported stressors such as length of caregiving experience, memory/cognitive and functional impairments of the care recipient, caregiver overload, family conflict and financial strain. Further analyses revealed that examining dyadic strain apart from intergenerational ambivalence may more accurately explain the influence of ambivalence scores on care partners' perceived stress.

CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL IMPLICATIONS

The comparative influence of dyadic strain versus ambivalence suggests that stress-reducing interventions may benefit from a focus on reducing care partners' experiences of negative strain in the dyadic relationship rather than managing ambivalence.

Are You Sleeping? Dyadic Associations of Support, Stress, and Worries Regarding Adult Children on Sleep

Purpose of the study

Sleep is a key factor in maintaining positive health and well-being throughout life. Although the negative outcomes of sleep problems are becoming better understood, less is known about how intergenerational relationships might affect sleep. Thus, this investigation examines the dyadic associations of support for, stress over, and worrying about adult children on sleep quality for husbands and wives.

Design and Methods

The sample included 186 heterosexual married couples drawn from the Family Exchanges Study. To account for nonindependence in the dyadic data and explore questions of mutual influence, we used actor-partner interdependence models.

Results

Husbands' and wives' reports of supporting their adult child and husbands' worry were associated with husbands' sleep quality. Conversely, wives' stress about supporting their adult child was associated with wives' sleep quality. Findings suggest that relationships with adult children have different associations for sleep quality among middle-aged husbands and wives.

Implications

Our findings have implications for health-related research with couples and families and for providers who work with individuals struggling with sleep problems. Assisting aging parents to be aware of and manage ways that stress, support, and concern for adult children relate to their sleep may benefit them in multifaceted ways.

Close relationships and diabetes management across the lifespan: The good, the bad, and autonomy

Relationships are linked with positive and negative self-management and illness outcomes for individuals with type 1 diabetes. Explanations for these mixed associations have remained separated in psychosocial research in type 1 diabetes by relationship type (e.g. parent vs spouse) and individual's age (e.g. adolescence vs older adulthood). In this conceptual review, we present a novel perspective that close relationships across the lifespan may be beneficial for illness self-management when they support individuals' sense of autonomy, defined from a Basic Psychological Needs perspective. Processes of autonomy support are crucial for promoting illness management across all ages and relationship types.

Is an Empty Nest Best?: Coresidence With Adult Children and Parental Marital Quality Before and After the Great Recession

Objectives

Since the Great Recession, the proportion of young adults living with their parents has risen steadily in the United States. Research on coresidence with adult children and parental marital quality is mixed, but marital quality may suffer if children coreside under certain circumstances. When coresidence signifies a deviation from normative expectations, it may be a source of stress in parents' marriages. Further, living with adult children who are suffering problems may be especially detrimental to parental marital quality.

Method

Middle-aged parents (N = 287; mean age = 50.65) completed measures of marital quality, child problems, and coresidence at 2 time points, at the onset of the Great Recession in 2008 and again in 2013.

Results

Regression analyses estimating marital quality from coresidence status revealed that coresidence with a child was associated with lower parental marital quality in 2008, but not in 2013 (when it may be considered more normative to have adult children living in the home). Additional analyses showed living with a child who was suffering problems was associated with lower marital quality in 2013.

Discussion

These findings suggest that coresidence may be detrimental to marital quality, but perhaps only when coresidence is nonnormative or when coresidence co-occurs with child problems.

Sharing the Burden of the Transition to Adulthood: African American Young Adults' Transition Challenges and Their Mothers' Health Risk

For many African American youth, the joint influences of economic and racial marginalization render the transition to stable adult roles challenging. We have gained much insight into how these challenges affect future life chances, yet we lack an understanding of what these challenges mean in the context of linked lives. Drawing on a life course framework, this study examines how young African Americans' experiences across a variety of salient domains during the transition to adulthood affect their mothers' health. Results suggest that stressors experienced by African Americans during the transition to adulthood (e.g., unemployment, troubled romantic relationships, arrest) heighten their mothers' cumulative biological risk for chronic diseases, or allostatic load, and reduce subjective health. These results suggest that the toll of an increasingly tenuous and uncertain transition to adulthood extends beyond young people to their parents. Hence, increased public investments during this transition may not only reduce inequality and improve life chances for young people themselves, but may also enhance healthy aging by relieving the heavy burden on parents to help their children navigate this transition.

