![[PDF]](/pb-assets/Icons/adobe-pdf-icon.png){kind=icon}
Abstract
Using the 1993 Panel Study of Income Dynamics, the authors examine help given to older parents in typical American families. Daughters and sons not in couples were more likely to help than those in couples, and gave substantially more hours. In couples, daughters were less likely to help than sons, but they helped for considerably more hours. Black daughters helped at least as commonly as White daughters, and did so for substantially more hours than either White daughters or sons of either race. Results suggest that Black sons may help less commonly than White sons. Black sons who help, however, do so for at least as many hours as White sons. Findings suggest that changes in the Black American family have not produced the notable intergenerational relations breakdown anticipated by some researchers. Results also illuminate the important role of sons in family help and suggest that changing marriage patterns may not reduce help to older parents.
| Administration on Aging. 1996. A Profile of Older Americans: 1996. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Google Scholar | |
| Ahlburg, Dennis A. and C. J. DeVita. 1992. “New Realities of the American Family.” Population Bulletin 47: 2-37. Google Scholar, Medline | |
| Aldous, Joan . 1987. “New Views on the Family Life of the Elderly and Near-Elderly.” Journal of Marriage and the Family 49: 227-234. Google Scholar, Crossref, ISI | |
| Allison, Paul D. 1999. “Comparing Logit and Probit Coefficients Across Groups.” Sociological Methods and Research 28: 186-208. Google Scholar, SAGE Journals, ISI | |
| Brody, Elaine M. 1985. “Parent Care as a Normative Family Stress.” The Gerontologist 25: 19-29. Google Scholar, Crossref, Medline, ISI | |
| Browne, Colette V. 1998. Women, Feminism, and Aging. New York: Springer. Google Scholar | |
| Burton, Lynda , Judith Kasper, Andrew Shore, Kathleen Cagney, Thomas LaVeist, Catherine Cubbin, and Pearl German. 1995. “The Structure of Informal Care: Are There Differences by Race?” The Gerontologist 35: 744-752. Google Scholar, Crossref, Medline, ISI | |
| Butler, J. S. 2000. “Efficiency Results of MLE and GMM Estimation With Sampling Weights.” Journal of Econometrics 96: 25-37. Google Scholar, Crossref, ISI | |
| Cagney, Kathleen A. and Emily M. Agree. 1999. “Racial Differences in Skilled Nursing Care and Home Health Use: The Mediating Effects of Family Structure and Social Class.” Journals of Gerontology, Series B: Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences 54: S223-S236. Google Scholar, Crossref, Medline, ISI | |
| Cancio, Silvia A. , David T. Evans, and David J. Maume. 1996. “Reconsidering the Declining Significance of Race: Racial Differences in Early Career Wages.” American Sociological Review 61: 541-556. Google Scholar, Crossref, ISI | |
| Chodorow, Nancy . 1978. The Reproduction of Mothering: Psychoanalysis and the Sociology of Gender. Berkeley: University of California Press. Google Scholar | |
| Citro, Constance F. and Robert T. Michael. 1995. Measuring Poverty: A New Approach. Washington, DC: National Academy Press. Google Scholar | |
| Clark, Rebecca L. and Douglas A. Wolf. 1992. “Proximity of Children and Elderly Migration.” Pp. 77-96 in Elderly Migration and Population Redistribution, edited by Andrei Rogers. London, England: Belhaven. Google Scholar | |
| Connidis, Ingrid Arnet , Carolyn J. Rosenthal, and Julie Ann McMullin. 1996. “The Impact of Family Composition on Providing Help to Older Parents.” Research on Aging 18: 402-429. Google Scholar, SAGE Journals, ISI | |
| Couch, Kenneth A. , Mary C. Daly, and Douglas A. Wolf. 1999. “Time? Money? Both? The Allocation of Resources to Older Parents.” Demography 36: 219-233. Google Scholar, Crossref, Medline, ISI | |
| Coward, Raymond T. and S. J. Cutler. 1989. “Informal and Formal Health Care Systems for the Rural Elderly.” Health Services Research 23: 785-806. Google Scholar, Medline, ISI | |
