Year: 2017
Type: conference-abstract
Abstract: Middle-aged adults provide regular support to their aging parents and their grown children. Prior studies have shown that providing support may have negative or positive implications for well-being, but studies have not examined how providing support on a daily basis may influence physiology such as daily cortisol responses. Middle-aged adults (N = 171; Mage = 56.16) from the Family Exchange Study participated in a diary study and provided 4 days of saliva collection sampled 4 times a day. Multilevel models revealed that providing support to parents was associated with flatter cortisol declines across the day. Additionally, adults providing support to children showed elevated cortisol awakening responses and steeper cortisol declines compared to adults who did not provide support to children. Thus, providing support in normative situations (e.g., to adult children) may be rewarding, but providing support in nonnormative or demanding contexts (e.g., to aging parents) may exert a physiological toll.
Source: Innovation in Aging
Authors: J. Graham, M. Huo, K. Kim, K. Birditt, S. Zarit, K.L. Fingerman
Language: English
Subfield: Sociology and Political Science
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $3,977
OpenAlex ID: W2724877786