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

The timing of parental divorce and filial obligations to care for ageing parents
The timing of parental divorce and filial obligations to care for ageing parents
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.
2046-7435
113-130
Sage, Joanna
9b9f43a4-6269-4ea4-bd63-2ebfec6bd40a
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 (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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More information

Accepted/In Press date: 2013
Published date: 1 March 2014
Organisations: Social Sciences

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 352399
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/352399
ISSN: 2046-7435
PURE UUID: 70aadd65-e981-4e43-bd60-6c2ec46709d9
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: 13 May 2013 11:52
Last modified: 15 Mar 2024 03:24

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Contributors

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

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