The Impact of Older Parents' Pain Symptoms on Adult Children

Objective

Not only is persistent pain a debilitating health problem for older adults, it also may have negative effects on family relationships. Studies have documented the effects of pain on spouses and on parents of young children. However, research has not extended this line of inquiry to later life, and specifically to the impact of older parents' pain symptoms on adult children. This study addresses the question: Does older mothers' pain affect the quality of relations with offspring?

Subjects and Design

Using data from a survey of 678 adult children of older mothers, this article presents two analyses examining the impact of mothers' self-reported pain on emotional closeness and on tension in the adult child-parent relationship.

Results

Contrary to research conducted on younger families, multilevel models showed no effects on emotional closeness or tension in relationships with adult children when mothers experienced higher levels of persistent pain. This surprising finding suggests that mechanisms may exist that protect adult child caregivers from stressors that result from a relative's chronic pain.

Conclusions

Based on the findings of this article, further exploration of the impact of chronic pain on relations between adult children and their parents is justified. Of interest is exploration of factors that may insulate later-life intergenerational relationships from the effects of pain.

Adult Children's Responses to Parent "Stubbornness"

Purpose of the Study

People cope with relationship tensions in different ways. One such tension that is frequently reported is how adult children respond to conflicts with their aging parents when they see their parents as insisting, resisting, or persisting in their behaviors-acting in ways commonly attributed to stubbornness.

Design and Methods

Middle-aged adults (N = 383) completed measures regarding their parents' stubbornness, their responses to that stubbornness, depressive symptoms, positive and negative relationship quality, and support they provide their parents. Multiple regression and multilevel models were utilized to examine whether middle-aged offspring's responses to perceived parent stubbornness were associated with the offspring's reported depressive symptoms, positive and negative relationship quality, and provision of support.

Results

Adult children most frequently endorsed responding to parents' "stubborn" behaviors by "just letting their requests go." Results revealed associations of adult children's response strategies with their reports of depressive symptoms (more letting go), positive relationship quality (less letting go and more reasoning), negative relationship quality (more arguing, more rewording their request, and less reasoning), and the amount of support they provide to their parents (more arguing, more reasoning, and more waiting to address the concern another day).

Implications

Adult children's responses to perceived parent stubbornness are linked to individual and relationship functioning, as well as the support the children provide. Interventions to develop adaptive responses when there are differences in goals may prove useful for families.

Parental Involvement with College Students in Germany, Hong Kong, Korea, and the United States

Rates of college attendance have increased throughout the world. This study asked whether students across nations experience high involvement with parents (frequent contact and support) and how satisfied they are with parental involvement. College students from four major Western and Asian economies participated: Germany (n = 458), Hong Kong (n = 276), Korea (n = 257), and the United States (n = 310). Consistent with solidarity theory, students across nations reported frequent contact with parents and receiving several forms of social support (e.g., practical, emotional, and advice) every month. Multilevel models revealed Asian students received more frequent parental support than German or US students, but were less satisfied with that support. Students in Hong Kong resided with parents more often and gave more support to parents than students in other cultures. Discussion focuses on cultural (i.e., filial obligation) and structural (i.e., coresidence) factors explaining parental involvement.

