%0 Journal Article %J Journal of Marriage and Family %D Forthcoming %T Stepfamily variation in parent–child relationship quality in later life %A Lin, I-Fen %A Seltzer, Judith A. %K Aging %K family structure %K gender %K parent–child relationships %K Remarriage %K stepfamilies %X Objective We use a family systems approach to examine how stepfamily structure is associated with both positive and negative parent–child relationships while considering mothers' and fathers' discrepant reports. Background Two in five older couples with children are in stepfamilies. Past research on later-life stepfamily dynamics has focused mainly on positive aspects of relationships and compared reports of mothers and fathers from different families. Method Using the U.S. Health and Retirement Study, we estimated multilevel models with data from married couples in which both spouses reported living children and answered all questions about positive and negative parent–child relationships (N = 2150). Results Couples in stepfamilies reported less positive and more negative relationships with their children than did couples in non-stepfamilies. Mothers reported more positive relationships than fathers, but there was no gender difference in reports of negative relationships. The patterns of perceived parent–child relationships and divergent reports between mothers and fathers also varied by stepfamily structure. Structural complexity was not consistently related to positive or negative relationships. Conclusion This study underscores the importance of considering mothers' and fathers' different points of view in the same family and examining both positive and negative parent–child interactions as negative relationships are not merely the reverse of positive relationships. %B Journal of Marriage and Family %G eng %R https://doi.org/10.1111/jomf.12946 %0 Journal Article %J Journal of Marriage and Family %D 2024 %T Gray divorce and parent-child disconnectedness: Implications for depressive symptoms %A Lin, I-Fen %A Brown, Susan L. %A Mellencamp, Kagan A. %K Aging %K Cohabitation %K Divorce %K gender %K parent-child relationships %K Remarriage %X Objective: Drawing on the divorce-stress-adjustment framework, the authors assessed whether parent-adult child relationship dynamics, including disconnectedness from an adult child, exacerbates the negative impact of gray divorce on parental well-being.Background: Divorce after age 50 is increasingly common but the role of parent-child relationships in parents' adjustment to gray divorce is largely unknown.Method: Using panel data from 1998 to 2018 Health and Retirement Study in the US, the authors estimated growth curve models to track depressive symptoms prior to, during, and after gray divorce among 930 gray divorced individuals. The authors examined whether the lack of any contact with an adult child in the past 12 months (i.e., parent-child disconnectedness) was associated with depressive symptoms trajectories surrounding divorce and subsequent repartnering.Results: Having no contact with at least one adult child aggravated the negative effect of divorce on parent's mental health. This association was robust for mothers and fathers. Having no contact with at least one child, however, did not diminish the temporarily positive effect of subsequent repartnering on mental health.Conclusion: The study contributes to the literature by showing that parent-child disconnectedness adds another blow to parents who are convalescing from divorce. %B Journal of Marriage and Family %V 86 %P 95-110 %G eng %N 1 %R 10.1111/jomf.12936 %0 Journal Article %J J Gerontol B Psychol Sci Soc Sci %D 2023 %T A Brief Report on Living Arrangements Following Gray Divorce. %A Brown, Susan L %A Lin, I-Fen %A Mellencamp, Kagan A %K Divorce %K Living arrangements %X
OBJECTIVES: We offer new insights on how older adults in the U.S. navigate the aftermath of gray divorce (i.e., divorce that occurs among adults aged 50+) by describing their living arrangements upon divorce and tracking the stability of these configurations over time. Living arrangements are important to decipher because they are linked to health, well-being, and longevity.
METHODS: Using data from the 1998-2014 Health and Retirement Study, we uncovered patterns of U.S. older adult living arrangements upon divorce (N = 1,057), distinguishing among those who lived alone, lived with others, and lived with a new partner. Multinomial logistic regression models were estimated to assess how individual characteristics (demographics, marital biography, economic resources, health, and social ties) were associated with these configurations. Cumulative survival probabilities gauged the relative stability of these three living arrangements.
