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. 2018 Mar;25(1):87-102.
doi: 10.1111/pere.12229. Epub 2018 Feb 28.

Relationship Tensions and Mood: Adult Children's Daily Experience of Aging Parents' Stubbornness

Allison R Heid  1 , Kyungmin Kim  2 , Steven H Zarit  3 , Kira S Birditt  4 , Karen L Fingerman  5
Affiliations

Relationship Tensions and Mood: Adult Children's Daily Experience of Aging Parents' Stubbornness

Allison R Heid et al. Pers Relatsh. 2018 Mar.

Abstract

This study examined middle-aged individuals' reports of parents' behaviors commonly attributed to stubbornness. Middle-aged adults (N = 192) completed a 7-day diary reporting their mood and how often they felt their parents (N = 254) engaged in behaviors often described as 'stubbornness' (insistent or risky). Thirty-one percent of middle-aged children reported insistent behaviors and 17% reported risky behaviors by their parent(s). Daily reports of parent behaviors attributed to stubbornness were positively associated with parent-child relationship quality, parent functional limitations, and child neuroticism. Reports of perceived parent insistent behaviors were also associated with greater daily negative mood among adult children. Findings highlight the impact of adult children's daily perceptions of parent behaviors commonly attributed to stubbornness on the individual and relationship.

Keywords: daily diary methods; daily stress; intergenerational relationships; stubbornness.

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