Intergenerational ambivalence in adolescence and early adulthood: Implications for depressive symptoms over time

The parent-child relationship is often characterized by ambivalence, defined as the simultaneous experience of positive and negative relationship quality. This study examines reports of intergenerational ambivalence in 3 developmental periods: adolescence, emerging adulthood, and young adulthood, as well as its implications for depressive symptoms over a 12-year period. Participants ages 13 to 29 (n = 255) were interviewed in 1992 and again in 2005 at ages 25 to 41 (n = 186). Results indicate that offspring's reports of intergenerational ambivalence decreased over time. Greater ambivalence toward mothers predicted increased depressive symptoms over time while greater ambivalence toward fathers predicted decreased depressive symptoms over time. These results suggest that depressive symptoms in adulthood are vulnerable to the quality of the parent-child relationship earlier in the life course. (PsycINFO Database Record

Terminal decline in well-being: The role of social orientation

Well-being development at the end of life is often characterized by steep deteriorations, but individual differences in these terminal declines are substantial and not yet well understood. This study moved beyond typical consideration of health predictors and explored the role of social orientation and engagement. To do so, we used social variables at the behavioral level (self-ratings of social participation) and the motivational level (valuing social and family goals), assessed 2 to 4 years before death. We applied single- and multiphase growth models to up to 27-year annual longitudinal data from 2,910 now deceased participants of the nation-wide German Socio-Economic Panel Study (Mage at death = 74 years; SD = 14; 48% women). Results revealed that leading a socially active life and prioritizing social goals in late life were independently associated with higher late-life well-being, less pronounced late-life decline, and a later onset of terminal decline. Significant interaction effects suggested that the combination of (reduced) social participation and (lowered) social goals magnifies the effects of each other. Findings also indicated that less decline in social participation was associated with less severe rates and a later onset of well-being decline. We found little evidence that valuing family goals is associated with late-life trajectories of well-being. Associations were independent of key correlates of well-being and mortality, including age at death, gender, education, disability, hospital stays, and goals in other life domains. We discuss possible pathways by which maintaining social orientation into late life may help mitigate terminal decline in well-being.

Do Positive Feelings Hurt? Disaggregating Positive and Negative Components of Intergenerational Ambivalence

Ambivalence has become an important conceptual development in the study of parent-adult child relations, with evidence highlighting that intergenerational relationships are characterized by a mix of positive and negative components. Recent studies have shown that ambivalence has detrimental consequences for both parents' and adult children's psychological well-being. The underlying assumption of this line of research is that psychological distress results from holding simultaneous positive and negative feelings toward a parent or child. The authors question this assumption and explore alternative interpretations by disaggregating the positive and negative dimensions commonly used to create indirect measures of intergenerational ambivalence. Data for the analyses were collected from 254 older mothers and a randomly selected adult child from each of the families. The findings suggest that the negative component is primarily responsible for the association between indirect measures of ambivalence and psychological well-being. Implications of these findings for the study of intergenerational ambivalence are discussed.

"My Parent is so Stubborn!"-Perceptions of Aging Parents' Persistence, Insistence, and Resistance

OBJECTIVE

Aging parents may respond to advice or help with daily problems from their grown children by insisting, resisting, or persisting in their ways or opinions, behaviors which are commonly viewed as stubbornness. Research has not examined how frequently such behaviors occur and what factors are associated with these behaviors.

METHODS

Middle-aged adults and parents (N = 189 dyads) reported the prevalence of parental behaviors attributed to stubbornness. Utilizing hierarchical linear regression and multilevel modeling this exploratory study examined the association of parent stubbornness with individual and relationship-based characteristics and concordance in reports within dyads.

RESULTS

Over 77% of children and 66% of parents reported parents acting in ways attributed to stubbornness at least sometimes. Children reported higher levels of parental stubbornness than parents self-reported. Children's perceptions of occurrence were related to parent disability and relationship characteristics, while parents' self-reports were associated with their own personalities. Discrepancies in reports between parents and children were associated with child and parent characteristics.

DISCUSSION

This novel exploration demonstrated that individual and relationship-based factors are linked to the perceived expression of stubbornness by parents and that there is discordance in perceptions within families. Findings suggest a need for intervention to increase understanding within families.