RESULTS: About half of U.S. adults lived alone upon gray divorce, another one-third lived with others, and the remaining 14% lived with a new partner. Adults living with a new partner tended to exhibit the most advantaged sociodemographic profiles whereas those living solo or with others were largely comparable. More than 70% of adults experienced a subsequent living arrangement transition if they lived with others upon divorce, versus just 50% of those living alone and only 30% of those with a new partner.
DISCUSSION: After divorce, older adults reside in a range of living arrangements, some of which are more stable than others. Future work should address whether and how these arrangements and their durability are related to post-divorce adjustment.
%B J Gerontol B Psychol Sci Soc Sci %8 2023 Feb 26 %G eng %R 10.1093/geronb/gbad035 %0 Journal Article %J Journal of Marriage and Family %D 2023 %T Gray divorce and parent–child disconnectedness: Implications for depressive symptoms %A Lin, I-Fen %A Brown, Susan L. %A Mellencamp, Kagan A. %K aging; cohabitation; divorce; gender; parent–child relationships; remarriage %X Objective: Drawing on the divorce-stress-adjustment framework, the authors assessed whether parent–adult child relationship dynamics, including disconnectedness from an adult child, exacerbates the negative impact of gray divorce on parental well-being. Background: Divorce after age 50 is increasingly common but the role of parent–child relationships in parents' adjustment to gray divorce is largely unknown. Method: Using panel data from 1998 to 2018 Health and Retirement Study in the US, the authors estimated growth curve models to track depressive symptoms prior to, during, and after gray divorce among 930 gray divorced individuals. The authors examined whether the lack of any contact with an adult child in the past 12 months (i.e., parent–child disconnectedness) was associated with depressive symptoms trajectories surrounding divorce and subsequent repartnering. Results: Having no contact with at least one adult child aggravated the negative effect of divorce on parent's mental health. This association was robust for mothers and fathers. Having no contact with at least one child, however, did not diminish the temporarily positive effect of subsequent repartnering on mental health. Conclusion: The study contributes to the literature by showing that parent–child disconnectedness adds another blow to parents who are convalescing from divorce. © 2023 The Authors. Journal of Marriage and Family published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of National Council on Family Relations. %B Journal of Marriage and Family %G eng %R 10.1111/jomf.12936 %0 Journal Article %J JOURNAL OF MARRIAGE AND FAMILY %D 2023 %T Stepfamily variation in parent-child relationship quality in later life %A Lin, I-Fen %A Seltzer, Judith A. %K Aging %K family structure %K gender %K parent-child relationships %K Remarriage %K stepfamilies %X Objective: We use a family systems approach to examine how stepfamily structure is associated with both positive and negative parent-child relationships while considering mothers' and fathers' discrepant reports.Background: Two in five older couples with children are in stepfamilies. Past research on later-life stepfamily dynamics has focused mainly on positive aspects of relationships and compared reports of mothers and fathers from different families.Method: Using the U.S. Health and Retirement Study, we estimated multilevel models with data from married couples in which both spouses reported living children and answered all questions about positive and negative parent-child relationships (N = 2150).Results: Couples in stepfamilies reported less positive and more negative relationships with their children than did couples in non-stepfamilies. Mothers reported more positive relationships than fathers, but there was no gender difference in reports of negative relationships. The patterns of perceived parent-child relationships and divergent reports between mothers and fathers also varied by stepfamily structure. Structural complexity was not consistently related to positive or negative relationships.Conclusion: This study underscores the importance of considering mothers' and fathers' different points of view in the same family and examining both positive and negative parent-child interactions as negative relationships are not merely the reverse of positive relationships. %B JOURNAL OF MARRIAGE AND FAMILY %G eng %R 10.1111/jomf.12946 %0 Journal Article %J The Journals of Gerontology, Series B %D 2022 %T The Roles of Gray Divorce and Subsequent Repartnering for Parent-Adult Child Relationships. %A Lin, I-Fen %A Susan L. Brown %A Kagan A Mellencamp %K downward financial transfers %K frequent contact %K gender %K life course %XOBJECTIVE: Divorce is now widespread in later life, yet little is known about how older adults and their adult children respond in the aftermath of gray divorce. Guided by the life course perspective, this study examines the consequences of gray divorce and subsequent repartnering for parent-adult child relationships from the parent's perspective.
