Work

Estrangement Between Mothers and Adult Children: The Role of Norms and Values

Year: 2015

Type: article

Abstract: Relationships between mothers and their children are expected to be lifelong and rewarding for both members of the dyad. Because of the salience of these ties, they are likely to be disrupted only under conditions of extreme relational tension and dissatisfaction. In this work, the authors drew on theoretical arguments regarding societal norm violations and value similarity to examine the processes that lead to estrangement between mothers and adult children. To address this issue, they used quantitative and qualitative data on 2,013 mother-adult child dyads nested within 561 later life families, including 64 in which mothers reported being estranged from at least 1 of their children. Value dissimilarity was found to be a strong predictor of estrangement, whereas violation of serious societal norms was not. Qualitative data revealed that value dissimilarity created severe relational tension between mothers and adult children leading to estrangement.

Source: Journal of Marriage and the Family

DOI: 10.1111/jomf.12207

Authors: Megan Gilligan, J. Jill Suitor, Karl Pillemer

Institutions: Iowa State University, Purdue University West Lafayette, Cornell University

Language: English

Topic: Intergenerational Family Dynamics and Caregiving

Subfield: Sociology and Political Science

Field: Social Sciences

Domain: Social Sciences

Open Access status: green

Funder: National Institute on Aging

Award: Parent Adult-Child Relations: Within Family Differences