Middle-Aged and Older Adults’ Intergenerational Support and Wellbeing

Tuesday, 8 July 2025: 11:00-12:45
Location: SJES002 (Faculty of Legal, Economic, and Social Sciences (JES))
RC06 Family Research (host committee)
RC11 Sociology of Aging

Language: English

The session investigates the downward intergenerational support and transfers from middle-aged and older adults to younger generations and the impacts of such support and transfers on their wellbeing and health. In the times of prevalent precarious employment and unaffordable housing crises for younger generations, middle-aged and older parents’ instrumental and emotional support became the significant sources to cushion the economic stress to young adult children. The concept of linked lives points out that individuals’ key life events influence wellbeing and health of those who are connected to them. The stress-process model explains the potential relationship between children’s problems and issues and decreasing wellbeing of older parents. For instance, younger generations’ unemployment may increase worry and concern for older parents. Returning to older parents’ homes due to financial issues may also negatively affect quality of life for older parents. Investigating the role and various types of intergenerational support will provide more understanding if the extent of downward support buffers or increases negative impacts from younger generations’ undesirable life events and hardship. Furthermore, the session explores sociocultural differences in the practices of intergenerational support and exchanges. The session welcomes empirical papers from societies of all cultures with comparative perspectives, cross-sectional or longitudinal research designs and data.
Session Organizer:
Pei-Chun KO, Monash University, Australia
Chair:
Pildoo SUNG, Hanyang University, South Korea
Oral Presentations
Linked Lives: Adult Children’s Assortative Mating and Older Parents’ Depressive Symptoms in China
Shu HU, Singapore University of Social Sciences, School of Humanities and Behavioural Sciences, Singapore; Zheng MU, Singapore
Unemployment and Parent-Adult Child Relationships: How Parental Support Evolve Following Job Loss
Zafer BÜYÜKKEÇECI, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Germany
Bridging Generations: Exploring the Role of GRAND Parents in Urban Families
Anagha TENDULKAR - PATIL, Sophia College for Women, India
See more of: RC06 Family Research
See more of: RC11 Sociology of Aging
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