Role of Perceived Maternal Favoritism and Disfavoritism in Adult Children’s Psychological Well-Being

Objectives: The detrimental consequences of parents’ differential treatment on children’s well-being have been documented in earlier stages of the life course; however, little is known about this pattern in midlife. Drawing from theories of equity and social comparison, we tested whether psychological well-being was affected only by adult children’s perceptions that their mothers treated some offspring in the family differently or by their perceptions that they were favored or disfavored. Further, we explored the extent to which these patterns differed by race. Method: Multilevel regression modeling was conducted using data collected from 725 adult children nested within 309 later-life families as part of the Within-Family Differences Study-II. Results: Depressive symptoms were higher when offspring perceived that they had the most emotional closeness to mothers or the greatest conflict with mothers. Depressive symptoms were also higher when respondents identified themselves as being the children in whom the mothers were most disappointed. Discussion: The findings shed new light on the role of intergenerational relations in adult children’s well-being in midlife by taking into consideration the respondents’ direct reports of their perceptions of their mothers’ favoritism and disfavoritism. Further, the findings provide evidence that the association between maternal differentiation and psychological well-being in adulthood is stronger in Black than in White families. These patterns suggest that the association between psychological well-being and both favoritism and disfavoritism can be accounted for by processes involving social comparison rather than equity for both Black and White adult children in midlife.