The role of traditionalism in patterns of support from adult children to fathers in the later years

Michael William Steinhour, Purdue University

Abstract

This study explores the effects of fathers' gender role attitudes on the receipt of instrumental and expressive support from their adult children. Using data on 1159 fathers aged 50-94 from the National Survey of Families and Households (W-1), I sought to determine if fathers' traditional gender role attitudes would predict receipt of support in two domains: help with instrumental tasks (e.g., help around the house and help with repairs), and expressive support (e.g., expressive support, encouragement, moral or emotional support).: My research question was: what are the effects of fathers' traditional gender role attitudes on receipt of support from their adult children? To this end I formed two hypotheses: 1) fathers who exhibit higher gender role traditional beliefs will receive less instrumental support than fathers who exhibit lower gender role traditional beliefs; and 2) fathers who exhibit lower gender role traditional beliefs will receive more expressive support than those who exhibit higher gender role traditional beliefs. I created a scale to assess gender role attitudes of respondents. Logistic regression analyses revealed no evidence for an association between fathers' gender role attitudes and receipt of support from their adult children in terms of expressive or instrumental support. Additional comparisons using crosstabular analysis offered no further insights. The lack of findings may indicate the complexity of intergenerational exchanges. The inclusion of additional measures assessing attitudinal and gender similarity between fathers and their adult children may provide further explanations of the underlying support processes in late-life families.

Degree

Ph.D.

Advisors

Jackson, Purdue University.

Subject Area

Aging|Sociology

COinS