Jori Sechrist

Intergenerational Relations in Later-Life Families

Relations between the generations have been a central feature in literature and popular culture throughout recorded history. The dramatic increase in life expectancy across the last century, combined with more recent changes in divorce, child-bearing, and women’s employment, has challenged old assumptions and created new inquiries into intergenerational relations in later life. Thus, it is not surprising that the study of these relations in the later years has grown exponentially across the last three decades as scholars have rushed to identify and explain these new patterns of relations and their consequences on family members.

THE ROLE OF PERCEIVED RELIGIOUS SIMILARITY IN THE QUALITY OF MOTHER-CHILD RELATIONS IN LATER-LIFE: DIFFERENCES WITHIN FAMILIES AND BETWEEN RACES.

Despite evidence of the importance of value similarity in predicting parentadult child relations, little attention has been given to the unique role of religious similarity. Using 1,407 dyads nested within 390 families, the authors examine whether religious similarity predicts the quality of mother-child relations in later life and whether the strength of this association differs by race. Consistent with the authors’ hypotheses, religious similarity was found to be an important factor in predicting both closeness and conflict, particularly in Black families. These findings suggest that it may be important to give greater attention to religion when studying patterns of interaction and support in the later years, especially among Black families.