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Adult Children’s Job Loss and Parent-child Relationship Quality: the Role of Parents’ Evaluations

Year: 2017
Type: conference-abstract
Abstract: The life course concept of linked-lives indicates that intergenerational relationships are shaped by the life events of individual family members. In this paper, we examined how adult children’s job loss during the Great Recession impacted parent-adult child relationship quality. In particular, we focused on how employed parents experienced adult children’s job loss. In addition, we examined the mediating role of parents’ evaluation of themselves and their children in the association between job loss and parent-child relationship quality. This study draws on 396 parents (M age =66.44, SD=5.71) from the MIDUS wave3 (2013–2014). All of the parents were employed and reported on whether their children experienced job loss in the last year (M age =41.34, SD=8.26). To explore how the employment status of children affects the relationship quality between employed parents and their children, we performed linear regression analysis. We conducted mediation analysis to examine the role of parents’ evaluation of themselves and their children. Regression analysis demonstrated that the employment status of children had a negative effect on the quality of parent-child relationship (β=-.107, p<.05). Mediation analysis indicated that parents’ positive evaluation of themselves and their negative evaluation of their children helped to explain the association between adult children’s employment status and the quality of parent-child relationships. These findings indicate that adult children’s job loss influences the parent-adult child relationship quality. Further, parents’ evaluation of themselves and their children mediates this association. Taken together, this research highlights the linked lives between parents and adult children.
DOI: 10.1093/geroni/igx004.733
Authors: D. Kim, M. Gilligan
Language: English
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $3,977
OpenAlex ID: W2733926203
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