METHOD: Using longitudinal data from the 1998-2014 Health and Retirement Study in the United States, we estimated growth curve models to compare fathers' and mothers' frequent contact with and financial support to their adult children prior to, during, and following gray divorce.
RESULTS: Gray divorce and repartnering had disparate effects on father- versus mother-adult child relationships. Following divorce, fathers' frequent contact with their adult children decreased but financial support to their adult children increased. Fathers' repartnering had an enduring negative effect on frequent contact with their children. Gray divorce did not alter mothers' financial support to adult children and it actually increased interaction between mothers and adult children as the odds of frequent contact doubled upon divorce. Repartnering had no appreciable effects on mothers' relationships with their adult children.
DISCUSSION: The results of our study are consistent with prior research showing that divorce creates a matrifocal tilt in our kinship system. The shifting dynamics of parent-adult child relationships in response to gray divorce and repartnering raise questions about whether gray divorced parents will be able to rely on their adult children for care as they age.
%B The Journals of Gerontology, Series B %V 77 %P 212-223 %G eng %N 1 %R 10.1093/geronb/gbab139 %0 Journal Article %J The Journals of Gerontology, Series B %D 2022 %T Sole Family Survivors: Older Adults Lacking Family of Origin Kin. %A Susan L. Brown %A Kagan A Mellencamp %A Lin, I-Fen %K Cohort %K Death %K gender %K kinlessness %K Marital Status %XOBJECTIVES: We introduced a unique form of kinlessness: sole family survivorship, which describes the lack of family of origin (i.e., biological parents and siblings) kin. This form of kinlessness may be particularly consequential for older adults who experience other forms of kinlessness (e.g., no spouse/partner or no children) as they are especially likely to have relied on their family of origin for support.
METHODS: Data from the 1998-2014 Health and Retirement Study (N = 148,346 person-waves) were used to estimate the prevalence of sole family survivorship among adults aged 55 and older and men and women aged 55-74 and 75+. Variation in prevalence levels of sole family survivorship across sociodemographic characteristics, health indicators, and family factors were also estimated. Finally, we tracked cohort trends in sole family survivorship.
RESULTS: More than 1 in 10 adults aged 55+ were sole family survivors and this figure rose to more than 1 in 4 among those aged 75+. Adults with no spouse/partner and no children were especially likely to be sole family survivors, meaning they face a double burden of kinlessness.
DISCUSSION: Sole family survivorship represents the culmination of loss of multiple, lifelong kin ties. It is more common among those lacking other close kin, signaling the presence of a uniquely vulnerable group of older adults who experience multiple forms of kinlessness. Future research should address how older adults and society at large adapt to kinlessness to ensure successful aging.
