scholarly journals The Costs of Concern: Health Implications of Worries about Aging Parents and Adult Children

2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 795-795
Author(s):  
Kelly Cichy ◽  
Athena Koumoutzis
Keyword(s):  
Health Behaviors ◽  
Adult Children ◽  
Emotional Eating ◽  
Negative Emotions ◽  
Negative Mood ◽  
Significant Risk ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Poor Health ◽  
Aging Parents ◽  
Midlife Adults

Abstract As their parents age and their children enter adulthood, midlife adults need to manage their worries and concerns about both generations. In midlife, worries about aging parents’ health and emerging needs for support co-occur alongside worries about adult children’s relationships and prolonged need for support. Research reveals links between midlife adults’ worry and sleep quality, underscoring how worries compromise health and well-being. In addition to compromising sleep, worries may also contribute to poor health behaviors, such as emotional eating. Emotional eating, where individuals eat in response to stressors and negative emotions, is a significant risk factor for overeating and obesity. Less is known; however, about how midlife adults’ worries contribute to poor health behaviors. To address this gap, the current study considers how midlife adults’ concurrent and previous day’s daily worries about aging parents and adult children are associated with daily well-being and health behaviors. Respondents are midlife adults (40-60 years) from Wave II of the Family Exchanges Study (Fingerman et al., 2009). During 7 days of daily telephone interviews, respondents indicated if they worried about their adult children and their aging parent(s), if they ate food for comfort, and their daily negative mood. Controlling for demographics, on days when midlife adults worried about their adult child(ren), they reported more negative emotions than on days without these worries (p <.05). Respondents engaged in more eating for comfort the day after they reported worrying about their mother (p < .05). Implications for aging families will be discussed.

scholarly journals DAILY INTERACTIONS WITH AGING PARENTS AND ADULT CHILDREN: IMPLICATIONS FOR WELL-BEING AND CORTISOL

2017 ◽  
Vol 1 (suppl_1) ◽  
pp. 12-12
Author(s):  
K. Birditt ◽  
J. Manalel ◽  
K. Kim ◽  
S. Zarit ◽  
K.L. Fingerman
Keyword(s):  
Adult Children ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Aging Parents ◽  
Daily Interactions

Adult Children Living With Aging Parents: The Association Between Income and Parental Affect

2018 ◽  
Vol 88 (3) ◽  
pp. 215-230
Author(s):  
Andrew Gerber ◽  
Allison R. Heid ◽  
Rachel Pruchno
Keyword(s):  
Negative Affect ◽  
Adult Children ◽  
Secondary Analysis ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Moderating Effect ◽  
Positive And Negative Affect ◽  
Residential Status ◽  
Aging Parents ◽  
Income Levels ◽  
Parental Income

This study examined the moderating effect of parental income on the association between parent–child coresidence and parental affect. Secondary analysis was conducted with data from the ORANJ BOWL panel, a representative sample of adults in New Jersey, aged 50 to 74 years ( N = 5,688). Results indicated that income had a significant moderating effect on the association between the adult child’s residential status and parents’ positive and negative affect. Among parents with coresident adult children, an observed decline in positive affect and rise in negative affect were amplified as parental income level increased, suggesting differential strains on parental well-being across income levels.

scholarly journals Intensive Mothers, Cautionary Tale Fathers: Adult Children’s Perceptions of Parental Influence on Health

2019 ◽  
Vol 41 (3) ◽  
pp. 312-337 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexandra Kissling ◽  
Corinne Reczek
Keyword(s):  
Adult Children ◽  
Parental Influence ◽  
Adult Child ◽  
Later Life ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Negative Influence ◽  
Family Systems Theory ◽  
Future Health ◽  
Midlife Adults ◽  
Cautionary Tales

Parents strongly influence children’s health, yet how parents continue to shape the health of midlife adult children remains unknown. Moreover, while most adults are married by midlife, research has failed to identify the effects of parent-in-law relationships on midlife adult well-being. Using interviews with 90 individuals in 45 marriages, we investigate how midlife adults perceive the influence of parents and parents-in-law on adult child health. Findings reveal that particularly mothers and mothers-in-law positively influence child’s health via support during, or in anticipation of, illness and injury. The health experiences of parents and in-laws, particularly fathers/in-law, become cautionary tales preparing adult children for future health issues. Yet parents/in-law also have negative influence on adult children during midlife due to parents’ compounding health needs. We use family systems theory to show how parents/in-laws are intertwined in ways that influence health during children’s midlife that has ramifications into later life.