| Crimmins, Eileen and Dominique Ingegneri. 1990. “Interaction and Living Arrangements of Older Parents and Their Children.” Research on Aging 12: 3-35. Google Scholar, SAGE Journals, ISI | |
| Dwyer, Jeffrey W. and Raymond T. Coward. 1991. “A Multivariate Comparison of the Involvement of Adult Sons Versus Daughters in the Care of Impaired Parents.” Journal of Gerontology: Social Sciences 46: S259-S269. Google Scholar, Crossref, ISI | |
| Dwyer, Jeffrey W. and Raymond T. Coward. 1992. “Gender and Family Care of the Elderly: Research Gaps and Opportunities.” Pp. 151-162 in Gender, Families, and Elder Care, edited by Jeffrey W. Dwyer and Raymond T. Coward. Newbury Park, CA: Sage. Google Scholar | |
| Eggebeen, David J. 1992. “Family Structure and Intergenerational Exchanges.” Research on Aging 14: 427-447. Google Scholar, SAGE Journals, ISI | |
| Eggebeen, David J. and Dennis P. Hogan. 1990. “Giving Between Generations in American Families.” Human Nature 1: 211-232. Google Scholar, Crossref, Medline | |
| Finley, Nancy J. 1989. “Theories of Family Labor as Applied to Gender Differences in Caregiving for Elderly Parents.” Journal of Marriage and the Family 51: 79-86. Google Scholar, Crossref, ISI | |
| Freedman, Vicki A. and Linda G. Martin. 1998. “Understanding Trends in Functional Limitations Among Older Americans.” American Journal of Public Health 88: 1457-1462. Google Scholar, Crossref, Medline, ISI | |
| Ge, Lin and Peter A. Rogerson. 1995. “Elderly Parents and the Geographic Availability of Their Adult Children.” Research on Aging 17: 303-331. Google Scholar, SAGE Journals, ISI | |
| George, Susan M. and Bette J. Dickerson. 1995. “The Role of the Grandmother in Poor Single-Mother Families and Households.” Pp. 146-163 in African American Single Mothers: Understanding Their Lives and Families, edited by Bette J. Dickerson. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. Google Scholar | |
| Grundy, Emily , A. Bowling, and Morag Farquhar. 1996. “Social Support, Life Satisfaction and Survival at Older Ages.” Pp. 135-156 in Health and Mortality Among Elderly Populations, edited by Graziella Caselli and Alan D. Lopez. Oxford, UK: Clarendon. Google Scholar | |
| Hagestad, Gunhild O. 1987. “Parent-Child Relations in Later Life: Trends and Gaps in Past Research.” Pp. 405-433 in Parenting Across the Lifespan, edited by Jane B. Lancaster, Jeanne Altmann, Alice S. Rossi, and Lonnie R. Sherrod. New York: Aldine de Gruyter. Google Scholar | |
| Hanson, Sandra L. , William J. Sauer, and Wayne C. Seelbach. 1983. “Racial and Cohort Variations in Filial Responsibility Norms.” The Gerontologist 23: 626-631. Google Scholar, Crossref, Medline, ISI | |
| Hatch, Laurie Russell . 1991. “Informal Support Patterns of Older African-American and White Women: Examining Effects of Family, Paid Work, and Religious Participation.” Research on Aging 13: 144-170. Google Scholar, SAGE Journals, ISI | |
| Hill, Martha S. 1992. The Panel Study of Income Dynamics: A User’s Guide. Newbury Park, CA: Sage. Google Scholar | |
| Himes, Christine L. 1992. “Future Caregivers: Projected Family Structures of Older Persons.” Journal of Gerontology 47: S17-S26. Google Scholar, Crossref, Medline | |
| Himes, Christine L. 1994. “Parental Caregiving by Adult Women.” Research on Aging 16: 191-211. Google Scholar, SAGE Journals, ISI | |
| Himes, Christine L. , Anne K. Jordan, and Janice I. Farkas. 1996. “Factors Influencing Parental Caregiving by Adult Women.” Research on Aging 18: 349-370. Google Scholar, SAGE Journals, ISI | |
| Hoem, Jan M. 1989. “The Issue of Weights in Panel Surveys of Individual Behavior.” Pp. 539-565 in Panel Surveys, edited by Daniel Kasprzyk, G. J. Duncan, G. Kalton, and M. P. Singh. New York: John Wiley and Sons. Google Scholar | |
