We used data from 769 mother-child dyads nested within 300 later life families to explore the accuracy of adult children's perceptions of mothers' patterns of favoritism in terms of closeness and confiding. Adult children were generally accurate regarding whether their mothers preferred a specific child, but often had difficulty identifying whom mothers favored. Multivariate analyses indicated that overall accuracy of children's reports was positively related to similarity of religious participation and negatively related to parental status of the adult child and family size. Because parental favoritism may affect adult children psychologically and have implications for later life care for parents, family practitioners should be aware of mothers' patterns of favoritism and the sometimes inaccurate perceptions adult children have concerning this favoritism.
Objectives. In the past decade, there has been increasing interest in regional differences in attitudes and behaviors; however, little of this research has focused on families, particularly in later life. The goal of this article is to address two specific questions: (a) Does adult children's closeness and contact with mothers vary by region? and (b) Can traditionalism explain patterns of regionality?Methods. To address these questions, we used a subsample of adult children (aged 25-74) from the National Survey of Families and Households (Wave II) who were asked about contact and closeness with their mothers (aged 65 and older).Results. Adult children residing in the South reported greater contact and closeness with mothers than those residing in other parts of the country. Traditionalism regarding gender ideology and religious involvement could not account for the greater contact and closeness observed among Southern respondents.Discussion. Recent literature has demonstrated the persistence of a distinctive Southern culture; the present study contributes to this body of work by showing that intergenerational cohesion is also greater in the South than in other regions of the United States. These findings call for greater attention to regionality in future studies of intergenerational relations.A CROSS the past decade, there has been a resurgence of interest in comparing the American South to other regions of the country (DiMaggio, Evans, & Bryson, 1996;Hurlbert & Bankston, 1998;Powers et al., 2003;Rice & Coates, 1995;Suitor & Carter, 1999;Suitor & Reavis, 1995;Twenge, 1997). Much of this work has focused on the traditional values and behaviors that compose ''Southern culture.'' Although the family is generally considered to be a cornerstone of traditionalism, it has received little attention in the study of regional differences. In the present study, we began to examine this issue by focusing on one of the most enduring of family relations-that between mothers and adult children. To this end, we used data from the National Survey of Families and Households (NSFH) to investigate whether mother-adult-child closeness and contact differ between the South and other regions of the United States. Furthermore, we examined whether other dimensions of traditionalism can explain patterns of regionality in motheradult-child relations.Studies across the past three decades have shown evidence of regional differences, the strongest and most consistent of which have been between the South and all other regions of the United States. In particular, Southerners are expected, both by themselves and by non-Southerners, to be more sociable and religious (Hackney, 2005;J. Reed, 2004;J. S. Reed, 1972J. S. Reed, , 1993Silk, 2005;Suitor & Carter, 1999) and more traditional regarding both moral issues and gender roles (Powers et al., 2003;Rice & Coates, 1995;Suitor & Carter, 1999;Suitor & Reavis, 1995;Twenge, 1997). Although writers on the South have noted the strong role of the family in Southern culture (cf. Hackney, 2005;Hurlbert, 198...
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