Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana 47907, USA.
Gerontologist. 2011 Aug;51(4):441-52. doi: 10.1093/geront/gnq114. Epub 2011 Jan 3.
Black and White middle-aged adults typically are in a pivot position of providing support to generations above and below. Racial differences in support to each generation in the family remain unclear, however. Different factors may account for racial differences in support of grown children versus aging parents.
Middle-aged adults (aged 40-60 years; 35%, n = 216 Black and 65%, n = 397 White) rated social support they provided each aging parent and grown child. Participants reported background characteristics representing their resources and measures of needs for each family member. Interviews also assessed beliefs about obligation to support parents and grown children and rewards from helping.
Multilevel models revealed White middle-aged adults provided more support to grown children than Black middle-aged adults. Demands from offspring, beliefs about support, and rewards from helping explained these racial differences. Black middle-aged adults provided more support to parents than White middle-aged adults. Beliefs about support and feelings of personal reward from providing support explained this difference but resources and demands did not.
Racial differences varied by generation (parent or offspring). The prolonged transitions common for White young adults explained racial differences in support of offspring. Middle-aged adults may treat support of parents as more discretionary, with cultural ideas about obligation and personal rewards guiding behaviors.
黑人和白人中年成年人通常处于向上一代和向下一代提供支持的关键位置。然而，家庭中对每一代人的支持在黑人和白人之间存在差异仍不清楚。不同的因素可能导致对成年子女和年迈父母支持的种族差异。
中年成年人（年龄在 40-60 岁之间；35%，n=216 名黑人，65%，n=397 名白人）对他们为每一位年迈的父母和成年子女提供的社会支持进行了评分。参与者报告了代表他们为每个家庭成员提供的资源的背景特征，以及对每个家庭成员的需求的测量。访谈还评估了对支持父母和成年子女的义务的信念以及帮助的回报。
多层次模型显示，白人中年成年人对成年子女的支持多于黑人中年成年人。来自子女的需求、对支持的信念以及帮助的回报解释了这些种族差异。黑人中年成年人对父母的支持多于白人中年成年人。对支持的信念以及提供支持的个人回报感解释了这种差异，但资源和需求并没有。
种族差异因代际（父母或子女）而异。白人年轻成年人常见的长期过渡解释了对子女支持的种族差异。中年成年人可能将对父母的支持视为更随意的事情，文化观念中的义务和个人回报会指导他们的行为。