scholarly journals Adult Children’s Daily Experiences With Parental Advice: The Importance of Life Problems and Relationship Quality

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Haowei Wang ◽  
Kyungmin Kim ◽  
Jeffrey A Burr ◽  
Kira S Birditt ◽  
Karen L Fingerman
Keyword(s):  
Young Adult ◽  
Relationship Quality ◽  
Adult Children ◽  
Negative Mood ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Parent Child Relationship ◽  
Daily Experiences ◽  
Child Relationship ◽  
Life Problems ◽  
Parent Child

Abstract Objectives Parents often provide advice to their adult children during their everyday interactions. This study investigated young adult children’s daily experiences with parental advice in U.S. families. Specifically, the study examined how receiving advice and evaluations of parental advice were associated with children’s life problems, parent–child relationship quality, and daily mood. Methods Young adult children (aged 18–30 years; participant N = 152) reported whether they received any advice and perceived any unwanted advice from each parent (parent N = 235) for 7 days using a daily diary design (participant-day N = 948). Adult children also reported their positive and negative mood on each interview day. Results Results from multilevel models revealed that adult children who reported a more positive relationship with their parents were more likely to receive advice from the parent, whereas adult children who had a more strained relationship with their parents were more likely to perceive advice from the parent as unwanted. Receiving advice from the mother was associated with increased positive mood, whereas unwanted advice from any parent was associated with increased negative mood. Furthermore, the link between unwanted advice and negative mood varied by children’s life problems and parent–child relationship quality. Discussion Indeed, parental advice is not “the more the better,” especially when the advice is unsolicited. This study highlights the importance of perceptions of family support for emerging adults’ well-being.

scholarly journals THE ROLE OF AMBIVALENCE ON WELL-BEING OF AGING PARENTS WHO HAVE A DISABLED CHILD: MULTILEVEL MEDIATION APPROACH

2019 ◽  
Vol 3 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. S37-S38
Author(s):  
Eun Ha Namkung
Keyword(s):  
Adult Children ◽  
Structural Equation ◽  
Structural Equation Models ◽  
Comparison Group ◽  
Adult Child ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Mental Illnesses ◽  
Physical And Mental Health ◽  
Aging Parents ◽  
Adults With Disabilities

Abstract According to the family systems theory, strains from parenting an adult with disabilities may spillover to parents’ relationships with their other children and disrupt family dynamics and their well-being in later life. This study examined whether parental ambivalence toward their non-disabled children is greater in families of adults with disabilities [developmental disabilities (DD) or serious mental illnesses (SMI)] than families without an adult child with disabilities. The study also investigated whether ambivalence mediates the associations of having an adult child with DD or SMI on parents’ health. Data were from the 2011 Wisconsin Longitudinal Study in which aging parents (Mage = 71; n = 6,084) were asked about their relationship with each of their adult children. Multilevel regression models and multilevel structural equation models (MSEM) were estimated to analyze the data. Our findings showed that parents of an adult with SMI felt greater ambivalence toward their non-disabled adult children than comparison group parents of adults without disabilities, whereas no significant differences were found between parents of an adult with DD and comparison group parents. Parental ambivalence toward their non-disabled adult children played a significant indirect role in the negative association between having a child with SMI and parental physical and mental health, after adjusting for parent- and child-characteristics associated with parental health and/or ambivalence. The findings have implications for clinical practice with aging families of adults with disabilities and suggest the need for additional research to better understand intergenerational dynamics in these families.

scholarly journals Midlife Adults’ Daily Support to Children and Parents: Implications for Diurnal Cortisol

2019 ◽  
Vol 32 (9) ◽  
pp. 926-936 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jamie L. Fuentecilla ◽  
Yin Liu ◽  
Meng Huo ◽  
Kyungmin Kim ◽  
Kira S. Birditt ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Physiological Stress ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Differential Impact ◽  
Diurnal Cortisol ◽  
Aging Parents ◽  
Support Strategies ◽  
Practical Support ◽  
Children And Parents ◽  
The Family ◽  
Midlife Adults

Objectives: We examined whether providing daily support to generations above and below has a differential impact on midlife adults’ diurnal cortisol. Method: Midlife adults ( N = 151) from the Family Exchanges Study Wave 2 reported daily practical support, emotional support, and advice to adult children and aging parents and collected saliva samples four times a day for 4 days. Results: Midlife adults experienced steeper cortisol awakening responses and steeper declines in cortisol (favorable cortisol functioning) on days when they provided support to children. Yet, they experienced higher overall cortisol levels (unfavorable cortisol functioning) on days when they provided support to aging parents. Discussion: Providing daily support to children may be rewarding to midlife adults, but support to parents may be associated with physiological stress. Findings advance understanding of midlife adults’ helping behaviors to multiple generations and carry implications for older adults’ well-being by encouraging effective support strategies.

