Aging Together: Relationship Dynamics Between the Very Old and Their Old Children

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Project Summary Current increase in life expectancy gives rise to a new phenomenon that has received little attention to date: family members reaching very old age together. Since very old adults mostly outlive spouses and friends, their children are likely to become the primary contact person. Yet, virtually nothing is known about the relationship constellation of very old adults and their “old” children. Prior research has yielded limited insight on social relationships in very late life, including the question whether or not, and if so, which bidirectional support exchanges between parents and children may still take place and what particular challenges might emerge in this growing but understudied relationship scenario. Our primary objective is to explore the nature and consequences of the very old parent-child relationship, and to offer insight into person/dyad-specific characteristics that may be associated with greater risk for poor well-being and care-related outcomes in these dyads. Our central hypothesis is that the very old parent-child relationship is characterized by both rewards and challenges, but that challenges dominate, given the age-related health limitations of both the very old and the “old” child, and the prolonged developmentally “off-time” compromised freedom and goal pursuit that come with the child’s caregiving involvement at that age. Specific aims: 1) To identify the patterns of reciprocal support exchanges occurring in very old parent-child dyads, as well as to ascertain person and context factors associated with these patterns. 2) To examine the effect of support exchanges on the challenges and rewards experienced by both dyad members, accounting for environmental barriers, cultural values, and personality traits as moderators. 3) To examine the effects of support exchanges on the well-being and care-related outcomes of both dyad members, mediated by their perceived challenges and rewards. To address these aims, semi-structured in-person interviews will be conducted with 120 very old parent-old child dyads (parent > 95; child > 65 years). Analysis of mixed-method data will involve qualitative (thematic coding) and quantitative (multivariate; actor-partner interdependence models) methodology. The innovation of this research lies in studying a new phenomenon in an understudied population. Study findings will provide us with a rich array of cues for our long-term goal of intervention development, allowing us to identify the unique challenges of our target dyads, and helping us to spell out how specific person and dyad characteristics may influence support exchanges/outcomes, and shape the dyads’ care and support needs. This knowledge base will enable us to design or adapt interventions not only tailored to our target group as a whole but also to specific types of dyads (e.g., based on gender composition, ethnic/racial group, particular challenges, or unmet care needs).