@article {7264, title = {Early motherhood and mental health in midlife: a study of British and American cohorts.}, journal = {Aging Ment Health}, volume = {12}, year = {2008}, note = {PMID: 18855176}, month = {2008 Sep}, pages = {605-14}, publisher = {12}, abstract = {

OBJECTIVES: Examine the relationship between early age at first birth and mental health among women in their fifties.

METHODS: Analysis of data on women from a British 1946 birth cohort study and the U.S. Health and Retirement Study birth cohort of 1931-1941.

RESULTS: In both samples a first birth before 21 years, compared to a later first birth, is associated with poorer mental health. The association between early first birth and poorer mental health persists in the British study even after controlling for early socioeconomic status, midlife socioeconomic status and midlife health. In the U.S. sample, the association becomes non-significant after controlling for educational attainment.

CONCLUSIONS: Early age at first birth is associated with poorer mental health among women in their fifties in both studies, though the pattern of associations differs.

}, keywords = {Adolescent, Birth Order, Cohort Studies, England, Female, Humans, Interviews as Topic, Maternal Age, Mental Health, Middle Aged, Mothers, Pregnancy, Pregnancy in Adolescence, United States}, issn = {1364-6915}, doi = {10.1080/13607860802343084}, author = {John C Henretta and Emily M D Grundy and Lucy C Okell and Michael E J Wadsworth} } @article {6804, title = {The socio-economic and Health Differences in Parents{\textquoteright} Provision of Help to Adult Children: A British-USA Comparison}, journal = {Ageing and Society}, volume = {22}, year = {2002}, pages = {441-458}, publisher = {22}, abstract = {Transfers of assistance from older to younger family members are an important, though often ignored, component of intergenerational exchanges. The ability to help younger family members, either financially or practically, may be influenced by the health and socio-economic status of older parents, but very little is known about these patterns. This article examines the effects of socio-economic and health status on the help that late mid-life parents in Britain and the United States give their children with money, domestic tasks, and grandchild care. Results for the different types of family support yield three main findings. First, there are relatively few differences between Britain and the USA in the factors affecting the provision of support. Secondly, socio-economic factors appear to be more important among married respondents while health is more important among the unmarried. Thirdly, children{\textquoteright}s co-residence has greater effects on the provision of domestic task help in Britain than in the United States.}, keywords = {Adult children, Demographics, Health Conditions and Status}, doi = {10.1017/S0144686X02008735}, author = {John C Henretta and Emily M D Grundy and Harris, Susan} } @article {6769, title = {Socioeconomic Differences in Having Living Parents and Children: A U.S.-British Comparison of Middle-Aged Women}, journal = {Journal of Marriage and the Family}, volume = {63}, year = {2001}, pages = {852-867}, publisher = {63}, abstract = {The authors observe the differences in socioeconomic status among women in Britain and the U.S. who have living parents as well as children in the middle-aged cohort. Those people in the middle generation are likely to encounter many demands, both from their parents and their children. What is the magnitude of the socioeconomic effects in these two countries? What is the pattern of socioeconomic differences in parent survival when inspecting the socioeconomic status of the middle-aged children? Data from the 1988 Office of National Statistics Retirement and Retirement Plans Survey was gathered for the British population and compared to Wave 1 (1992) and Wave 2 (1994) of the Health and Retirement Study. Findings from this study are that: (1) the U.S. has much greater levels of kin availability; (2) the pattern of socioeconomic effects is rather similar between the two countries; (3) socioeconomic status is negatively correlated with the number of children one has; and (4) people with greater socioeconomic status are more likely to have a living parent and children. Policies that change the amount of responsibility a person has with regard to other generations of the family will have differing consequences depending on the country, status, and whom the policy is concerning (elderly or young).}, keywords = {Adult children, Demographics}, doi = {10.1111/j.1741-3737.2001.00852.x}, author = {John C Henretta and Emily M D Grundy and Harris, Susan} } @article {5320, title = {Family Structure and Intergenerational Transfers: A Comparison of 55-63 Year Olds in the U.S. and Britain}, year = {1996}, institution = {University of Michigan}, abstract = {This study uses data from wave two of the HRS (1994/95) and the broadly comparable British Retirement and Retirement Plans Survey (1988) to compare two middle generation cohorts in order to examine the impact of differing demographic histories on the potential demographic and expectation {\textquoteright}burdens{\textquoteright} experienced by those in late middle-age. There are a number of reasons for supposing that the family responsibilities of those in their late fifties may vary between the US and Britain. In the cohorts under consideration achieved fertility was higher in the US. Moreover, much higher proportions of young adults attend college in the US and state support is much lower than in Britain. As a result adult children may remain economically dependent for longer in the US and this, combined with fertility differences, places a higher burden on adults in later mid life. An added factor of importance is that more of the US respondents will have experienced marital disruption, making the ratio of supported to dependants possibly even less favourable. In addition, Americans in later middle age may more often have responsibilities for their own ageing parents than their British peers as the life expectancy of individuals over 65 is higher in the US than in Britain. The study{\textquoteright}s findings show that middle generation adults in the US have more surviving children than in Britain and that a higher proportion of parents of middle generation individuals are alive in the US than in Britain. Although differences in question wording between the two surveys are substantial and therefore caution must be exercised in the interpretation of results, as expected a higher proportion of American respondents provide financial assistance to children, whereas it appears that British respondents are more likely to provide time transfers to children than their American counterparts. With respect to the older generation, British respondents also appear more likely to provide assistance to their parents and are more likely to coreside with an elderly parent when compared to the Americans. Thus it is important not only to look at demographic factors, but it also becomes necessary to examine the expectation burden, that is differences in policy and attitudes that affect time transfers to parents/children, and the financial assistance required by adult children and elderly parents.}, keywords = {Adult children}, url = {http://www.psc.isr.umich.edu/pubs/series.html hr}, author = {Glaser, Karen and Emily M D Grundy and John C Henretta and Murphy, Michael J.} }