%B The Journals of Gerontology, Series B %V 77 %P 930-935 %G eng %N 5 %R 10.1093/geronb/gbab239 %0 Journal Article %J The Journals of Gerontology, Series B %D 2021 %T The Economic Consequences of Gray Divorce for Women and Men %A Lin, I-Fen %A Susan L. Brown %K Divorce %K Economics %K gender %K Income %K Older adult %K Personal Satisfaction %X Gray divorce, which describes divorce among persons aged 50 and older, is increasingly common reflecting the doubling of the gray divorce rate since 1990. Yet, surprisingly little is known about the consequences of gray divorce and in particular how women and men fare economically during the aftermath.Using longitudinal data from the 2004–2014 Health and Retirement Study, we estimated hybrid fixed/random-effects models comparing women’s and men’s economic well-being prior to, during, and following gray divorce and subsequent repartnering.Women experienced a 45% decline in their standard of living (measured by an income-to-needs ratio) whereas men’s dropped by just 21%. These declines persisted over time for men, and only reversed for women following repartnering, which essentially offset women’s losses associated with gray divorce. No gender gap emerged for changes in wealth following divorce with both women and men experiencing roughly a 50% drop. Similarly, repartnering was ameliorative only for women’s wealth.Gray divorce is often financially devastating, especially for women. Although repartnering seems to reverse most of the economic costs of gray divorce for women, few form new co-residential unions after divorce. This study offers a cautionary tale about the financial aftermath of gray divorce, which is likely to contribute to growing economic disadvantage among older adults. %B The Journals of Gerontology, Series B %V 76 %P 2073-2085 %@ 1079-5014 %G eng %N 10 %R 10.1093/geronb/gbaa157 %0 Journal Article %J Gerontologist %D 2021 %T Midlife Marital Dissolution and the Onset of Cognitive Impairment. %A Susan L. Brown %A Lin, I-Fen %A Vielee, Alyssa %A Kagan A Mellencamp %K Divorce %K health %K Marriage %K Social Support %K Widowhood %XBACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Marital dissolution has become more common in midlife with the doubling of the divorce rate among middle-aged adults. Guided by the stress model that stipulates losing economic, social, and psychological resources lowers well-being, we posited that midlife adults who experienced divorce or widowhood were at greater risk of cognitive impairment than the continuously married. Subsequent repartnering was expected to negate the increased risk.
RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: We used data from the 1998-2016 Health and Retirement Study to estimate discrete-time event history models using logistic regression to predict cognitive impairment onset for men and women.
RESULTS: Roughly 27% of men who experienced spousal death in midlife went on to experience mild cognitive impairment by age 65. For women, experiencing divorce or widowhood was associated with higher odds of cognitive impairment onset although these differentials were accounted for by economic, social, and psychological resources. Men and women who repartnered after marital dissolution did not appreciably differ from their continuously married counterparts in terms of their likelihoods of cognitive impairment onset.
DISCUSSION AND IMPLICATIONS: A stressful life event, midlife marital dissolution can be detrimental to cognitive well-being, placing individuals at increased risk of developing dementia in later life. The growing diversity of partnership experiences during the second half of life points to the continued importance of examining how union dissolution and formation shape health and well-being.
%B Gerontologist %V 61 %P 1085-1094 %G eng %N 7 %R 10.1093/geront/gnaa193 %0 Journal Article %J Social Forces %D 2020 %T Does the Transition to Grandparenthood Deter Gray Divorce? A Test of the Braking Hypothesis %A Susan L. Brown %A Lin, I-Fen %A Kagan A Mellencamp %K Divorce %K generations %K grandparent %X The gray divorce rate, which describes divorce among individuals aged 50 and older, has doubled since 1990. Extending prior research that showed the transition to parenthood has a “braking effect” on divorce, we examined whether the transition to grandparenthood, an emotionally meaningful midlife event that typically renews midlife marriages, exerts an analogous “braking effect” on gray divorce. Using panel data from the 1998–2014 Health and Retirement Study, we found that becoming biological grandparents has a large deterrent effect on gray divorce that persists even after accounting for a host of other factors known to be associated with divorce. However, the transition to step grandparenthood has no protective effect on gray divorce. Our study demonstrates the importance of the larger family system and in particular the life webs connecting the generations for promoting marital stability among midlife couples. %B Social Forces %V 99 %P 1209-1232 %G eng %N 3 %R 10.1093/sf/soaa030 %0 Journal Article %J The Journal of Gerontology, Series B %D 2020 %T The Roles of Marital Dissolution and Subsequent Repartnering on Loneliness in Later Life. %A Matthew R Wright %A Anna M Hammersmith %A Susan L. Brown %A Lin, I-Fen %K Cohabitation %K Divorce %K Remarriage %K Well-being %K Widowhood %XOBJECTIVES: Loneliness in later life is associated with poorer health and higher risk of mortality. Our study assesses whether gray divorced adults report higher levels of loneliness than the widowed and whether social support or repartnership offset loneliness.
