Parental marital disruption and intergenerational transfers: an analysis of lone elderly parents and their children. Demography 1999 Aug;36(3):287-97
Date
09/03/1999Pubmed ID
10472494Scopus ID
2-s2.0-0033174635 (requires institutional sign-in at Scopus site) 127 CitationsAbstract
Although one of the most marked demographic trends observed over the twentieth century is the increased rate of divorce, relatively little research has explored the effects of these changing marital patterns in the context of an aging society. Using a sample of lone elderly parents and their adult children, we analyze the direct and indirect effects of marital disruption on four important dimensions of intergenerational transfers: coresidence, financial assistance, adult children's provision of informal care, and parental purchase of paid care. Our findings suggest that divorce has deleterious effects on intergenerational transfers, particularly for elderly fathers. Remarriage further reduces exchange. Our results reveal that parents engage in lower levels of transfers with stepchildren relative to biological children. Moreover, intergenerational transfers are sensitive to characteristics of biological children but not to those of stepchildren. Taken together, these results suggest that exchange at the end of the life course continues to be adversely affected by marital disruption.
Author List
Pezzin LE, Schone BSAuthor
Liliana Pezzin PhD, JD Professor in the Institute for Health and Equity department at Medical College of WisconsinMESH terms used to index this publication - Major topics in bold
Activities of Daily LivingAdult
Aged
Analysis of Variance
Caregivers
Chi-Square Distribution
Divorce
Family
Father-Child Relations
Female
Financial Support
Frail Elderly
Home Nursing
Humans
Intergenerational Relations
Loneliness
Male
Marriage
Parent-Child Relations
Parents
Sample Size
Sampling Studies
Socioeconomic Factors
