Mother–Child Closeness and Adult Children’s Time and Financial Assistance

ObjectivesDrawing on the intergenerational solidarity framework and life course perspective, the authors assessed how mother-child closeness across different life stages is associated with adult children’s time and financial assistance to mothers in later life.MethodsUsing children’s reports of their perceived closeness to mothers from Waves 1 to 4 of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health (Add Health) and mothers’ reports about adult children’s time and financial assistance from Wave 2 of the Add Health Parent Study (AHPS) in the United States, the authors investigated how mother-child closeness during adolescence, emerging adulthood, and young adulthood is related to midlife adult children’s support with a focus on difference between mother-daughter (N = 934) and mother-son (N = 899) dyads.ResultsCloseness during young adulthood was an important determinant of adult children’s time assistance to their mothers, regardless of child’s gender. Daughters’ closeness with mothers during young adulthood also had a direct association with their financial support to mothers but not sons’. In contrast, sons’ perceived closeness during emerging adulthood had a direct association with their financial support later in life. Closeness during adolescence had no direct association with later-life transfers of time or money but had an indirect association through its influence on mother-child relationships at subsequent life stages.DiscussionMother-child closeness is a continuously evolving process. Although mother-child bond formed during adolescence has no direct influence on help to mothers later in life, it shapes the progression of mother-child interactions over time that eventuates in support.