Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2022 Nov 23;77(11):2072-2077.
doi: 10.1093/geronb/gbab205.

Black and White Young Adults' Support to Midlife Parents

Kristie A Wood  1 , Yijung K Kim  2 , Yee T Ng  3 , Meng Huo  4 , Karen L Fingerman  3
Affiliations

Black and White Young Adults' Support to Midlife Parents

Kristie A Wood et al. J Gerontol B Psychol Sci Soc Sci. .

Abstract

Objectives: Prior research suggests that midlife adults in Black and non-Hispanic White families differ in support patterns to aging parents. It is unclear whether such racial differences exist in young adulthood. We examined Black and White young adults' support to their midlife parents and underlying mechanisms to explain within-racial group, family-level differences.

Method: Young adults (aged 18-30; Black n = 107 and White n = 351) from the Family Exchanges Study 2 reported how often they provided tangible (practical) and intangible (emotional support and advice) support to each parent. Participants also reported beliefs about obligation to support parents, rewards from helping, and parental needs.

Results: On average, Black young adults provided more tangible and intangible support than White young adults. Feelings of reward predicted why young adults in some Black and White families gave more support than those in other families. Parental needs explained tangible support in Black families and intangible support in White families. Within families, rewards and parental needs drove Black offspring to give more intangible support than their siblings, while obligation motivated White offspring.

Discussion: Consistent with support patterns evident in older adulthood, Black young adults gave more tangible and intangible support to their midlife parents compared to White young adults. Within-race support patterns were explained by different factors informed by the Multidimensional Intergenerational Support Model. Findings suggest psychological factors contribute to between- and within-racial patterns of exchanges.

Keywords: Family; Intergenerational relations; Racial differences.

PubMed Disclaimer

References

    1. Birditt, K. S., Fingerman, K. L., & Zarit, S. H. (2010). Adult children’s problems and successes: Implications for intergenerational ambivalence. The Journals of Gerontology, Series B: Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences, 65(2), 145–153. doi:10.1093/geronb/gbp125 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Burr, J. A., & Mutchler, J. E. (1999). Race and ethnic variation in norms of filial responsibility among older persons. Journal of Marriage and Family, 61(3), 674–687. doi:10.2307/353569 - DOI
    1. Cheng, Y. P., Birditt, K. S., Zarit, S. H., & Fingerman, K. L. (2015). Young adults’ provision of support to middle-aged parents. The Journals of Gerontology, Series B: Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences, 70(3), 407–416. doi:10.1093/geronb/gbt108 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Davey, A., Janke, M., & Savla, J. (2004). Antecedents of intergenerational support: Families in context and families as context. Annual Review of Gerontology and Geriatrics, 24(1), 29–54. doi:10.1891/0198-8794.24.1.29 - DOI
    1. Eisinga, R., Grotenhuis, M. T., & Pelzer, B. (2013). The reliability of a two-item scale: Pearson, Cronbach, or Spearman–Brown? International Journal of Public Health, 58(4), 637–642. doi:10.1007/s00038-012-0416-3 - DOI - PubMed

Publication types