Roles of egos’ and siblings’ perceptions of maternal favoritism in adult children’s depressive symptoms: A within-family network approach

It is well documented that intergenerational ties play important roles in adults’ well-being. However, most studies focus on the impact of individuals’ own perceptions of their ties without considering whether family members’ assessments of these ties affect well-being. We address this question using data from 296 adult children nested within 95 later-life families in which all offspring were interviewed. Applying a mixed-method within-family approach, we explored whether the effect of perceived maternal favoritism on depressive symptoms was increased when siblings shared ego’s perceptions. Multilevel regression analyses revealed that ego’s own perceptions predicted depressive symptoms, but only among daughters. Siblings’ perceptions that egos were most close to mothers did not affect the well-being of daughters or sons. Qualitative analyses suggested that differential effects of perceived favoritism by gender reflected differences in the meaning sons and daughters associated with being favored children. Favored daughters were more likely than favored sons to report that they were emotional caregivers to their mothers; this pattern was especially strong when siblings reinforced egos’ perceptions of being “best suited” for this role. These findings emphasize the salience of egos’ own perceptions, relative to those of family network members, in shaping role embracement and psychological well-being, especially among women.