Intergenerational Exchange and Expected Support Among the Young-Old

The authors used data from the Wisconsin Longitudinal Study (N = 5,023) to determine how 3 attributes of intergenerational exchange (content, direction, and recency) are associated with older adults' expected sick care and comfort from their adult children. They found more like-kind associations (expecting same types of support that had been exchanged before) than spillover associations (expecting different types of support than that had been exchanged before). Same patterns of like-kind associations were found for expected sick care and comfort, regardless of the direction and recency of exchange, but expected sick care and comfort had different patterns of spillover associations. Specifically, recent emotional transfer, upward or downward, was related to expected sick care, but only recent upward instrumental transfer was related to expected comfort. This study advances the gerontological literature by elucidating the complex relations between each of the 3 attributes of intergenerational exchange and expected support among older adults.

Ambivalence in Older Parent-Adult Child Relationships: Mixed Feelings, Mixed Measures

This research compared direct and indirect measures of ambivalence, 2 commonly used strategies for measuring intergenerational ambivalence between older parents and their adult children. Directly and indirectly measured ambivalence, corresponding to felt and potential manifestations of the construct, were contrasted with each other and across generations. Data were derived from 253 older parent-adult child dyads participating in the Longitudinal Study of Generations in 2005. Direct and indirect measures of ambivalence were moderately correlated with each other within each generation. Children expressed greater indirect ambivalence than their parents but were no different than their mothers or fathers in their levels of direct ambivalence. Multivariate regression analyses examining the relationship between each type of ambivalence with individual and relationship characteristics found differences in associations across equations. The results suggest that direct and indirect measures are related but represent 2 distinct conceptions of ambivalence. This research highlights the challenges in understanding the full complexity of intergenerational relations and suggests that both generational perspectives be considered in future research.

Help with "strings attached": offspring perceptions that middle-aged parents offer conflicted support

OBJECTIVES

Middle-aged adults often provide beneficial support to grown children. Yet, in some relationships, grown children may feel beholden or intruded upon when they receive parental help. The purpose of this study was to examine such conflicted support in relationships between middle-aged parents and young adults.

METHODS

Middle-aged parents (aged 40-60, n = 399) and their grown children (n = 592) participated. Parents rated perceptions of providing support and relationship quality with each child. Grown children indicated whether their mothers and fathers provided conflicted support and rated their perceptions of parental support, relationship quality, and other factors.

RESULTS

Multilevel models revealed that offspring's perceptions of conflicted support were associated with (a) parents' evaluations about providing support (e.g., greater stress and beliefs that grown children should be autonomous), (b) poorer quality relationships, and (c) offspring having more problems.

DISCUSSION

Findings suggest that perceptions of conflicted support are embedded in a larger constellation of relationship problems and underlying distress for parents and children. These patterns may reflect lifelong difficulties in the tie or that arise in adulthood. Researchers might seek to understand how dyads experiencing such conflicted support differ from more normative relationships characterized by warmth and well-received support.

"You are such a disappointment!": negative emotions and parents' perceptions of adult children's lack of success

OBJECTIVES

Parents' perceptions of their adult children's successes (or lack thereof) may be associated in different ways with discrete negative emotions (e.g., guilt, anger, disappointment, and worry). Furthermore, mothers and fathers may vary in their reactions to children's success in different domains.

METHOD

Participants included 158 mothers and fathers from the same families (N = 316) and their adult child. Mothers and fathers evaluated their adult children's successes in (a) career and (b) relationship domains. Mothers and fathers also reported on several negative emotions in the parent-child tie: guilt, anger, disappointment, and worry.

RESULTS

For fathers, perceptions of children's poorer career success were associated with disappointment, anger, and guilt. Mothers' perceptions of children's lack of career success were associated with disappointment and worry. Mothers' perceptions of children's poorer success in relationships were associated with each of the negative emotions, with the exception of anger.

