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A lifecourse perspective on parental marital disruption and the obligations mid-life ‘adult children’ feel to care for their parents

A lifecourse perspective on parental marital disruption and the obligations mid-life ‘adult children’ feel to care for their parents
A lifecourse perspective on parental marital disruption and the obligations mid-life ‘adult children’ feel to care for their parents
This paper challenges the dominant thesis that parental divorce occurring during childhood has a greater detrimental effect on the obligations (adult) children feel to provide care for their parents in later life, than parental divorce which occurs later in the lifecourse during the child’s own adulthood. Drawing upon interviews with mid-life participants who have experienced disruption in their parent’s marriage at different stages of the lifecourse (either during childhood, adolescence/young adulthood, or during mid-life), our findings illuminate the effects of the timing of parental marital disharmony on the obligations ‘adult children’ feel to provide care for their parents in later life. In particular, we show how the deterioration of marital relations in post-retirement couples has resulted in weakened relationships with their mid-life (adult) children, who have expressed diluted obligations to care for their parents as a result – underlining retirement as a key lifecourse event, which can unsettle marital dynamics, family relations and intergenerational exchange frameworks. We present these findings within the context of an increasing informal care-gap in the UK, and the complex intergenerational exchange frameworks of our ‘sandwich generation’ participants, outlining a clear critique of family-centric social care policy in the UK
Sage, Joanna
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Evandrou, Maria
cd2210ea-9625-44d7-b0f4-fc0721a25d28
Falkingham, Jane
8df36615-1547-4a6d-ad55-aa9496e85519
Sage, Joanna
9b9f43a4-6269-4ea4-bd63-2ebfec6bd40a
Evandrou, Maria
cd2210ea-9625-44d7-b0f4-fc0721a25d28
Falkingham, Jane
8df36615-1547-4a6d-ad55-aa9496e85519

Sage, Joanna, Evandrou, Maria and Falkingham, Jane (2012) A lifecourse perspective on parental marital disruption and the obligations mid-life ‘adult children’ feel to care for their parents. Third Biennial British-Irish Population Conference, Belfast, United Kingdom. 17 - 18 Apr 2012.

Record type: Conference or Workshop Item (Paper)

Abstract

This paper challenges the dominant thesis that parental divorce occurring during childhood has a greater detrimental effect on the obligations (adult) children feel to provide care for their parents in later life, than parental divorce which occurs later in the lifecourse during the child’s own adulthood. Drawing upon interviews with mid-life participants who have experienced disruption in their parent’s marriage at different stages of the lifecourse (either during childhood, adolescence/young adulthood, or during mid-life), our findings illuminate the effects of the timing of parental marital disharmony on the obligations ‘adult children’ feel to provide care for their parents in later life. In particular, we show how the deterioration of marital relations in post-retirement couples has resulted in weakened relationships with their mid-life (adult) children, who have expressed diluted obligations to care for their parents as a result – underlining retirement as a key lifecourse event, which can unsettle marital dynamics, family relations and intergenerational exchange frameworks. We present these findings within the context of an increasing informal care-gap in the UK, and the complex intergenerational exchange frameworks of our ‘sandwich generation’ participants, outlining a clear critique of family-centric social care policy in the UK

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More information

Published date: 18 April 2012
Venue - Dates: Third Biennial British-Irish Population Conference, Belfast, United Kingdom, 2012-04-17 - 2012-04-18
Organisations: Social Statistics & Demography

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 344939
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/344939
PURE UUID: 11e80aa7-a4d1-47eb-982d-c132023d75ff
ORCID for Maria Evandrou: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0002-2115-9358
ORCID for Jane Falkingham: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0002-7135-5875

Catalogue record

Date deposited: 08 Nov 2012 14:17
Last modified: 11 Dec 2021 04:06

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Contributors

Author: Joanna Sage
Author: Maria Evandrou ORCID iD
Author: Jane Falkingham ORCID iD

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