Intergenerational Exchanges of Middle‐Aged Adults With Their Parents and Parents‐In‐Law in Korea

Abstract

The authors investigated patterns of support exchanges between Korean adult children and their parents and parents-in-law, gender differences in these patterns, and implications of children’s marital quality for exchange patterns. Data were from a nationally representative sample of married adults (N = 920, age 30–59 years) with at least 1 living parent and 1 living parent-in-law. Latent class analysis was applied to 12 indicators of exchanges (financial, instrumental, emotional support given to and received from parents and parents-in-law). Five classes of exchanges were identified, 3 showing balanced patterns of exchanges with parents and parents-in-law across three types of support and 2 classes with unbalanced patterns (e.g., giving instrumental and financial, but not emotional support). The findings revealed variability in intergenerational exchange patterns, with a mix of patrilineal traditional and balanced patterns. Significant associations of exchange patterns with adult children’s marital quality suggest the importance of balanced exchanges with parents for marriage.

Cohabiting and Married Individuals' Relations With Their Partner's Parents

“…Regarding education, the tertiary educated met their in‐laws less frequently than the primary educated. In line with extant studies showing that adult children who are satisfied with their marriage exchange more support with their parents‐in‐law (Kim et al, ), respondents who were very satisfied with their union met their in‐laws significantly more often than those who were moderately to less satisfied. Also, the frequency of contact with the parents of the partner first increased but then decreased with union duration.…”

“…We further controlled for a range of variables known to be correlated with cohabitation as well as relations with parents‐in‐law (e.g., Hogerbrugge & Dykstra, ; Kim et al, ; Wiik et al, ). First, each respondent's age was grouped into one of the following three categories: (a) 18–34 years, (b) 35–44 years, and (c) 45–55 years.…”

“…Despite increasing focus on in‐law relations (e.g., Kim, Zarit, Fingerman, & Han, ; Lee, Spitze, & Logan, ; Shih & Pyke, ), few studies have explicitly investigated relations with the parents of the partner across marital and cohabiting unions (Artis & Martinez, ; Daatland, ; Hogerbrugge & Dykstra, ). This research confirms that the family ties of cohabitors are weaker than among those married, although findings so far are mixed.…”

Supportive families versus support from families: The decision to have a child in the Netherlands

“…In this study we extend the concept of support as traditionally used in studies of kin support and fertility by considering both support given and received between family members. Using data on bidirectional support flowing between parents and their adult children gives a more meaningful and complete snapshot of the network and flow of exchanges within a family (Guo, Chi, and Silverstein 2012;Kim et al 2015). Previous work which considered bidirectional flows of family support has been able to distinguish family types such as "exchangers," "children as givers," "emotionally detached," or "disharmonious" (Chan 2008;Ferring et al 2009;Guo, Chi, and Silverstein 2012).…”

Intergenerational relationships of Korean older adults and implications for their health and well-being: Co-residence and grandchild care

“…According to the Korean patrilineal norms, married couples co-reside with their husband's parents. The oldest son has the biggest obligation to co-reside with his parents when he marries, with the additional consequence of his wife having to co-reside with parents-in-law and care for them (Choi, 2016;Cong & Silverstein, 2008;Efron & Liu, 2005;Kim, Zarit, Fingerman, & Han, 2015;Rindfuss, Choe, Bumpass, & Tsuya, 2004). This relates to primogeniture in which the eldest son inherits most of his family's assets, and it strengthens patriarchal norms.…”