Impact of the Death of an Adult Child on Elderly Parents: Some Observations

1987 ◽  
Vol 17 (3) ◽  
pp. 209-218 ◽  
Author(s):  
Miriam S. Moss ◽  
Emerson L. Lesher ◽  
Sidney Z. Moss

The impact of the death of an adult child on elderly parents has received little attention. Yet, findings indicate that 10 percent of all elderly parents had a child die after the parent was age sixty. Five generic themes evoked by the death of a child are explored: untimeliness, uniqueness of the parent-child bond, impact on intergenerational relations, loss of social supports, and hope for the future. Implications for research, clinical intervention, and planning are outlined.

Author(s):  
Tianxiang Li ◽  
Beibei Wu ◽  
Fujin Yi ◽  
Bin Wang ◽  
Tomas Baležentis

There is little understanding about the effects of adult child migration on the health of elderly parents left behind in the light of economic contribution and time allocation (farm work and emotional cohesion). Using the pooled data from three latest issues of China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS) in the rural areas, this study assesses the impact of child migration on parents’ health by employing instrumental variable approach to deal with the endogeneity problem. Overall, the evidence suggests that adult child migration impairs parental health as indicated by lower self-reported health (SRH), body mass index (BMI), physical activity of daily living (PADL), and higher depression score. Moreover, parents who are female, poorly-educated, and living with one adult child at least are the most vulnerable groups in terms of poor health outcomes. The negative impact of farming burden on the health of parents left behind outweighs the positive impact of economic support and emotional cohesion. Thus, child migration exerts a significantly negative impact on parental health. Establishing medical and social security systems for the elderly is important to complement the traditional family support in rural China.


2016 ◽  
Vol 8 (4) ◽  
pp. 677-697 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fang Chang ◽  
Yaojiang Shi ◽  
Hongmei Yi ◽  
Natalie Johnson

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the effect of adult children migration on the health status of elderly parents. Increased labor migration in developing countries that lack adequate social security systems and institutionalized care for the elderly is a phenomenon that is important to understand. When their adult children go away to work, it is not clear what effect there will be on “left-behind” elderly parents. Design/methodology/approach This study employs nearly nationally representative data from five provinces, 25 counties, 101 villages and 2,000 households, collected from two waves of data in 2007 and 2011. This sample comprises a subset of households which include both elderly individuals (above 60 years old) and their grown (working-aged) children in order to estimate the impact of adult child migration on the health of elderly parents in rural China. Findings This study finds that adult child migration has a significant positive impact on the health of elderly family members. Practical implications These findings are consistent with the explanation that migration raises family resources, which in turn may contribute to better health outcomes for elderly household members. Originality/value This is the first paper to attempt to identify the relationship between household migration and the health of elderly parents within the Chinese context.


1983 ◽  
Vol 13 (3) ◽  
pp. 191-225 ◽  
Author(s):  
Greg Owen ◽  
Robert Fulton ◽  
Eric Markusen

This paper reports the findings of a social-psychological investigation of bereavement conducted in the metropolitan area of Minneapolis and St. Paul over a period of twelve months. Information was solicited using both questionnaires and home interviews from 558 bereaved persons, including spouses (434), parents (85), and adult children (39) responding to the death of an elderly parent. Strong emotional ties were evidenced in each of the three subsamples and a wide variety of physical and emotional reactions were demonstrated by all three groups following the death. One of the most important findings of the study is that the type of relationship severed by the death is an important determinant of the nature of the grief experienced by survivors. For example, within the adult child sample, the data suggest that the death of elderly parents is less disruptive, less emotionally debilitating and generally less significant for surviving adult children in terms of the continuity and stability of established behavioral patterns than for the other two groups. The adult child group also displayed less illness during bereavement than either the surviving parents or surviving spouses and were less likely to utilize traditional funerary rituals. It is hypothesized that these observed differences reflect significant changes in the larger society, including 1) the nature and function of the nuclear family and its members, 2) institutionalization of the dying and professionalization of their care, and 3) cultural conceptions of the meaning of life and death. Discussion focuses on the theoretical implications of the findings as they relate to the impact of death, grief and bereavement on the contemporary family, as well as to specific issues relevant to practicing clinicians in their attempts to aid families coping with separation and loss.


2011 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alex Z. Gold ◽  
David S. Friedman ◽  
Jacklyn M. Sullivan ◽  
Stephen Sullivan

Author(s):  
Priyastiwi Priyastiwi

The purpose of this article is to provide the basic model of Hofstede and Grays’ cultural values that relates the Hofstede’s cultural dimensions and Gray‘s accounting value. This article reviews some studies that prove the model and develop the research in the future. There are some evidences that link the Hofstede’s cultural values studies with the auditor’s judgment and decisions by developing a framework that categorizes the auditor’s judgments and decisions are most likely influenced by cross-cultural differences. The categories include risk assessment, risk decisions and ethical judgments. Understanding the impact of cultural factors on the practice of accounting and financial disclosure is important to achieve the harmonization of international accounting. Deep understanding about how the local values may affect the accounting practices and their impacts on the financial disclosure are important to ensure the international comparability of financial reporting. Gray’s framework (1988) expects how the culture may affect accounting practices at the national level. One area of the future studies will examine the impact of cultural dimensions to the values of accounting, auditing and decision making. Key word : Motivation, leadership style, job satisfaction, performance


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