| Hogan, Dennis P. and David J. Eggebeen. 1995. “Sources of Emergency Help and Routine Assistance in Old Age.” Social Forces 73: 917-936. Google Scholar, Crossref, ISI | |
| Hogan, Dennis P. , David J. Eggebeen, and Clifford C. Clogg. 1993. “The Structure of Intergenerational Exchanges in American Families.” American Journal of Sociology 98: 1428-1458. Google Scholar, Crossref, ISI | |
| Hooyman, Nancy R. and Judith G. Gonyea. 1995. Feminist Perspectives on Family Care: Policies for Gender Justice. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. Google Scholar, Crossref | |
| Horowitz, Amy . 1985a. “Family Caregiving to the Frail Elderly.” Pp. 194-246 in Annual Review Google Scholar | |
| Horowitz, Amy . 1985b. “Sons and Daughters as Caregivers to Older Parents: Differences in Role Performance and Consequences.” The Gerontologist 25: 612-617. Google Scholar, Crossref, Medline, ISI | |
| Horowitz, Amy . 1992. “Methodological Issues in the Study of Gender Within Family Caregiving Relationships.” Pp. 132-150 in Gender, Families, and Elder Care, edited by Jeffrey W. Dwyer and Raymond T. Coward. Newbury Park, CA: Sage. Google Scholar | |
| House, James S. , Karl Richard Landis, and Debra J. Umberson. 1988. “Social Relationships and Health.” Science 241: 540-545. Google Scholar, Crossref, Medline, ISI | |
| Hoyert, Donna L. 1991. “Financial and Household Exchanges Between Generations.” Research on Aging 13: 205-225. Google Scholar, SAGE Journals, ISI | |
| Ingersoll-Dayton, Berit , Marjorie E. Starrels, and David W. Dowler. 1996. “Caregiving for Parents and Parents-in-Law: Is Gender Important?” The Gerontologist 36: 483-491. Google Scholar, Crossref, Medline, ISI | |
| Krout, John A. 1986. The Aged in Rural America. Westport, CT: Greenwood. Google Scholar | |
| Lachman, Margie E. , Jonathan Howland, Sharon Tennstedt, Alan Jette, Susan Assmann, and Elizabeth W. Peterson. 1998. “Fear of Falling and Activity Restriction: The Survey of Activities and Fear of Falling in the Elderly (SAFE).” Journals of Gerontology: Series B: Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences 53: 43-50. Google Scholar, Crossref, ISI | |
| Lang, Abigail M. and Elaine M. Brody. 1983. “Characteristics of Middle-Aged Daughters and Help to their Elderly Mothers.” Journal of Marriage and the Family 45: 193-202. Google Scholar, Crossref, ISI | |
| Lawton, Leora , Merril Silverstein, and Vern Bengtson. 1994a. “Affection, Social Contact, and Geographic Distance Between Adult Children and Their Parents.” Journal of Marriage and the Family 56: 57-68. Google Scholar, Crossref, ISI | |
| Lawton, Leora , Merril Silverstein, and Vern Bengtson. 1994b. “Types of Relations between Parents and Adult Children.” Pp. 43-76 in Intergenerational Linkages: Hidden Connections in American Society, edited by Vern L. Bengston and Robert A. Harootyan. New York: Springer. Google Scholar | |
| Lee, Gary R. 1992. “Gender Differences in Family Caregiving: A Fact in Search of a Theory.” Pp. 120-131 in Gender, Families, and Elder Care, edited by Jeffrey W. Dwyer and Raymond T. Coward. Newbury Park, CA: Sage. Google Scholar | |
| Lee, Gary R. , Jeffrey W. Dwyer, and Raymond T. Coward. 1990. “Residential Location and Proximity to Children Among Impaired Elderly Parents.” Rural Sociology 55: 579-589. Google Scholar, ISI | |
| Lee, Gary R. , Jeffrey W. Dwyer, and Raymond T. Coward. 1993. “Gender Differences in Parent Care: Demographic Factors and Same-Gender Preferences.” Journal of Gerontology: Social Sciences 8: S9-S16. Google Scholar | |
| Lee, Gary R. , Chuck W. Peek, and Raymond T. Coward. 1998. “Race Differences in Filial Responsibility Expectations Among Older Parents.” Journal of Marriage and the Family 60: 404-412. Google Scholar, Crossref, ISI | |
| Littell, Ramon C. , George A. Milliken, Walter W. Stroup, and Russell D. Wolfinger. 1996. SAS System for Mixed Models. Cary, NC: SAS Institute Inc. Google Scholar | |
