Disenfranchising parents: Why do middle-aged parents not provide support to grown offspring?

Wai Chan, Purdue University

Abstract

Past studies have shown that middle-aged parents engage in providing support to grown children; thus, downward transfers of familial support are common. There were very few studies, however, to address why some parents do not provide offspring with help (i.e., disenfranchisement). The purpose of the current study was to examine factors explaining disenfranchisement. An estrangement model and self-sufficiency model of offspring were proposed to explain an absence of parental support. Parents' characteristics were also hypothesized to predict disenfranchisement. Midlife parents aged 40-60 years old (N = 633) were interviewed on the phone about their relationships with their grown children and support given to each offspring. Disenfranchisement was operationalized as those offspring who received average level of support only once a year or less often. Partially consistent with the hypotheses, logistic regression results revealed that a decrease in positive relationship quality and no contact between parents and offspring enhanced the odds of offspring being disenfranchised. In contrast, disenfranchisement was less likely to happen to those offspring who were still students and younger. Parents' disrupted marriage, larger family size, and a low sense of obligation to help offspring were found to predict disenfranchisement. Discussion highlighted the applications of solidarity and contingency theories to explain disenfranchisement. Implications of disenfranchisement to familial exchanges among generations in the long term were also discussed.

Degree

M.S.

Advisors

Fingerman, Purdue University.

Subject Area

Aging|Individual & family studies

COinS