DISCUSSION

Parents experience emotions associated with unmet goals and future concerns in relationships with less successful children. Mothers may respond emotionally to career and relationship success, whereas fathers may respond emotionally primarily to their child's career success. Findings underscore the importance of considering the context of parents' negative emotional experiences in ties to adult children.

Sources of older parents' ambivalent feelings toward their adult children: the case of rural China

OBJECTIVES

Relying on the concept of sociological ambivalence, this study investigated the sources of intergenerational ambivalence in rural China, a traditional society that undergoes dramatic demographic, economic, and social changes.

METHODS

Data were derived from a survey of 1,162 older adults and their 4,396 children in rural Anhui province. Two-level mixed-effects model was carried out to predict ambivalent feelings reported by the older parents toward their adult children.

RESULTS

The findings yielded both similar and distinctive predictors of intergenerational ambivalence among the Chinese elderly population compared with their Western counterparts. The Chinese elderly population reported greater ambivalence toward sons than toward daughters. Adult children's higher socioeconomic status, represented by a more prestigious job and an urban household registry status (hukou), was associated with reduced ambivalence among parents. Parents' monetary support to children and assistance with childcare, which is common in rural China due to the massive out-migration, were also associated with higher levels of ambivalent feelings.

DISCUSSION

We interpreted the findings in the larger social context of strong son preference, large-scale rural-to-urban migration, and rigid rural-urban division in China due to the household registration system. Our findings demonstrate that individual feelings of ambivalence are culturally structured and are determined within complex social environment.

Conflict engagement and conflict disengagement during interactions between adults and their parents

OBJECTIVES

This study examined generational, ethnic, and gender differences in conflict behaviors during interactions between adults and their parents. We considered associations between observed conflict engagement and conflict disengagement behaviors and participant-rated relationship quality.

METHOD

Participants included 155 African American and European American women and men (aged 22-49 years), their mothers and their fathers (N = 465). Adult children were videotaped separately with their mother and their father discussing relationship problems. Independent raters coded the conversations for conflict engagement (e.g., pressuring for change) and disengagement (e.g., withdrawing) behaviors.

RESULTS

In African American families, parents displayed more conflict engagement and adult children displayed more conflict disengagement, whereas European American parents and adult children did not differ in their conflict behaviors. Mothers, fathers, and adult children reported poorer relationship quality when they engaged in more conflict engagement behaviors. Adult children also reported poorer quality relationships when their mothers displayed more conflict engagement behaviors. Mothers reported poorer quality relationships when their adult children engaged in more conflict disengagement.

DISCUSSION

Findings suggest that even as adults, parents and children in poorer quality relationships may engage in potentially ineffective behaviors to resolve conflicts.

Changing views on intergenerational ties

Ties to parents or grown children may be the most important social relationships in an adult's life. Research examining intergenerational relationships has focused on three broader topics: (a) the strength of emotional bonds, (b) exchanges of social support, and (c) the effects of the relationship on individual well-being. This review considers some of the major theoretical developments in the field including solidarity and intergenerational ambivalence theory as well as the newly developed multidimensional model of support. We also consider weaknesses in the research and theories to date and provide suggestions for future research.

Ambivalence Toward Adult Children: Differences Between Mothers and Fathers

The authors examined how ambivalence toward adult children within the same family differs between mothers and fathers and whether patterns of maternal and paternal ambivalence can be explained by the same set of predictors. Using data collected in the Within-Family Differences Study, they compared older married mothers' and fathers' (N = 129) assessments of ambivalence toward each of their adult children (N = 444). Fathers reported higher levels of ambivalence overall. Both mothers and fathers reported lower ambivalence toward children who were married, better educated, and who they perceived to hold similar values; however, the effects of marital status and education were more pronounced for fathers, whereas the effect of children's value congruence was more pronounced for mothers. Fathers reported lower ambivalence toward daughters than sons, whereas mothers reported less ambivalence toward sons than daughters.

