The convoy model has provided a useful framework in the study of aging, especially for understanding predictors and consequences of social relations across the life course.

This study examines age differences in exposure and reactivity to interpersonal tensions. The data are from the National Study of Daily Experiences in which participants ages 25 to 74 (N ϭ 666) completed phone interviews wherein they described interpersonal tensions and rated the stressfulness of the tensions each evening for 8 days. Coders rated descriptions for types of behavioral reactions. Multilevel models revealed older adults reported fewer interpersonal tensions, were more likely to report tensions with spouses, were less likely to report tensions with children, experienced less stress, and were less likely to argue and more likely to do nothing in response to tensions than were younger adults. Age differences in emotional and behavioral reactions did not appear to be due to variations in exposure to tensions. The discussion centers on why older people may be better able to regulate their reactions to problems than younger people.

Parents may provide many types of support to their grown children. Parents aged 40 to 60 (N = 633) reported the support they exchange with each child over age 18 (n = 1,384). Mothers and fathers differentiated among children within families, but provided emotional, financial, and practical help on average every few weeks to each child. Offspring received most assistance when they: (a) had greater needs (due to problems or younger age) or (b) were perceived as more successful. Parents received more from high achieving offspring. Findings support contingency theory; parents give more material and financial support to children in need. Motivation to enhance the self or to assure support later in life may explain support to high achieving offspring. Keywordsfamily; intergenerational relations; intergenerational transfers; parent child relations; social support; transition to adulthood Popular culture laments that young people today remain dependent on their parents, and recent news reports indicate how expensive and time consuming grown children have become (Briggs, 2008;Haughney, 2007). Research partially supports these claims, with studies indicating that more help flows downstream from parents to children rather than upstream to parents (at least until parents suffer declines of old age; Grundy, 2005;Soldo & Hill, 1995;Zarit & Eggebeen, 2002). Yet, there is little research specifically examining the types of support exchanged among parents and each of their young adult offspring.The first purpose of this study was to examine the range of support middle-aged parents provide grown children. By examining different types of support parents provide to each grown child, we can better understand when parents: (a) simply pass along potential future inheritance via financial transfers inter-vivo, (b) assist children's transitions into adulthood with advice and emotional support, (c) engage in socialization characteristic of friendship, or (d) provide a combination of these forms of support. The second purpose of this study was to understand factors that account for different support exchanges. That is, we were interested whether types of support vary by offspring's characteristics (offspring's needs and achievements) within families. We also examined parent characteristics (resources and demands) and support reciprocity (e.g., parents give more to offspring who provide them with more support) to garner a fuller portrait of parental support of grown children. NIH Public Access Types of SupportWe know little about the scope of support parents provide young adult children. Social support includes financial transmissions, practical support, advice, information, guidance, emotional support, and companionship (Antonucci, 2001;Vaux, 1988;Wills & Shinar, 2000). Studies of parent-child relationships have focused primarily on financial and practical support, however. Parents provide considerable material support to young adult offspring (McGarry & Schoeni, 1997;Schoeni & Ross, 2005). Studies also have found that parents pr...

This study builds on research addressing intergenerational ambivalence by considering emotional ambivalence toward the wider social network. Men and women ages 13 to 99 (N ¼ 187) completed diagrams of their close and problematic social relationships. Social ties were classified as solely close, solely problematic, or ambivalent, based on network placement (n ¼ 3,392 social contacts). Multilevel models revealed that individuals viewed certain close familial ties (e.g., spouse, son or daughter, parent, sibling) with greater ambivalence than they viewed more distal family ties, friendships, or acquaintances. Participants classified more acquaintances than other relationships as solely problematic. Feeling closer to a social partner was associated with increased ambivalence. Older adults were more likely to classify their relationships as solely close than as ambivalent, in comparison with younger adults. Discussion focuses on tension and closeness in familial and nonfamilial relationships.

This study considered implications of intergenerational ambivalence for each party's psychological well-being and physical health. Participants included 158 families (N = 474) with a son or daughter aged 22 to 49, their mother and father. Actor-Partner-Interaction Models (APIM) revealed that parents and offspring who self-reported greater ambivalence showed poorer psychological well-being. Partner reports of ambivalence were associated with poorer physical health. When fathers reported greater ambivalence, offspring reported poorer physical health. When grown children reported greater ambivalence, mothers reported poorer physical health. Fathers and offspring who scored lower in neuroticism showed stronger associations between ambivalence and well-being. Findings suggest that partners experience greater ambivalence when the other party's health declines and that personality moderates associations between relationship qualities and well-being.

This study examines age and gender differences in descriptions of emotional reactions and reports of the intensity and duration of those emotional responses to interpersonal tensions. As part of a larger study, 185 (85 male and 100 female) participants aged 13 to 99 described the last time they were upset with members of their social networks. Participants then described how they felt and rated the intensity and duration of their distress. Participants' reported emotions were grouped by use of theoretically derived categories and empirically derived post hoc categories. Three emotion categories were examined: anger, sadness, and nonspecific negative emotions. Adolescents and young adults were more likely than older adults to describe anger. Adolescents and young adults also reported more intense aversive responses than older adults. Women rated their distress as more intense than men. With the exception of middle-aged and oldest-old adults, women reported that they experienced distress for a longer duration than men. Findings are interpreted in terms of theories regarding age and gender differences in emotion regulation and interpersonal tensions.

Popular media describe adverse effects of helicopter parents who provide intense support to grown children, but few studies have examined implications of such intense support. Grown children (N = 592, M age = 23.82 years, 53% female, 35% members of racial/ethnic minority groups) and their parents (n = 399, M age = 50.67 years, 52% female; 34% members of racial/ethnic minority groups) reported on the support they exchanged with one another. Intense support involved parents’ providing several types of support (e.g., financial, advice, emotional) many times a week. Parents and grown children who engaged in such frequent support viewed it as nonnormative (i.e., too much support), but grown children who received intense support reported better psychological adjustment and life satisfaction than grown children who did not receive intense support. Parents who perceived their grown children as needing too much support reported poorer life satisfaction. The discussion focuses on generational differences in the implications of intense parental involvement during young adulthood.

Individuals of various ages may react in different ways when they are upset with their social partners. This study examines age group differences in descriptions of behavioral reactions to interpersonal tensions. Participants ages 13 to 99 (84 men, 100 women) described interpersonal tensions that occurred with close and problematic social network members. Descriptions were coded with Rusbult's typology of conflict strategies (voice, loyalty, neglect, exit). Multilevel models revealed that older adults were more likely to report loyalty strategies (e.g., doing nothing) while younger people were more likely to report exit (e.g., yelling) strategies in response to interpersonal problems. These age differences were not accounted for by intensity of distress, relationship quality, contact frequency, or type of social partner. It appears that individuals are better able to regulate their behavioral responses to interpersonal problems as they age.