In this study, we integrate insights from the life-course and stress-process perspectives to argue that adult children's negative treatment of parents, as well as negative events that children experience, detrimentally affect elderly parents' mental health over time. We argue that these strains may affect mothers more than fathers, and blacks more than whites, because of the greater importance of the parental role to these groups in late life. Using data from more than 600 older African American and white parents over a four-year period, we show that negative treatment by adult children is positively related to changes in depression and anger, but effects on depression are limited to black parents and effects on anger are limited to mothers. Adult children becoming ill or unemployed positively relates to changes in distress over time, but only for black parents. Surprisingly, marital dissolution by adult children is related to decreases in anger for black parents. This research indicates that the social-psychological implications of the parental role do not end when children are adults; however, the influence on mental health in old age may vary by social status.
References
1.
AllenKatherine R.BliesznerRosemaryRobertoKaren A.2000. “Families in the Middle and Later Years: A Review and Critique of Research in the 1990s.”Journal of Marriage and Family62: 911–26.
2.
AldousJoanKrausElisabethKleinDavid M.1985. “The Understanding Heart: Aging Parents and Their Favorite Children.”Child Development56: 303–16.
3.
AneshenselCarol S.2005. “Research in Mental Health: Social Etiology and Social Consequences.”Journal of Health and Social Behavior46: 221–28.
4.
BliesznerRosemaryManciniJay A.1987. “Enduring Ties: Older Adults' Parental Role and Responsibilities.”Family Relations36: 176–80.
5.
ChodorowNancy1978. The Reproduction of Mothering: Psychoanalysis and the Sociology of Gender.Berkeley, CA: University of California Press.
6.
ClausenJohn A.1993. American Lives: Looking Back at the Children of the Great Depression.New York: The Free Press.
7.
ConnidisIngrid ArnetMcMullinJulie Ann1993. “To Have or Have Not: Parent Status and the Subjective Well-Being of Older Men and Women.”Gerontologist33: 630–36.
8.
CookJudith1988. “Who ‘Mothers’ the Chronically Mentally Ill?”Family Relations34: 42–49.
9.
Dilworth-AndersonPeggyeBurtonLinda1999. “Critical Issues in Understanding Family Support and Older Minorities.” Pp. 94–105 in Full-Color Aging: Facts, Goals, and Recommendations for America's Diverse Elders, edited byMilesT.. Washington, DC: Gerontological Society of America.
10.
DuncanColin2003. “Assessing Anti-Ageism Routes to Older Worker Re-Engagement.”Work, Employment, and Society17: 101–20.
11.
ElderGlen H.Jr.1999. Children of the Great Depression.Boulder, CO: Westview Press.
12.
ElderGlen H.Jr.JohnsonMonica KirkpatrickCrosnoeRobert2003. “The Emergence and Development of Life Course Theory.” Pp. 3–19 in Handbook of the Life Course, edited byMortimerJeylen T.ShanahanMichael J.. New York: Kluwer Academic.
13.
ErdmansMary2004. The Grasinski Girls: The Choices They Had and the Choices They Made.Athens, OH: Ohio University Press.
14.
EvensonRanaeSimonRobin2005. “Clarifying the Relationship Between Parenthood and Depression.”Journal of Health and Social Behavior46: 341–58.
15.
GeorgeLinda K.2003. “Life-course Research: Achievements and Potential.” Pp. 671–80 in Handbook of the Life Course, edited byMortimerJeylen T.ShanahanMichael J.. New York: Kluwer Academic.
16.
GeorgeLinda K.1999. “Life-course Perspectives on Mental Health.” Pp. 565–83 in Handbook of the Sociology of Mental Health, edited byAneshenselCarol S.PhelanJo C.. New York: Plenum.
17.
GeorgeLinda K.1990. “Social Participation in Later Life: Black-White Differences.” Pp. 99–126 in The Black American Elderly: Research on Physical and Psychosocial Health, edited byJacksonJames S.. New York: Springer.
18.
GibsonRose C.JacksonJames S.1987. “Health, Physical Functioning, and Informal Supports of the Black Elderly.”Milbank Quarterly65: 412–54.