Helicopter Parents and Landing Pad Kids: Intense Parental Support of Grown Children

Popular media describe adverse effects of helicopter parents who provide intense support to grown children, but few studies have examined implications of such intense support. Grown children (N = 592, M age = 23.82 years, 53% female, 35% members of racial/ethnic minority groups) and their parents (n = 399, M age = 50.67 years, 52% female; 34% members of racial/ethnic minority groups) reported on the support they exchanged with one another. Intense support involved parents' providing several types of support (e.g., financial, advice, emotional) many times a week. Parents and grown children who engaged in such frequent support viewed it as nonnormative (i.e., too much support), but grown children who received intense support reported better psychological adjustment and life satisfaction than grown children who did not receive intense support. Parents who perceived their grown children as needing too much support reported poorer life satisfaction. The discussion focuses on generational differences in the implications of intense parental involvement during young adulthood.

Older Parents and Adult Daughters

This study sought to understand the ways that adult daughters and their parents make sense of the older adult’s aging and one another’s changing roles within the context of the decision to move a parent to a care-related facility. In particular, the decision to move a parent to a care-related facility provides a context for the study of uncertainty, ambivalence, and other concerns connected with role transitions and decision-making difficulties. How older parents and adult daughters communicate about and cope with these challenges was compared. Babrow’s problematic integration theory provides a framework for this research. A qualitative study employing in-depth interviews with 44 residents at continuum-of-care facilities and 12 adult daughters of residents was conducted. Findings indicate that both parents and daughters experience significant problematic integration. However, their attempts to cope are in marked contrast to one another. These differences, along with theoretical and practical implications, are discussed further.

Intergenerational relationship quality across three generations

OBJECTIVES

Studies of intergenerational relationship quality often include one or two generations. This study examined within-family differences and similarities or transmission of positive and negative relationship quality across three generations.

METHOD

Participants included 633 middle-aged individuals (G2; 52% women, ages 40-60 years), 592 of their offspring (G3; 53% daughters; ages 18-41 years), and 337 of their parents (i.e., grandparents; G1; 69% women; ages 59-96 years).

RESULTS

Multilevel models revealed differences and similarities in relationship quality across generations. The oldest generation (G1) reported greater positive and less negative quality relationships than the middle (G2) and the younger (G3) generations. There was limited evidence of transmission. Middle-aged respondents who reported more positive and less negative ties with their parents (G1) reported more positive and less negative ties with their own children (G3). Grandmother (G1) reports of more positive relationship quality were associated with G3 reports of more positive relationship quality with G2.

DISCUSSION

Findings are consistent with the intergenerational stake hypothesis and only partially consistent with the theory of intergenerational transmission. Overall, this study suggests that there is greater within-family variability than similarities in how family members feel about one another.

Conceptualizing and measuring intergenerational ambivalence in later life

OBJECTIVES

In this paper, we explored the association between direct and indirect measures of intergenerational ambivalence, making comparisons by generational position and child's gender; furthermore, we examined whether these measures were similarly strong predictors of depressive symptoms and positive affect.

METHODS

Data for the analysis were collected from 254 mothers aged 72-82 years and a randomly selected adult child as part of a larger study of within-family differences in parent-adult child relations.

RESULTS

The findings provided evidence that direct and indirect measures were strongly associated among mothers but only weakly associated among adult children, particularly sons. The two measures were similarly strong predictors of mothers', but not children's, depressive symptoms and positive affect. The most pronounced differences in congruence between direct and indirect measures were found when comparing mothers and sons.

DISCUSSION

The analyses presented here suggest that direct and indirect measures of intergenerational ambivalence may not be tapping the same underlying construct, particularly in the case of adult children and especially sons. Furthermore, direct measures may have an advantage over indirect measures when including sons in the study design. We conclude that direct and indirect measures cannot be used interchangeably across the combination of generation and gender.

