How Widowhood and Gender Shape the Impact of Maternal Favoritism on Adult Children’s Psychological Well-Being

Abstract

Objectives Our goal was to extend research on within-family differences in mother-child relations in later-life by focusing on two social structural characteristics of mothers and offspring that may play important roles in shaping the impact of maternal favoritism on adult children’s depressive symptoms—mother’s marital status and child’s gender. Methods Mixed-methods data were collected as part of the Within-Family Differences Study from 641 adult children nested within 273 families in which: a) there were at least two living adult siblings, and b) mothers were married or widowed. Results Multilevel analyses indicated that perceiving oneself as the child to whom one’s mother was most emotionally close was a strong predictor of higher depressive symptoms among daughters of widowed mothers; in contrast, perceptions of favoritism did not predict depressive symptoms among sons of either widowed or married mothers, or daughters of married mothers. Qualitative analyses revealed that daughters, but not sons, of widowed mothers tended to attribute their greater closeness with their mothers to their roles as their mothers’ “emotional caregivers,” particularly solo caregivers, during times when mothers face negative life events that neither they nor their children can control or ameliorate. Discussion The quantitative and qualitative findings we present underscore how social structural positions—in this case, mother’s marital status and child’s gender—combine with social psychological processes to shape how parent-child relations affect children’s well-being in adulthood.

How gender shapes sibling tension in adulthood following parental death

“…We propose that the arguments made in the previous section regarding gender differences in attention to interpersonal relations may also apply to the ways in which parents' gender shapes sibling tension during bereavement. In particular, we suggest that the death of the mother represents the loss of the primary family kinkeeper—a role much more likely to be enacted by mothers than fathers (Sarkisian & Gerstel, 2012; Suitor et al, 2022). Although the kinkeeping literature emphasizes maintaining ties among family members (Gerstel & Gallagher, 1993; Leach & Braithwaite, 1996; Rosenthal, 1985), we suggest that peacemaking is likely to be essential to fostering such associational solidarity, through both emphasizing harmony and attempting to reduce the conflict among family members that kinkeepers often encounter (Leach & Braithwaite, 1996).…”

“…The context in which such gendered behaviors are most likely to be manifest is the family, where norms of kinkeeping and caregiving remain strong for women (Sarkisian & Gerstel, 2012; Suitor et al, 2022). Further, women, relative to men, are both more involved in their social relations within and outside of the family and are affected more intensely by those relationships (Antonucci, 2001; Suitor et al, 2022). Even in the context of the COVID‐19 pandemic, women were found to worry more about family and friends, whereas men worried about the economic impact on their lives (van der Vegt & Kleinberg, 2020).…”

“…The death of an immediate family member has long been acknowledged as one of the most stressful events experienced in adulthood, affecting multiple aspects of individuals' lives, including psychological well‐being (Moor & de Graaf, 2016; Umberson, 2003) and physical health (Marks et al, 2007; Umberson, 2003; Umberson & Chen, 1994). The vast body of literature on bereavement has provided a detailed and nuanced window into the impact of family members' deaths on psychological and physical well‐being; however, far less is known about the ways in which such losses affect the quality of relationships among surviving family members (for exceptions, see Ha, 2008; Kalmijn, 2007; Stokes, 2016; Suitor et al, 2014, 2022). Such relative inattention to the quality of family relationships following parental death is surprising, given that family conflict and tension have long been considered salient secondary stressors affecting well‐being in the face of challenging circumstances (cf.…”

Within-Family Differences in Intergenerational Contact: The Role of Gender Norms in a Patrilineal Society

“…Within-family differences in intergenerational contact could stem from varying availability of adult children, based on their marital situation, employment status, and geographical distance from parents (Sun, 2002; Ward et al, 2014). Parents may also exercise differential treatment by favoring one or more children over other children (Suitor et al, 2022). Such parental favoritism could be gendered, particularly in regions like Asia with strong patrilineal norms.…”

“…Empirical evidence suggests that families differ in parent-child relationships, regarding how close the family is on average and how much variation there is between family members (Kim et al, 2016). Furthermore, these differences were observed in emotional, instrumental, and financial dimensions of support (Henretta et al, 2011) as well as at different phases in a parent’s life (Suitor et al, 2022).…”