19.
GieleJanet Z.ElderGlen H.Jr.1998. “Life Course Research: Development of a Field.” Pp. 5–27 in Methods of Life Course Research Qualitative and Quantitative Approaches, edited byGieleJanet Z.ElderGlen H.Jr.Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
20.
GilliganCarol1982. In a Difference Voice: Psychological Theory and Women's Development.Cambridge: Harvard University Press.
21.
GreenbergJan S.BeckerMarion1988. “Aging Parents as Family Resources.”Gerontologist28: 786–91.
22.
GreenfieldEmily A.MarksNadine F.2006. “Linked Lives: Adult Children's Problems and Their Parents' Psychological and Relational Well-Being.”Journal of Marriage and Family68: 442–54.
23.
HagestadGunhild1986. “Dimensions of Time and the Family.”American Behavioral Scientist29: 679–94.
24.
HughesMichaelDemoDavid H.1989. Self Perceptions of Black Americans: Self-Esteem and Personal Efficacy.American Journal of Sociology95: 132–59.
25.
KaufmanGayleUhlenbergPeter1998. “Effects of Life-course Transitions on the Quality of Relationships Between Adult Children and Their Parents.”Journal of Marriage and the Family60: 924–38.
26.
KeithPat M.KimSoyoungSchaferRobert B.2000. “Informal Ties of the Unmarried in Middle and Later Life: Who Has Them and Who Does Not?”Sociological Spectrum20: 221–39.
27.
KnoesterChris2003. “Transitions in Young Adulthood and the Relationship between Parent and Offspring Well-Being.”Social Forces81: 1431–58.
28.
Koropeckyj-CoxTanya2002. “Beyond Parental Status: Psychological Well-Being in Middle and Old Age.”Journal of Marriage and Family64: 957–71.
29.
KrauseNeal1994. “Stressors in Salient Social Roles and Well-Being in Later Life.”Journal of Gerontology49: 137–48.
30.
LeeGary R.PeekChuck W.CowardRaymond T.1998. “Race Differences in Filial Responsibility Expectations among Older Parents.”Journal of Marriage and the Family.60: 404–12.
31.
ManciniJay A.BliesznerRosemary1989. “Aging Parents and Adult Children: Research Themes in Intergenerational Relations.”Journal of Marriage and the Family51: 275–90.
32.
MarkidesKyriakos S.BlackSandra A.1996. “Race, Ethnicity, and Aging: The Impact of Inequality.” Pp. 153–70 in Handbook of Aging and the Social Sciences, edited byBinstockRobertGeorgeLinda. San Diego, CA: Academic Press.
33.
McLeodJane D.NonnemakerJamesM.1999. “Social Stratification and Inequality.” Pp. 321–44 in Handbook of the Sociology of Mental Health, edited byAneshenselCarol S.PhelanJo C.. New York: Plenum.
34.
MirowskyJohnRossCatherine2001. “Age and the Effect of Economic Hardship on Depression.”Journal of Health and Social Behavior42: 132–50.
35.
NomaguchiKeiMilkieMelissa2003. “Costs and Rewards of Children: The Effects of Becoming a Parent on Adults' Lives.”Journal of Marriage and Family65: 356–374.
36.
PearlinLeonard I.1999. “The Stress Process Revisited: Reflections on Concepts and Their Interrelationships.” Pp. 395–415Handbook of the Sociology of Mental Health, edited byAneshenselCarol S.PhelanJo C.. New York: Plenum.
37.
PearlinLeonard I.SchiemanScottFazioElena M.MeersmanStephen C.2005. “Stress, Health, and the Life Course: Some Conceptual Perspectives.”Journal of Health and Social Behavior46: 205–19.
38.
PearlinLeonard ISkaffMarilyn M.1996. “Stress and the Life Course: A Paradigmatic Alliance.”Gerontologist36: 239–47.
39.
PillemerKarlSuitorJ. Jill1991. “Will I Ever Escape My Child's Problems? Effects of Adult Children's Problems on Elderly Parents.”Journal of Marriage and Family62: 911–26.
40.
PleckJoseph H.1977. “The Work-Family Role System.”Social Problems24: 417–27.