| Litwak, Eugene . 1985. Helping the Elderly. New York: Guilford. Google Scholar | |
| Litwak, Eugene and Stephen Kulis. 1987. “Technology, Proximity, and Measures of Kin Support.” Journal of Marriage and the Family 49: 649-661. Google Scholar, Crossref, ISI | |
| Litwak, Eugene and Charles F. Longino. 1987. “Migration Patterns Among the Elderly: A Developmental Perspective.” The Gerontologist 27: 266-272. Google Scholar, Crossref, Medline, ISI | |
| Logan, John R. and Glenna D. Spitze. 1996. Family Ties: Enduring Relations Between Parents and Their Grown Children. Philadelphia, PA: Temple University Press. Google Scholar | |
| Mancini, Jay A. and Rosemary Blieszner. 1989. “Aging Parents and Adult Children: Research Themes in Intergenerational Relations.” Journal of Marriage and the Family 51: 275-290. Google Scholar, Crossref, ISI | |
| Manton, Kenneth G. , Larry Corder, and Eric Stallard. 1993. “Estimates of Change in Chronic Disability and Institutional Incidence and Prevalence Rates in the U.S. Elderly Population From the 1982, 1984, and 1989 National Long Term Care Survey.” Journal of Gerontology: Social Sciences 48: S153-S166. Google Scholar, Crossref, ISI | |
| Matthews, Sarah H. and Tena Tarler Rosner. 1988. “Shared Filial Responsibility: The Family as the Primary Caregiver.” Journal of Marriage and the Family 50: 185-195. Google Scholar, Crossref, ISI | |
| Miller, Baila , Stephanie McFall, and Richard T. Campbell. 1994. “Changes in Sources of Community Long-Term Care Among African Americans and White Frail Older Persons.” Journal of Gerontology: Social Sciences 49: S14-S24. Google Scholar, Crossref, ISI | |
| Montgomery, Rhonda J. V. and Yoshinori Kamo. 1989. “Parent Care by Sons and Daughters.” Pp. 213-230 in Aging Parents and Adult Children, edited by Jay A. Mancini. Lexington, MA: Lexington Books. Google Scholar | |
| Mutran, Elizabeth . 1985. “Intergenerational Family Support Among Blacks and Whites: Response to Culture or to Socioeconomic Differences?” Journal of Gerontology 40: 382-389. Google Scholar, Crossref, Medline | |
| O’Rand, Angela M. 1996. “The Precious and the Precocious: Understanding Cumulative Disadvantage and Cumulative Advantage Over the Life Course.” The Gerontologist 36: 230-238. Google Scholar, Crossref, Medline, ISI | |
| Peek, M. Kristen , Raymond T. Coward, and Chuck W. Peek. 2000. “Race, Aging, and Care.” Research on Aging 22: 117-142. Google Scholar, ISI | |
| Rogerson, Peter A. , Richard H. Weng, and Ge Lin. 1993. “The Spatial Separation of Parents and Their Adult Children.” Annals of the Association of American Geographers 83: 656-671. Google Scholar, Crossref | |
| Rossi, Alice S. and Peter H. Rossi. 1990. Of Human Bonding: Parent-Child Relations Across the Life Course. New York: Aldine de Gruyter. Google Scholar | |
| Sakamoto, Arthur , Huei-Hsia Wu, and Jessie M. Tzeng. 2000. “The Declining Significance of Race Among American Men During the Latter Half of the Twentieth Century.” Demography 37: 41-51. Google Scholar, Crossref, Medline, ISI | |
| Schultz, R. , P. Visintainer, and G. M. Williamson. 1990. “Psychiatric and Physical Morbidity Effects of Caregiving.” Journal of Gerontology: Psychological Sciences 45: 181-191. Google Scholar, Crossref, ISI | |
| Silverstein, Merril and Linda J. Waite. 1993. “Are Blacks More Likely Than Whites to Receive and Provide Social Support in Middle and Old Age? Yes, No, and Maybe So.” Journal of Gerontology: Social Sciences 48: S212-S222. Google Scholar, Crossref, ISI | |
| Smeeding, Timothy M. 1999. Social Security Reform: Improving Benefit Adequacy and Economic Security for Women. Center for Policy Research Aging Studies Program Policy Brief No. 16/1999. Syracuse, NY: Syracuse University. Google Scholar | |
| Smith, James P. and Finis R. Welch. 1989. “Black Economic Progress After Myrdal.” The Journal of Economic Literature 27: 519-564. Google Scholar, ISI | |