METHOD: Using data from the 2010 and 2012 Health and Retirement Study, we estimated ordinary least squares regression models for women (n = 2,362) and men (n = 1,127) to examine differences in loneliness by dissolution pathway (i.e., divorce versus widowhood), accounting for social support and repartnership.
RESULTS: Divorced men were lonelier than their widowed counterparts. Although social support reduced loneliness among men, the difference between the divorced and widowed persisted. Repartnership assuaged men's loneliness and reduced the variation between divorced and widowed men. Among women, the results did not reveal differences in loneliness for the divorced and widowed although social support and repartnership linked to less loneliness.
DISCUSSION: Later-life marital dissolutions increasingly occur through divorce rather than spousal death. Some older adults go on to form new partnerships. Our findings demonstrate the importance of gerontological research widening the lens beyond widowhood to consider the ramifications of later-life divorce and repartnership for well-being.
%B The Journal of Gerontology, Series B %V 75 %P 1796-1807 %G eng %N 8 %R 10.1093/geronb/gbz121 %0 Journal Article %J Journal of Health and Social Behavior %D 2019 %T Depressive symptoms following later-life marital dissolution and subsequent repartnering. %A Lin, I-Fen %A Susan L. Brown %A Matthew R Wright %A Anna M Hammersmith %K Depressive symptoms %K Divorce %K Family Roles/Relationships %K Marriage %K Widowhood %X The doubling of the divorce rate among individuals over age 50 during the past 20 years underscores the urgency of studying the consequences of gray divorce and subsequent repartnering for adult well-being. We filled this gap by using the 1998-to-2014 Health and Retirement Study to evaluate how the levels of depressive symptoms changed following gray divorce versus widowhood. Individuals who divorced or became widowed already had experienced higher levels of depressive symptoms before dissolution relative to those who remained married. Compared with those who became widowed, those who transitioned to divorce experienced a lower elevation and a shorter time to recovery in depressive symptoms. When repartnering, both groups experienced similar magnitudes of initial reduction and subsequent rates of increase. Both the negative consequences of marital dissolution and the beneficial effects of repartnership for mental health persisted for several years, although ultimately they reverted to their predissolution levels of depressive symptoms. %B Journal of Health and Social Behavior %G eng %1 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/30957562?dopt=Abstract %R 10.1177/0022146519839683 %0 Journal Article %J J Gerontol B Psychol Sci Soc Sci %D 2018 %T Antecedents of Gray Divorce: A Life Course Perspective. %A Lin, I-Fen %A Susan L. Brown %A Matthew R Wright %A Anna M Hammersmith %K Age Factors %K Divorce %K Female %K Humans %K Interviews as Topic %K Male %K Marriage %K Middle Aged %K Prospective Studies %K Retirement %K Risk Factors %K Socioeconomic factors %K Spouses %K United States %XObjectives: Increasingly, older adults are experiencing divorce, yet little is known about the risk factors associated with divorce after age 50 (termed "gray divorce"). Guided by a life course perspective, our study examined whether key later life turning points are related to gray divorce.
Method: We used data from the 1998-2012 Health and Retirement Study to conduct a prospective, couple-level discrete-time event history analysis of the antecedents of gray divorce. Our models incorporated key turning points (empty nest, retirement, and poor health) as well as demographic characteristics and economic resources.
Results: Contrary to our expectations, the onset of an empty nest, the wife's or husband's retirement, and the wife's or husband's chronic conditions were unrelated to the likelihood of gray divorce. Rather, factors traditionally associated with divorce among younger adults were also salient for older adults. Marital duration, marital quality, home ownership, and wealth were negatively related to the risk of gray divorce.
Discussion: Gray divorce is especially likely to occur among couples who are socially and economically disadvantaged, raising new questions about the consequences of gray divorce for individual health and well-being.
