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. 2017 Nov;1(3):igx025.
doi: 10.1093/geroni/igx025. Epub 2017 Nov 11.

Family Relationships and Well-Being

Patricia A Thomas  1 , Hui Liu  2 , Debra Umberson  3
Affiliations

Family Relationships and Well-Being

Patricia A Thomas et al. Innov Aging. 2017 Nov.

Abstract

Family relationships are enduring and consequential for well-being across the life course. We discuss several types of family relationships-marital, intergenerational, and sibling ties-that have an important influence on well-being. We highlight the quality of family relationships as well as diversity of family relationships in explaining their impact on well-being across the adult life course. We discuss directions for future research, such as better understanding the complexities of these relationships with greater attention to diverse family structures, unexpected benefits of relationship strain, and unique intersections of social statuses.

Keywords: Caregiver stress; Gender issues; Intergenerational; Social support; Well-being.

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