Widowhood as a Life Transition: Its Impact on Kinship Ties

Anderson, Trudy B.

doi:10.2307/351869

Cited by 34 publications

(16 citation statements)

References 11 publications

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“…These data provide no evidence that widows are vulnerable to dependence on their children or grandchildren; that is, they are no more dependent than married elderly women. This finding is similar to that reported by Anderson (1984) who suggested that widowhood does not seem to interfere with the continuity of parent-child relationships. It also parallels the conclusion of a review of British literature that found that positive mother-child ties are the same, regardless of the presence or abseace of the father (Heinemann, 1983).…”

Section: -05supporting

confidence: 91%

Two Generations of Mothers and Daughters: Role Position and Interdependence

Thompson

Morgan

1987

Psychology of Women Quarterly

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Using both partners as informants and three interdependence measures (contact, aid, and attachment) as criterion variables, we address the assumption that women's orientation to and dependence on other generations differ because of unique roles. In 135 pairs of student women and their mothers and 1 1 9 pairs of middle-aged women and their mothers, we ask how a woman's role position interacts with her partner's role position in regard to interdependence. Both dyadic and individual role combinations are examined. In younger pairs, we examine the combination of daughter's marital status and both mother's launching and work statuses; in older pairs, we examine the combination of mother's marital status and both daughter's launching and marital statuses. Regression analyses demonstrate that, except for younger pairs where married daughters and their mothers are less interdependent than single daughters and their mothers, interdependence is remarkably unrelated to role positions, singly or in combination. Results suggest normative pressures toward new conjugal bonds and stability in women's family roles.Underlying much intergenerational research today is an assumption that family members differ in their orientation to and dependence o n other gen-This is a revised version of a paper presented at the annual meeting of the National Council on Family Relations, Washington, D.C., October, 1982.

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Section: -05supporting

confidence: 91%

Two Generations of Mothers and Daughters: Role Position and Interdependence

Thompson

Morgan

1987

Psychology of Women Quarterly

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“…Widowhood does not appear to affect contact or relationship quality between adult children and the surviving parent (Anderson 1984, Umberson 1992, but widows are less likely to reciprocate practical assistance they receive (Bengtson et al 1990, Eggebeen 1992, Eggebeen & Hogan 1990, Ingersoll-Dayton & Antonucci 1988, Rossi & Rossi 1990; but see Mutran & Reitzes 1984). One study shows that daughters are less close to widowed fathers than to married fathers (Spitze & Logan 1991b), which is consistent with the argument advanced above that men interact with their children through their wives.…”

Section: Other Differentialsmentioning

confidence: 95%

Adult Child–Parent Relationships

1996

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In this essay I review recent studies of adult child-parent relationships, with an emphasis on studies using nationally representative samples. Adult children and their parents have frequent contact and emotionally satisfying relationships, but exchanges of practical and financial assistance are uncommon. Continuing relationships between adult children and their parents depend on women's work as kinkeepers. Parental divorce greatly weakens adult children's relationships with their fathers and also tends to weaken relationships with mothers. Adult childparent relationships are not stronger in black families than in white families. The most pressing need for future research is the development of new theoretical formulations.

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“…Ferraro and Barresi (1982) and Field and Minkler (1988) reported stability in kin relationships among widowed older adults and increased contact and support with neighbors and friends after widowhood. Widowed older adults not only rely heavily on their children but they also tighten relationships with siblings and extended kin (Anderson, 1984). Thus, we would expect married older adults to increase contact and support in their close relationships over time (Hypothesis 3a).…”

Section: Hypothesesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Changes in contact and support exchange in personal networks after widowhood

Guiaux

Tilburg

Groenou

2007

Personal Relationships

116

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The convoy model conceptualizes older adults' networks of personal relationships as convoys of social support. This prospective study examined how contact and support in several relationships changed due to widowhood. Using observations between 1992 and 2002 from the Longitudinal Aging Study Amsterdam, multilevel models describe change in contact and support of 227 widowed and 408 married older adults. Contact and support were low before widowhood and increased in all relationships after widowhood, and more so in child and sibling relationships. Around 2.5 years after widowhood, contact and support started to decrease. Our findings increase our understanding of the heterogeneity of network changes in old age and of the instability of the network as a social convoy in late life.

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Widowhood as a Life Transition: Its Impact on Kinship Ties

Cited by 34 publications

References 11 publications

Two Generations of Mothers and Daughters: Role Position and Interdependence

Two Generations of Mothers and Daughters: Role Position and Interdependence

Adult Child–Parent Relationships

Changes in contact and support exchange in personal networks after widowhood

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