scholarly journals IT’S BETTER TO GIVE THAN RECEIVE, OR IS IT? THE EFFECT OF SOCIAL SUPPORT ON THE PSYCHOLOGICAL WELL-BEING OF OLDER PARENTS

2019 ◽  
Vol 3 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. S490-S490
Author(s):  
Erik Blanco
Keyword(s):  
Social Support ◽  
Adult Children ◽  
Negative Mood ◽  
Secondary Data ◽  
Positive Mood ◽  
Later Life ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Life Transitions ◽  
Psychological Well Being ◽  
Older Parents

Abstract The longevity revolution has led to more years of shared lives between older parents and adult children. Having these extra years together can be offset by the stressful life transitions of widowhood, health declines, and increased level of disability experienced by older parents. These transitions can lower older parents’ psychological well-being. Although social support to/from adult children has the potential to buffer these effects, most older parents wish to remain independent, even in later life, making them reluctant to accept social support from their adult children. The purpose of this paper is to examine whether the provision or receipt of social support between older parents and adult children, influences positive mood and negative mood. Secondary data on older adults (n = 461) with adult children who participated in the 2004 wave of the LSOG were used. The results revealed that the provision of social support by older parents to adult children significantly increased parents’ positive mood showing that it is better to give than receive. The results for the receipt of social support were more complex. Results suggest that when someone has a higher level of disability and does not receive social support their negative mood increases, but when someone has a high level of disability and does receive social support there is no effect on negative mood. This proposes that the receipt of social support is particularly important when the parent is in need of support and it is better to receive than give when parents are in need.

scholarly journals Disability and Activity-related Emotion in Later Life: Are Effects Buffered by Intimate Relationship Support and Strain?

2017 ◽  
Vol 58 (3) ◽  
pp. 387-403 ◽  
Author(s):  
Deborah Carr ◽  
Jennifer C. Cornman ◽  
Vicki A. Freedman
Keyword(s):  
Negative Emotions ◽  
Negative Mood ◽  
Panel Study ◽  
Later Life ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Income Dynamics ◽  
Marital Support ◽  
Marital Partner ◽  
Use Of Time ◽  
Severe Impairment

We use daily diary data from the Disability and Use of Time supplement to the 2013 Panel Study of Income Dynamics ( n = 1,162) to evaluate (1) the extent to which marital/partner support and strain moderate the effects of disability on five activity-related emotions (happiness, calm, sadness, frustration, worry) and overall negative and positive emotion among older married, cohabiting, and dating persons and (2) whether such patterns differ significantly by gender. Marital support buffers against negative emotions and increases feelings of calm among severely impaired women. By contrast, support intensifies negative emotions and decreases feelings of calm among severely impaired men. Relationship strain also intensifies the effect of severe impairment on men’s frustration, sadness, worry, and negative mood but has negligible effects on the negative emotions of men with low impairment and women. Frequent support and criticism may threaten highly impaired older men’s sense of autonomy and emotional well-being.

Relationship Between Ties With Adult Children and Life Satisfaction Among the Middle-Aged, the Young-Old, and the Oldest-Old Korean Adults

2017 ◽  
Vol 85 (4) ◽  
pp. 354-376 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hye Won Chai ◽  
Hey Jung Jun
Keyword(s):  
Life Satisfaction ◽  
Adult Children ◽  
Oldest Old ◽  
Age Groups ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Middle Aged ◽  
Aging Parents ◽  
Different Types ◽  
Positive Effect ◽  
Young Old

One of the important determinants of well-being among aging parents is their relationship with adult children. Using the two waves of the Korean Longitudinal Study of Ageing, this study examined how different types of ties with adult children affect the life satisfaction of the Korean middle-aged, the young-old, and the oldest-old adults. Multigroup analysis was used to see if the effects of ties with adult children differ by the three age-groups. The results showed that frequency of contact had positive effect on life satisfaction for all of the age-groups. However, coresidence with children had a negative effect for the middle-aged, but a positive effect for the oldest-old. Finally, exchanges of support with adult children had significant effects only for the young-old. These results show that the importance of different types of ties with children change according to aging parents’ life stages.

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