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Does Child Gender Predict Older Parents’ Well-Being?

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Listed:
  • Dolores Pushkar
  • Dorothea Bye
  • Michael Conway
  • Carsten Wrosch
  • June Chaikelson
  • Jamshid Etezadi
  • Constantina Giannopoulos
  • Karen Li
  • Nassim Tabri

Abstract

Inconsistencies in comparisons of older parents’ well-being with that of older, childless adults may be resolved by considering the separate effects of sons and daughters on parents. The hypothesis was that older parents of only daughters have greater life satisfaction, more satisfying relations with their children, more intimate family relations, and greater social support satisfaction compared to older childless adults and parents of only sons. Childless older adults were predicted to have more intimate friends. The effect of having both sons and daughters was also explored. Longitudinal results indicated parents had greater life satisfaction than childless adults, and parents of daughters were more satisfied with relations with their children than parents of only sons. Childless adults had more relations with friends and fewer family intimate relations. Neither social support satisfaction or affect varied across groups. The findings are related to gender socialization, social support, and normative expectations. Copyright Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht 2014

Suggested Citation

  • Dolores Pushkar & Dorothea Bye & Michael Conway & Carsten Wrosch & June Chaikelson & Jamshid Etezadi & Constantina Giannopoulos & Karen Li & Nassim Tabri, 2014. "Does Child Gender Predict Older Parents’ Well-Being?," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 118(1), pages 285-303, August.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:soinre:v:118:y:2014:i:1:p:285-303
    DOI: 10.1007/s11205-013-0403-y
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

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    3. Brunello, Giorgio & Yamamura, Eiji, 2021. "With a Little Help from My Mother. The Matrilineal Advantage in European Grand Parenting," IZA Discussion Papers 14379, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    4. Yi Chen & Rong Huang & Yuanping Lu & Kangyi Zhang, 2021. "Education Fever in China: Children’s Academic Performance and Parents’ Life Satisfaction," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 22(2), pages 927-954, February.
    5. Charlotte M. Karam & Fida Afiouni, 2021. "Career constructions and a feminist standpoint on the meaning of context," Gender, Work and Organization, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 28(2), pages 672-700, March.
    6. Giorgio Brunello & Eiji Yamamura, 2023. "Reciprocity and the matrilineal advantage in European grand-parenting," Review of Economics of the Household, Springer, vol. 21(2), pages 397-433, June.

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