41.
RalstonPenny A.1997. “Midlife and Older Black Women.” Pp. 273–89 in Handbook on Women and Aging, edited byCoyleJ.Westport, CT: Greenwood Press.
42.
RossiAlice S.RossiPeter H.1990. Of Human Bonding: Parent-Child Relations Across the Life Course.New York: Aldine de Gruyter.
43.
RyffCarol D.SeltzerMarsha Mailick1996. “The Uncharted Years of Midlife Parenting.” Pp. 3–25 in The Parental Experience in Midlife, edited byRyffCarol D.SeltzerMarsha Mailick. Chicago, IL: The University of Chicago Press.
44.
RyffCarol D.SchmuttePamela S.LeeYoung Hyun1996. “How Children Turn Out: Implications for Parental Self-Evaluation. Pp. 383–422 in The Parental Experience in Midlife, edited byRyffCarol D.SeltzerMarsha Mailick. Chicago, IL: The University of Chicago Press.
45.
SalesAnne E.PlomondonMary E.MagidDavid J.SpertusJohn A.RumsfeldJohn S.2004. “Assessing Response Bias from Missing Quality of Life Data: The Heckman Method.”Health and Quality of Life Outcomes2: 49–58.
46.
SeelbachWayne C.1977. “Gender Differences in Expectations for Filial Responsibility.”Gerontologist17: 421–425.
47.
SilversteinMerrilBengstonVern L.1991. “Do Close Parent-Child Relations Reduce the Morality Risk of Older Parents?”Journal of Health and Social Behavior32: 382–395.
48.
StackCarol1974. All Our Kin: Strategies for Survival in a Black Community.New York: Harper and Row.
49.
StrykerSheldon1980. Symbolic Interactionism: A Social Structural Version.Menlo Park, CA: Benjamin/Cummings.
50.
SuitorJill J.PillemerKarlSechristJori2006. “Within-Family Differences in Mothers' Support to Adult Children.”Journals of Gerontology Series B: Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences61: S10–S17.
51.
TaylorMiles G.LynchScott M.2004. “Trajectories of Impairment, Social Support, and Depressive Symptoms in Later Life.”Journal of Gerontology: Social Sciences59: S238–S246.
52.
TaylorRobert Joseph1988. "Aging and Supportive Relationships among Black Americans.” Pp. 259–81 in The Black American Elderly, edited byJacksonJames S.. New York: Springer.
53.
TaylorSue1982. “Mental Health and Successful Coping among Aged Black Women.” Pp. 41–51 in Minority Aging: Sociological and Social Psychological Issues, edited byManuelR.. Westport, CT: Greenwood.
54.
ThoitsPeggy A.1995. “Stress, Coping and Social Support Processes: Where Are We? What Next?”Journal of Health and Social Behavior35: 53–79.
55.
TurnerR. JayTurnerJ. Blake1999. “Social Integration and Support.” Pp. 301–20 in Handbook of the Sociology of Mental Health, edited byAneshenselCarol S.PhelanJo C.. New York: Plenum.
56.
UmbersonDebra1992. “Relationships Between Adult Children and Their Parents: Psychological Consequences for Both Generations.”Journal of Marriage and the Family54: 664–74.
57.
UmbersonDebraGoveWalter1989. “Parenthood and Psychological Well-Being: Theory, Measurement, and Stage in Family Life Course.”Journal of Family Issues10: 440–62.
58.
WethingtonElaine2000. “Contagion of Stress.”Advances in Group Processes17: 229–53.
59.
WheatonBlair1997. “Trajectories and Turning Points Over the Life Course: Concepts and Themes.” Pp. 1–25 in Stress and Adversity over the Life Course, edited byGotlibIan H.WheatonBlair. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
60.
WheatonBlair1999. “Social Stress.” Pp. 277–300 in Handbook of the Sociology of Mental Health, edited byAneshenselCarol S.PhelanJo C.. New York: Plenum.
61.
WheatonBlair2001. “The Role of Sociology in the Study of Mental Health…and the Role of Mental Health in the Study of Sociology.”Journal of Health and Social Behavior42: 221–34.
