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The Longest-Lasting Relationship: Patterns of Contact and Well-Being Among Mid- to Later-Life Siblings

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  • Alexander C Jensen
  • Makayla K Nielson
  • Jeremy B Yorgason
  • J Jill Suitor

Abstract

ObjectivesAdults in mid to later life experience shrinking social networks, which may hinder well-being. Siblings may be important sources of social contact. Yet, little is known about adults’ patterns of contact with siblings and how contact is linked to well-being.MethodParticipants included 491 adults from across the United States (M age = 58.96, SD = 6.25; 68% female) recruited online via Amazon Mechanical Turk; they reported on their contact with their sibling in person, over the phone, via email, texting, and social media.ResultsLatent class analysis found evidence for four patterns of contact (classes) among siblings: low, medium, high, and traditional. Those with high contact reported greater life satisfaction than those in the other groups. Those in the high group reported lower self-rated health when they recalled being treated less favorably, relative to their sibling, by their mother as children.DiscussionThese findings suggest that differing patterns of sibling contact exist among older adults. In some cases, contact may promote well-being. In other cases, more contact may serve as a reminder of hurtful or painful past family experiences related to mothers’ differential treatment, in which case more contact may be linked to poorer health.

Suggested Citation

  • Alexander C Jensen & Makayla K Nielson & Jeremy B Yorgason & J Jill Suitor, 2020. "The Longest-Lasting Relationship: Patterns of Contact and Well-Being Among Mid- to Later-Life Siblings," The Journals of Gerontology: Series B, The Gerontological Society of America, vol. 75(10), pages 2240-2249.
    • Handle: RePEc:oup:geronb:v:75:y:2020:i:10:p:2240-2249.
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    File URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10.1093/geronb/gbz083
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    Cited by:

    1. N. Keating, 2022. "A research framework for the United Nations Decade of Healthy Ageing (2021–2030)," European Journal of Ageing, Springer, vol. 19(3), pages 775-787, September.

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