Megan Gilligan

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.

Adult Children’s Problems and Mothers’ Well-Being Does Parental Favoritism Matter?

This article explores whether understanding of the effects of children’s problems on older parents’ well-being can be advanced by exploring differences in parent–child relationships within families. Using data from a study in which mothers reported on all adult children, we addressed the question: Do patterns of maternal favoritism moderate the impact of children’s problems on psychological well-being? Based on the literature on the effects of children’s problems and on parental favoritism, we hypothesized that problems in the lives of favored adult children will have a more detrimental impact than when they affect unfavored offspring. Results revealed strong and detrimental effects of any offspring’s problems on mothers’ well-being; these effects occurred, however, regardless of parental preference for an adult child. The findings suggest that the well-documented effects of parental preference may be limited in domains such as problems and difficult transitions in adult children’s lives.

Applying Within-Family Differences Approaches to Enhance Understanding of the Complexity of Intergenerational Relations

Objectives The role of family relationships in the lives of older adults has received substantial attention in recent decades. Scholars have increasingly looked beyond simple models of family relations to approaches that recognize the complex and sometimes contradictory nature of these ties. One of the most exciting conceptual and methodological developments is the application of within-family differences approaches. In this paper, we focus on the ways in which such within-family approaches can extend the understanding of patterns and consequences of intergenerational ties in adulthood. Method Following a review of the conceptual underpinnings of within-family differences approaches, we provide empirical illustrations of these approaches from three projects conducted in the United States: the Family Exchanges Study (FES), the Longitudinal Study of Generations (LSOG), and the Within-Family Differences Study (WFDS). Results Analyses from the FES, LSOG, and WFDS reveal differences in the consequences of patterns of intergenerational relations found when using within-family compared to between-family approaches. In particular, these analyses demonstrate considerable variation within families that shapes patterns and consequences of parent-adult child ties that is masked when such variations are not taken into account. Discussion Within-family differences approaches have been shown to shed new light on intergenerational relations. Despite the value of within-family designs, their use may be limited by the higher investment of finances and time required to implement such studies.

How Widowhood Shapes Adult Children’s Responses to Mothers’ Preferences for Care

OBJECTIVES We examine whether recently widowed mothers who needed assistance for a chronic condition, serious illness, or injury were more likely to receive care from the children they preferred as caregivers than were mothers who were divorced or had been widowed for a longer period of time. METHOD Data were analyzed from 130 widowed or divorced mothers aged 72-83 in the second wave of the Within-Family Differences Study, all of whom reported needing assistance for a chronic condition or a serious illness or injury within 2 years prior to T2. RESULTS The findings provided evidence that recent widowhood shapes patterns of caregiving. Analyses revealed that mothers who had been widowed within 4 years were substantially more likely to receive care from adult children whom they had identified several years earlier as preferred caregivers than were mothers who were divorced or had been widowed 4 or more years. DISCUSSION Research has shown that mothers are at an increased risk for declining psychological well-being when caregiving preferences are not met. Findings from this study suggest that mothers who are divorced or have been widowed for several years may be at greater risk for violation of their caregiving preferences, increasing their vulnerability to declines in psychological well-being.

Recent economic distress in midlife: Consequences for adult children’s relationships with their mothers

Abstract For nearly a century, research on economic hardship has demonstrated its negative effects on family relations. However, with few exceptions, this work has focused on the consequences for marital quality and parenting behaviors in early stages of the life course. In contrast, in the present study, we examine how financial distress among adult children in midlife affects their relationships with their mothers in their 70s and early 80s. Specifically, we used quantitative and qualitative data collected from 387 mothers in 2001–2002 and 2008–2010 regarding their adult children’s recent financial problems and their levels of tension and closeness felt toward each child. Multilevel analyses revealed that both children’s financial problems within the past year and earlier problems that had been resolved predicted mothers’ reports of tension in their relationships with their adult children. Contrary to expectations, neither measure of children’s financial problems predicted mothers’ reports of closeness to their children. Examination of the qualitative data suggested that mothers attributed their children’s financial failures to personal failures of the adult children. In addition, the qualitative data revealed clear gender differences. Mothers disproportionately attributed their sons’ financial problems to lack of career success, whereas mothers were much more likely to express disappointment in daughters with financial problems because of marital dissolutions.

