What determines whether older parents receive help from their adult children?

What expectations do people have regarding adult children helping ageing parents in need? And should parents adjust their lives to assist their adult children when they require support? 

These are some of the questions explored in two recent articles based on data from The Norwegian Life Course, Ageing and Generation Study (NorLAG).

Is there a link between attitudes and actual caregiving?

Hanna Vangen and Katharina Herlofson, researchers at NOVA at OsloMet – Oslo Metropolitan University, have investigated the relationship between attitudes towards filial responsibility norms and actual provision of care.

Using NorLAG's longitudinal data, they followed the same individuals over time. First, they examined general attitudes about adult children’s responsibility towards elderly parents. Then, they compared these attitudes to the actual help and care the participants provided to parents ten years later.

Those who reported having a good relationship with their parents ten years earlier were more likely to provide care than those who rated the relationship as weaker. – NOVA researcher Hanna Vangen

The quality of the parent-child relationship is key

“The results show that prior attitudes have no significant influence on whether adult children eventually assist their parents,” says Vangen. Other factors appear to play a more significant role, in particular the quality of the parent-child relationship.

“Those who reported having a good relationship with their parents ten years earlier were more likely to provide care than those who rated the relationship as weaker,” she explains.

The researchers also found several other factors that influence caregiving. These include whether the parents live alone, the distance between parents and children, and the parents' level of need for assistance. Another finding is that daughters provide more care to mothers than to fathers.

Differences between biological parents and stepparents

The NorLAG data contains extensive information about diverse family structures. Julia Sauter, a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Geneva, examined differences in attitudes toward family care between those with stepchildren, biological children, or both.

The study was based on a hypothesis that individuals with stepchildren would have lower expectations of receiving support from adult children compared to those with only biological children. 

Stepparents are less inclined to believe that parents should leave an inheritance to their children. – Julia Sauter

However, the analysis did not support this hypothesis. In fact, stepparents were more likely than biological parents to believe that adult children have a duty to assist ageing parents. One explanation might be that stepparents feel their partners receive insufficient support from their biological children, according to Sauter.

When it comes to whether parents should assist their adult children, there are also differences. Stepparents are less inclined to believe that parents should leave an inheritance to their children or adjust their lives to support them if needed.

Thus, attitudes toward care and support differ between biological parents and stepparents.

The importance of studying family relationships

Both studies highlight the significance of relational factors for attitudes toward family care and the actual provision of such care. The research, based on NorLAG’s detailed data on family dynamics, suggests that focusing on family relationships may be more fruitful than examining general attitudes toward caregiving when assessing the potential for future family-based care in Norwegian families.

Sources

• Sauter, J. (2024). Norwegian biological parents and stepparents’ attitudes towards family obligations in middle and old age. Journal of Family Issues (online first) (journals.sagepub.com).
• Vangen, H. & Herlofson, K. (2023). Why care? How filial responsibility norms and relationship quality matter for subsequent provision of care to ageing parents. Ageing & Society (cambridge.com).