The timing of parental divorce and filial obligations to care for ageing parents

Sage, Joanna, Evandrou, Maria and Falkingham, Jane (2014) The timing of parental divorce and filial obligations to care for ageing parents. Families, Relationships and Societies, 3 (1), 113-130. (doi:10.1332/204674313X673509).

Record type: Article

Abstract

This paper explores how the timing of parental divorce within a child’s lifecourse can influence the obligations they feel to care for their parents later in life. The majority of studies have suggested that parental divorce that occurs earlier in a child’s life will have the most detrimental effect on their obligations to provide care for their parents in frailty. Drawing upon life-history interviews with 42 mid-life participants in Southampton (UK) we challenge this contention by demonstrating how mid-life experiences of parental divorce have weakened their feelings of obligation to care in significant ways. We also demonstrate how deteriorating marital relations has resulted in some older parents ‘living together apart’ which has weakened relationships with their adult children and thus reduced their willingness to provide care. These findings are presented within the context of rising divorce rates in older age groups and an informal care gap in the UK.

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