Stability, Change, and Complexity in Later-Life Families

Family relations in later life have been an issue of concern throughout recorded history. In fact, intergenerational roles, responsibilities, and conflict have permeated both legend and literature from Greek mythology to the Bible and through Shakespeare to the modern age. These deeply human and highly salient relationships have drawn significant scientific interest as well. The dramatic increase in life expectancy across the twentieth century, combined with more recent changes in patterns of marriage and divorce, childbearing, and women’s employment, have created ever-increasing complexity in individuals’ personal and family lives. In this chapter, we identify and discuss changing patterns of intergenerational relations emanating from these sociodemographic transitions and their consequences on family members.

Linked Lives and Cumulative Inequality: A Multigenerational Family Life Course Framework: Linked Lives and Cumulative Inequality

Growing social and economic inequalities in the United States have been accompanied by shifts in family structure. Social and demographic changes may make multigenerational family ties (e.g., between grandparents, parents, and children) an even more important contributor than ever in perpetuating inequality. The family life course framework, which considers how dimensions of individual (age), sociohistorical (period, cohort), and processual (generation) time intersect, provides a useful structure for thinking about how multigenerational families matter for inequality today. We integrate these dimensions of time with the ideas of linked lives and cumulative inequality to propose ways in which advantage and disadvantage are transmitted and grow across multiple generations. In particular, we propose an integrative model of linked lives and cumulative inequality that extends the family life course framework into a multigenerational perspective. We conclude by identifying data sources and methodologies useful for family scholars interested in pursuing a multigenerational family approach to inequality.

Adult Children’s Perceptions of Maternal Favoritism During Caregiving: Comparisons Between Turkey and the United States:

This study explores cross-cultural variations in adult children’s perceptions of maternal favoritism during caregiving in Turkey and the United States. Qualitative analysis of interview data from two siblings in each of 14 Turkish and 14 American families revealed differences in adult children’s perceptions of and explanations for maternal favoritism. Most Turkish children perceived that their mothers favored sons because of higher filial expectations from sons. Conversely, most American children perceived that their mothers favored daughters and explained mothers’ preferences as based on socioemotional factors. Furthermore, perceptions of maternal favoritism had detrimental consequences for sibling relationships in both contexts but differently. Turkish daughters reported conflicts over their favored brothers’ lack of cooperation. American daughters perceived themselves as favored and felt obligated to undertake most of the caregiving burden which fueled sibling conflict. Taken together, this study highlights the importance of cultural context for understanding the within-family differences in sibling relationships during caregiving.

How Much Can Be Expected of One Child? Consequences of Multiplexity of Mothers’ Support Preferences on Adult Children’s Psychological Well-Being

The role of social support in psychological well-being has been a major area of study for social scientists for more than four decades. This chapter investigates the consequences of support processes from the perspective of the provider, bringing together perspectives from family gerontology and social networks. With data from the Within-Family Differences Study (WFDS), this chapter explores whether multiplexity in older mothers’ differential preferences for support from their offspring predict adult children’s depressive symptoms. Results indicate that adult children report higher levels of depressive symptoms when they perceive that their mothers prefer them over other offspring in the family for both emotional closeness and confiding. These consequences are greater for daughters relative to sons.

Translating Basic Research on the Aging Family to Caregiving Intervention: The Case of Within-Family Differences

Abstract Since its inception, the field of gerontology has sought to establish optimal connections between the scientific activities of researchers and the real-world concerns of practitioners and clinicians. The concept of translational research has emerged in recent years as a model for bridging the gap between science and service. This article provides an example of how basic research findings can be translated to provide guidance for intervention in the area of family caregiving. We review findings from an innovative program of research on within-family differences, which extends theory and research from the developmental psychological study of children to the family in later life. The within-family difference perspective focuses on how the individual parent–child dyads in a particular family differ from and are affected by other dyads. Basic research on this topic has revealed the extent of parental favoritism in later life, factors related to parental differential treatment of offspring, and the consequences of such favoritism and treatment on sibling relationship quality and psychological well-being. Four examples are provided of ways in which attention to within-family differences research could enhance caregiving interventions.