%B J Gerontol B Psychol Sci Soc Sci %V 73 %P 1022-1031 %8 2018 08 14 %G eng %U http://psychsocgerontology.oxfordjournals.org/lookup/doi/10.1093/geronb/gbw164 %N 6 %1 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27986850?dopt=Abstract %! GERONB %R 10.1093/geronb/gbw164 %0 Journal Article %J J Gerontol B Psychol Sci Soc Sci %D 2018 %T Later Life Marital Dissolution and Repartnership Status: A National Portrait. %A Susan L. Brown %A Lin, I-Fen %A Anna M Hammersmith %A Matthew R Wright %K Age Factors %K Aged %K Aged, 80 and over %K Divorce %K Female %K Humans %K Longitudinal Studies %K Male %K Marriage %K Middle Aged %K Socioeconomic factors %K Spouses %K United States %K Widowhood %XOBJECTIVES: Our study compares two types of later life marital dissolution that occur after age 50-divorce and widowhood-and their associations with repartnership status (i.e., remarried, cohabiting, or unpartnered).
METHOD: We used data from the Health and Retirement Study to provide a portrait of later life divorce and widowhood for women and men. Next, we tested whether marital dissolution type is related to women's and men's repartnered status, distinguishing among remarrieds, cohabitors, and unpartnereds, net of key sociodemographic indicators.
RESULTS: Divorcees are more often repartnered through either remarriage or cohabitation than are widoweds. This gap persists among women net of an array of sociodemographic factors. For men, the differential is reduced to nonsignificance with the inclusion of these factors.
DISCUSSION: Later life marital dissolution increasingly occurs through divorce rather than widowhood, and divorce is more often followed by repartnership. The results from this study suggest that gerontological research should not solely focus on widowhood but also should pay attention to divorce and repartnering during later life.
%B J Gerontol B Psychol Sci Soc Sci %V 73 %P 1032-1042 %8 2018 Aug 14 %G eng %U http://psychsocgerontology.oxfordjournals.org/content/early/2016/04/29/geronb.gbw051.abstract %N 6 %1 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27131167?dopt=Abstract %4 Cohabitation/Divorce/Marriage/Remarriage/Widowhood %$ 999999 %R 10.1093/geronb/gbw051 %0 Journal Article %J Journals of Gerontology, Series B: Psychological Sciences & Social Sciences %D 2018 %T A National Portrait of Stepfamilies in Later Life. %A Lin, I-Fen %A Susan L. Brown %A Cassandra Jean Cupka %A Deborah Carr %K Cohabitation %K Couples %K Stepchildren %XObjectives: Scholars have documented increases in the prevalence and complexity of stepfamilies earlier in the life course, but no one has systematically investigated U.S. stepfamily structure in later life. Guided by a family systems approach, we described the prevalence and composition of later-life stepfamilies.
Method: The analysis was based on 6,250 married and cohabiting couples participating in the 2012 Health and Retirement Study. We identified the prevalence of later-life stepfamilies, decomposed stepfamily structures, and compared the sociodemographic characteristics and relationship quality of the couples in stepfamilies with those in married families (with only joint children and no stepchildren), paying attention to differences between married and cohabiting stepfamilies.
Results: Roughly 40% of middle-aged and older couples with children were in stepfamilies. Of all stepfamilies, 86% were married couples and 14% were cohabiting couples. Cohabiting stepfamilies more often included children from both partners' previous relationships, but couples in married stepfamilies more often had joint children. Cohabiting stepfamilies appeared to be the most socially and economically disadvantaged, followed by married stepfamilies, and lastly married families. Despite these compositional differences, partner relationship quality was largely similar across married families, married stepfamilies, and cohabiting stepfamilies.
Discussion: This study underscores the high prevalence and complexity of later-life stepfamilies and foregrounds the urgency of additional research on this topic.