| Soldo, Beth J. , Douglas A. Wolf, and Emily M. Agree. 1990. “Family, Households, and Care Arrangements of Frail Older Women: A Structural Analysis.” Journal of Gerontology: Social Sciences 45: S238-S249. Google Scholar, Crossref, ISI | |
| Spitze, Glenna and John R. Logan. 1990. “Sons, Daughters, and Intergenerational Support.” Journal of Marriage and the Family 52: 420-430. Google Scholar, Crossref, ISI | |
| Spitze, Glenna and John R. Logan. 1992. “Helping as a Component of Parent-Adult Child Relations.” Research on Aging 14: 291-312. Google Scholar, SAGE Journals, ISI | |
| Stack, Carol B. 1974. All Our Kin. New York: Harper & Row. Google Scholar | |
| Staples, Robert and Alfredo Mirandé. 1980. “Racial and Cultural Variations Among American Families: A Decennial Review of the Literature on Minority Families.” Journal of Marriage and the Family 42: 887-903. Google Scholar, Crossref, ISI | |
| Stoller, Eleanor Palo . 1990. “Males as Helpers: The Role of Sons, Relatives, and Friends.” The Gerontologist 30: 228-235. Google Scholar, Crossref, Medline, ISI | |
| Stoller, Eleanor Palo . 1996. “The Role of the Family in Rural Long-Term Care.” Pp. 35-63 in Long-Term Care for the Rural Elderly, edited by Graham D. Rowles, Joyce E. Beaulieu, and Wayne W. Myers. New York: Springer. Google Scholar | |
| Stoller, Eleanor Palo and Karen L. Pugliesi. 1989. “Other Roles of Caregivers: Competing Responsibilities or Supportive Resources.” Journal of Gerontology: Social Sciences 44: 231-238. Google Scholar, Crossref, ISI | |
| Sutherland, S. 1999. With Respect to Old Age: Long-Term Care—Rights and Responsibilities.A Report by the Royal Commission on Long-Term Care. London, England: The Stationer’s Office. Google Scholar | |
| Taylor, Robert Joseph and Linda M. Chatters. 1991. “Extended Family Networks of Older African-Americans.” Journal of Gerontology: Social Sciences 46: S210-S217. Google Scholar, Crossref, ISI | |
| Taylor, Robert Joseph , Linda M. Chatters, M. Belinda Tucker, and Edith Lewis. 1990. “Developments in Research on Black Families: A Decade Review.” Journal of Marriage and the Family 52: 993-1014. Google Scholar, Crossref, ISI | |
| Thornton, Michael C. , Shelley I. White-Means, and Hye Keong Choi. 1993. “Sociodemographic Correlates of the Size and Composition of Informal Caregiver Networks Among Frail Ethnic Elderly.” Journal of Comparative Family Studies 24: 235-250. Google Scholar, ISI | |
| U. S. Bureau of the Census . 1999. Current Population Reports. Washington, DC: U.S. Bureau of the Census. Google Scholar | |
| Williams, David R. , Yan Yu, James S. Jackson, and Norman B. Anderson. 1997. “Racial Differences in Physical and Mental Health.” Journal of Health Psychology 2: 335-351. Google Scholar, SAGE Journals | |
| Wilson, William J. 1980. The Declining Significance of Race, 2d ed. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press. Google Scholar | |
| Wolf, Douglas A. 1994. “The Elderly and Their Kin: Patterns of Availability and Access.” Pp. 146-194 in Demography of Aging, edited by Linda G. Martin and Samuel H. Preston. Washington, DC: National Academy Press. Google Scholar | |
| Wolfinger, Russell D. 1993. “Covariance Structure Selection in General Mixed Models.” Communications in Statistics, Simulation, and Computation 22: 1079-1106. Google Scholar, Crossref, ISI | |
| Wolfinger, Russell D. 1996. “Heterogeneous Variance Covariance Structures for Repeated Measures.” Journal of Agricultural, Biological, and Environmental Statistics 1: 205-230. Google Scholar, Crossref | |
| Wolfinger, Russell D. and M. O’Connell. 1993. “Generalized Linear Mixed Models: A Pseudo-Likelihood Approach.” Journal of Statistical Computation and Simulation 48: 233-243. Google Scholar, Crossref, ISI | |
| Yeung, W. J. , M. S. Hill, and F. P. Stafford. 1997. The Panel Study of Income Dynamics, 1993: Health Care Burden File Documentation. Ann Arbor, MI: Survey Research Center. Google Scholar |