Stability and change in the intergenerational family: a convoy approach

There have been fundamental changes in the intergenerational family, and yet families continue to be an important part of people's lives. We use the convoy model to describe the factors that influence supportive relations within intergenerational families, beginning with a description of the changing structure of the intergenerational family. We next outline support exchanges, detailing how personal characteristics, especially gender, race, age and socio-economic status, and situational characteristics, in particular family structure and intergenerational context, influence support exchanges. Instrumental and emotional family exchanges are described, with special attention to the unique circumstances of care-giving in intergenerational families. We also examine the importance of recognising differences in the quality of intergenerational relations, again noting the influence of personal and situational characteristics. Variations in support quality, e.g. positive, negative and ambivalent, and its influence on wellbeing are discussed. As families and individuals change, differences emerge at the individual, family and societal levels. We consider the implications of changes and stability in intergenerational relations and make recommendations about how best to envisage and plan future intergenerational family support. Societies with fewer resources as well as individuals and families with diverse individual histories must be innovative and creative in meeting the needs of older people as well as those of all family members.

Only as happy as the least happy child: multiple grown children's problems and successes and middle-aged parents' well-being

OBJECTIVES

Middle-aged parents' well-being may be tied to successes and failures of grown children. Moreover, most parents have more than one child, but studies have not considered how different children's successes and failures may be associated with parental well-being.

METHODS

Middle-aged adults (aged 40-60; N = 633) reported on each of their grown children (n = 1,384) and rated their own well-being. Participants indicated problems each child had experienced in the past two years, rated their children's successes, as well as positive and negative relationship qualities.

RESULTS

Analyses compared an exposure model (i.e., having one grown child with a problem or deemed successful) and a cumulative model (i.e., total problems or successes in the family). Consistent with the exposure and cumulative models, having one child with problems predicted poorer parental well-being and the more problems in the family, the worse parental well-being. Having one successful child did not predict well-being, but multiple grown children with higher total success in the family predicted enhanced parental well-being. Relationship qualities partially explained associations between children's successes and parental well-being.

DISCUSSION

Discussion focuses on benefits and detriments parents derive from how grown progeny turn out and particularly the implications of grown children's problems.

Development of the parent adult relationship questionnaire (PARQ)

Relationships between adults and parents are characterized by positive and negative qualities. Existing measures of relationship qualities and ambivalence often rely on items that are unbalanced in number of positive and negative items, emotional tone, or missing negative items completely. Three studies established validity (construct, convergent, discriminant) and reliability (internal consistency, test-retest) for the Parent Adult Relationship Quality (PARQ) scale. Study 1 found high internal consistency and test-retest correlations among undergraduates. Study 2 found associations with measures of positive relationship quality and high test-retest correlations using a sample of parents. Study 3 established convergent and discriminant validity with other measures of relationship quality, including an observational measure. The PARQ is a succinct measure that captures positive and negative aspects of support and interactions in relationships between adults and their parents.

Discrepancies in reports of support exchanges between aging parents and their middle-aged children

OBJECTIVES

This study investigated predictors of discrepancies in reports of 5 types of support that aging parents and their middle-aged children exchanged with one another. Predictors included structural factors, including needs and resources and dyadic characteristics, and psychological factors, including family obligation and investment in the relationship.

METHODS

Participants included 337 dyads of parents (aged 59-96 years) and their children (aged 40-60 years). Multilevel models assessed the level of discrepancies between dyadic members and examined predictors accounting for the discrepancies. We considered downward (from parent to child) and upward (from child to parent) directions in support exchanges.

RESULTS

For upward support from adult children to their parents, children reported that they gave more than their aging parents reported receiving. For downward support from parents to children, the results differed depending on the type of support. Discrepancies between parents' and children's reports were associated with parents' feelings of obligation toward children and children's ratings of the importance of parent-child relationship.

DISCUSSION

These results suggest the importance of considering multiple perspectives and the direction of exchanges between generations. Discrepancies in reports of support reflect both self-enhancement and family context and may be an important source of misunderstanding and conflict between generations.