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. 2025 May 19:8982643251342705.
doi: 10.1177/08982643251342705. Online ahead of print.

Are Relationship Patterns Between Parents and Adult Children Associated With ADL Disability Risk in Later Life?

Madison R Sauerteig-Rolston  1   2   3 , Patricia A Thomas  4   5 , Shawn Bauldry  4   5 , Elizabeth A Richards  5   6 , Kenneth F Ferraro  4   5
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Are Relationship Patterns Between Parents and Adult Children Associated With ADL Disability Risk in Later Life?

Madison R Sauerteig-Rolston et al. J Aging Health. .

Abstract

BackgroundThis study examined whether patterns of relationship quality between parents and adult children were associated with the onset of ADL disability in later life.Research Design and MethodsUsing data from the Health and Retirement Study (N = 8,101), we studied whether support, strain, and patterns of relationships between parents and adult children were related to age of onset of ADL disability among parents.ResultsGreater support from adult children (based on parental report) was associated with later onset of ADL disability, and greater social strain was associated with earlier onset of disability. Compared to high-quality relationships, adverse, indifferent, and ambivalent relationships were associated with an earlier onset of ADL disability over time.DiscussionIt is important to acknowledge the complexity of relationships between parents and their adult children to understand how patterns of quality within these relationships influence ADL functioning in later life among parents.

Keywords: activities of daily living; ambivalence; parent/adult–child relationship patterns; social strain; social support.

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Conflict of interest statement

Declaration of Conflicting Interests

The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Conceptual representation of the relationship quality indicators based on the mean score of social support and social strain.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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