%B Journals of Gerontology, Series B: Psychological Sciences & Social Sciences %V 73 %P 1043-1054 %G eng %N 6 %1 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29190365?dopt=Abstract %R 10.1093/geronb/gbx150 %0 Journal Article %J Research on Aging %D 2017 %T Marital Biography, Social Security Receipt, and Poverty. %A Lin, I-Fen %A Susan L. Brown %A Anna M Hammersmith %K Gender Differences %K Marriage %K Older Adults %K Poverty %K Social Security %XIncreasingly, older adults are unmarried, which could mean a larger share is at risk of economic disadvantage. Using data from the 2010 Health and Retirement Study, we chart the diverse range of marital biographies, capturing marital sequences and timing, of adults who are age eligible for Social Security and examine three indicators of economic well-being: Social Security receipt, Social Security benefit levels, and poverty status. Partnereds are disproportionately likely to receive Social Security and they enjoy relatively high Social Security benefits and very low poverty levels. Among singles, economic well-being varies by marital biography and gender. Gray divorced and never-married women face considerable economic insecurity. Their Social Security benefits are relatively low, and their poverty rates are quite high (over 25%), indicating Social Security alone is not sufficient to prevent these women from falling into poverty. By comparison, gray widoweds are the most advantaged singles.
%B Research on Aging %V 39 %P 86-110 %8 2017 Jan %G eng %N 1 %R 10.1177/0164027516656139 %0 Journal Article %J J Gerontol B Psychol Sci Soc Sci %D 2011 %T Does informal care attenuate the cycle of ADL/IADL disability and depressive symptoms in late life? %A Lin, I-Fen %A Wu, Hsueh-Sheng %K Activities of Daily Living %K Aged %K Aged, 80 and over %K Caregivers %K Cohort Studies %K Cost of Illness %K depression %K Disability Evaluation %K Female %K Humans %K Longitudinal Studies %K Male %K Models, Psychological %K United States %XOBJECTIVE: Prior studies have extensively examined the reciprocal relation between disability and depressive symptoms in late life, but little is known about whether informal care attenuates the reciprocal relation over time. This study examined whether disability and depressive symptoms mobilize informal care and whether informal care, once mobilized, protects older adults against the progression of disability and depressive symptoms.
METHODS: The analysis was based on 6,454 community-dwelling older adults who were interviewed in one or more waves of the Health and Retirement Study between 1998 and 2006. Extending an autoregressive cross-lagged model, we constructed 3 cycles of the relations among disability, depressive symptoms, and informal care. Comparing the relations across 3 cycles informs us about the attenuating effect of informal care on the relation between disability and depressive symptoms over time.
RESULTS: Although older adults' disability and depressive symptoms mobilized informal care initially, worsening disability and depressive symptoms often exhausted support. Receipt of care generally increased, rather than decreased, disability and depressive symptoms, and the detrimental effects remained the same over time.
DISCUSSION: We need to better understand the linkage between disability and depressive symptoms and seek effective interventions to reduce caregiver strain and enhance care receivers' well-being.
%B J Gerontol B Psychol Sci Soc Sci %I 66B %V 66 %P 585-94 %8 2011 Sep %G eng %N 5 %1 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21746870?dopt=Abstract %2 PMC3155031 %4 Disability/Disability/Mental depression/Older people/Caregivers/Gerontology/Mobility %$ 62618 %R 10.1093/geronb/gbr060 %0 Journal Article %J Journal of Marriage and Family %D 2008 %T Consequences of Parental Divorce for Adult Children's Support of their Frail Parents %A Lin, I-Fen %K Adult children %K Healthcare %X Using three waves of data from the Health and Retirement Study, I examined the association of parental divorce and remarriage with the odds that biological, adult children give personal care and financial assistance to their frail parents. The analysis included 5,099 adult children in the mother sample and 4,029 children in the father sample. Results indicate that adult children of divorced parents are just as likely as adult children of widowed parents to give care and money to their mothers, but the former are less likely than the latter to care for their fathers. The findings suggest that divorced fathers are prone to be the population most in need of formal support in old age. %B Journal of Marriage and Family %I 70 %V 70 %P 113-128 %G eng %L newpubs20080411_JMF_2008.pdf %4 Divorce/Caregiving/Adult Children %$ 18780 %0 Report %D 2004 %T Consequences of Divorce and Remarriage on Intergenerational Transfers %A Lin, I-Fen %K Adult children %I Bowling Green State University %G eng %L wp_2004/Lin_04.pdf %4 Divorce/Intergenerational Transfers %$ 13922