Religion and ties between adult children and their parents. 2013

Valarie King, and Maggie Ledwell, and Jennifer Pearce-Morris
Department of Sociology, The Pennsylvania State University, 211 Oswald Tower, University Park, PA 16802, USA. vek1@psu.edu

OBJECTIVE This study examined whether religious adults (measured by the frequency of attendance at religious services) report more extensive ties with their parents. METHODS Using data from the National Survey of Families and Households (N = 9,002), a series of bivariate and multivariate regression models were tested. Several dimensions of adult children's relationships with their parents were considered including relationship quality, frequency of contact, providing care to parents, and providing other assistance. RESULTS Adult children who attended religious services more frequently were significantly more likely to provide assistance to parents, and they reported higher quality relationships and more frequent contact with both their fathers and mothers. Results were similar for sons and daughters, and for younger and older adult children. CONCLUSIONS A better understanding of what motivates and fosters strong ties between adult children and their parents is vitally important given the "graying" of America and the consequences of such ties for the health and well-being of both generations. Religion is only one of many factors associated with adult children's ties to parents, and this association is generally modest, but it is an important factor that should be given greater attention in future research.

UI MeSH Term Description Entries
D008297 Male Males
D008875 Middle Aged An adult aged 45 - 64 years. Middle Age
D009034 Mother-Child Relations Interaction between a mother and child. Mother-Child Interaction,Mother-Child Relationship,Mother-Infant Interaction,Mother-Infant Relations,Interaction, Mother-Child,Interaction, Mother-Infant,Interactions, Mother-Child,Interactions, Mother-Infant,Mother Child Interaction,Mother Child Relations,Mother Child Relationship,Mother Infant Interaction,Mother Infant Relations,Mother-Child Interactions,Mother-Child Relation,Mother-Child Relationships,Mother-Infant Interactions,Mother-Infant Relation,Relation, Mother-Child,Relation, Mother-Infant,Relations, Mother-Child,Relations, Mother-Infant,Relationship, Mother-Child,Relationships, Mother-Child
D009042 Motivation Those factors which cause an organism to behave or act in either a goal-seeking or satisfying manner. They may be influenced by physiological drives or by external stimuli. Incentives,Disincentives,Expectations,Disincentive,Expectation,Incentive,Motivations
D010287 Parent-Child Relations The interactions between parent and child. Parent-Offspring Interaction,Parent Child Relationship,Parent-Child Relationship,Interaction, Parent-Offspring,Parent Child Relations,Parent Child Relationships,Parent Offspring Interaction,Parent-Child Relation,Parent-Child Relationships,Parent-Offspring Interactions,Relation, Parent-Child,Relationship, Parent Child,Relationship, Parent-Child
D012069 Religion and Psychology The interrelationship of psychology and religion. Psychology and Religion,Psychology, Religion,Religion, Psychology
D003625 Data Collection Systematic gathering of data for a particular purpose from various sources, including questionnaires, interviews, observation, existing records, and electronic devices. The process is usually preliminary to statistical analysis of the data. Data Collection Methods,Dual Data Collection,Collection Method, Data,Collection Methods, Data,Collection, Data,Collection, Dual Data,Data Collection Method,Method, Data Collection,Methods, Data Collection
D005219 Father-Child Relations Interaction between the father and the child. Father-Child Relationship,Father Child Relations,Father Child Relationship,Father-Child Relation,Father-Child Relationships,Relation, Father-Child,Relations, Father-Child,Relationship, Father-Child,Relationships, Father-Child
D005260 Female Females
D006801 Humans Members of the species Homo sapiens. Homo sapiens,Man (Taxonomy),Human,Man, Modern,Modern Man

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