Work

The Ties That Bind: Midlife Parents' Daily Experiences With Grown Children

Year: 2015

Type: article

Abstract: = 247) reports regarding grown children for 7 days. Nearly all parents (96%) had contact with a child that week via phone, text, or in person. Nearly all parents shared laughter or enjoyable interactions with grown children during the study week. More than half of parents experienced stressful encounters (e.g., child got on nerves) or stressful thoughts about grown children (e.g., worrying, fretting about a problem). Pleasant and stressful experiences with grown children were associated with parents' positive and negative daily moods. A pleasant experience with a grown child the same day as a stressful experience mitigated effects of those stressful experiences on negative mood, however. The findings have implications for understanding intergenerational ambivalence and stress buffering in this tie.

Source: Journal of Marriage and the Family

DOI: 10.1111/jomf.12273

Authors: Karen L. Fingerman, Kyungmin Kim, Kira S. Birditt, Steven H. Zarit

Institutions: The University of Texas at Austin, University of Massachusetts Boston, University of Michigan, Pennsylvania State University

Language: English

Topic: Intergenerational Family Dynamics and Caregiving

Subfield: Sociology and Political Science

Field: Social Sciences

Domain: Social Sciences

SDG: Good health and well-being

Open Access status: green

Funders: National Institute on Aging, Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development