The proposed study will investigate within-family differences in parent-child relations in later life. Interviews will be conducted with a representative sample of 600 mothers between the ages of 65 and 75 living in the Boston area, their husbands, if available, and all the adult children in the family. African Americans will be over sampled. The study will examine the degree to which adult children in the same family differ in their relationships with elderly parents, as well as the factors explaining these differences. The major research questions are: 1) what is the extent of within-family differences in parent-adult child relations in later-life families? 2) What are the determinants of within-family differences in parent-child relations? Three sets of predictors will be examined as determinants of relationship quality: status similarity of parent and child; developmental history; and exchange and equity characteristics. The study will focus on the effects of within-family differences rather than individual structural and developmental characteristics of each child.
| Pillemer, Karl; Suitor, J Jill; Riffin, Catherine et al. (2017) Adult Children's Problems and Mothers' Well-Being. Res Aging 39:375-395 |
| Suitor, J Jill; Gilligan, Megan; Peng, Siyun et al. (2016) My Pride and Joy? Predicting Favoritism and Disfavoritism in Mother-Adult Child Relations. J Marriage Fam 78:908-925 |
| Gilligan, Megan; Suitor, J Jill; Nam, Sangbo (2015) Maternal differential treatment in later life families and within-family variations in adult sibling closeness. J Gerontol B Psychol Sci Soc Sci 70:167-77 |
| Gilligan, Megan; Suitor, J Jill; Pillemer, Karl (2015) Estrangement Between Mothers and Adult Children: The Role of Norms and Values. J Marriage Fam 77:908-920 |
| Gilligan, Megan; Suitor, J Jill; Feld, Scott et al. (2015) Do Positive Feelings Hurt? Disaggregating Positive and Negative Components of Intergenerational Ambivalence. J Marriage Fam 77:261-276 |
| Suitor, J Jill; Gilligan, Megan; Johnson, Kaitlin et al. (2014) Caregiving, perceptions of maternal favoritism, and tension among siblings. Gerontologist 54:580-8 |
| Pillemer, Karl; Suitor, J Jill (2014) Who provides care? A prospective study of caregiving among adult siblings. Gerontologist 54:589-98 |
| Sechrist, Jori; Suitor, J Jill; Howard, Abigail R et al. (2014) Perceptions of Equity, Balance of Support Exchange, and Mother-Adult Child Relations. J Marriage Fam 76:285-299 |
| Suitor, J Jill; Gilligan, Megan; Johnson, Kaitlin et al. (2014) How widowhood shapes adult children's responses to mothers' preferences for care. J Gerontol B Psychol Sci Soc Sci 69:95-102 |
| Gilligan, Megan; Suitor, J Jill; Kim, Seoyoun et al. (2013) Differential effects of perceptions of mothers' and fathers' favoritism on sibling tension in adulthood. J Gerontol B Psychol Sci Soc Sci 68:593-8 |
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