Work

Relationship tensions and mood: Adult children's daily experience of aging parents' stubbornness

Year: 2018

Type: article

Abstract: This study examined middle‐aged individuals' reports of parents' behaviors commonly attributed to stubbornness. Middle‐aged adults (N = 192) completed a 7‐day diary reporting their mood and how often they felt their parents (N = 254) engaged in behaviors often described as “stubbornness” (insistent or risky). Thirty‐one percent of middle‐aged children reported insistent behaviors, and 17% reported risky behaviors by their parent(s). Daily reports of parent behaviors attributed to stubbornness were positively associated with parent–child relationship quality, parent functional limitations, and child neuroticism. Reports of perceived parent insistent behaviors were also associated with greater daily negative mood among adult children. Findings highlight the impact of adult children's daily perceptions of parent behaviors commonly attributed to stubbornness on the individual and relationship.

Source: Personal Relationships

DOI: 10.1111/pere.12229

Authors: ALLISON R. HEID, KYUNGMIN KIM, STEVEN H. ZARIT, KIRA S. BIRDITT, KAREN L. FINGERMAN

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

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