Department of Sociology and Institute for Health, Health Care Policy and Aging Research, Rutgers University, 112 Paterson Street, New Brunswick, NJ 08901, United States.
J Aging Stud. 2013 Dec;27(4):487-98. doi: 10.1016/j.jaging.2012.12.009. Epub 2013 Jul 25.
In Widowhood in an American City (1973), Helena Lopata observed that widows struggle with new romantic relationships because their children often are resentful toward these new partners. Since the publication of Lopata's classic work, however, few studies have explored empirically the ways that widow(er)'s dating affects their relationships with children. We use prospective data from the Changing Lives of Older Couples study (CLOC) to explore: (1) the impact of bereaved spouses' dating on positive and negative aspects of parent-child relationships six and 18 months postloss; (2) the extent to which these associations are explained by preloss characteristics; and (3) the factors that moderate the association between widow(er) dating and parent-child relations. Multivariate analyses show that widowers who are interested in dating six months postloss report low levels of support and high levels of conflict with their children, yet widows report enhanced relationship quality. This pattern reflects the fact that men who are interested in dating do form new relationships, whereas women's interests are not translated into actual dating. Widowers' dating six months postloss compromises parent-child closeness among those with a history of strained parent-child relations, yet enhances closeness among those with historically good relationships. Dating takes a harsher toll on parent-daughter compared to parent-son relationships. Overall, dating threatens parent-child relationships in specific cases, yet it may also strengthen widow(er) s' parent-child bonds. We discuss the implications for the well-being of older widow(er)s and adult children.
在《美国城市的丧偶》（1973 年）一书中，Helena Lopata 观察到寡妇在新的恋爱关系中挣扎，因为她们的孩子往往对这些新伴侣心怀怨恨。然而，自 Lopata 的经典著作出版以来，很少有研究从实证角度探讨丧偶者的约会如何影响他们与子女的关系。我们使用老年夫妇生活变化研究（CLOC）的前瞻性数据来探讨：（1）丧偶配偶在丧偶后 6 个月和 18 个月约会对亲子关系积极和消极方面的影响；（2）这些关联在多大程度上可以用丧失前的特征来解释；（3）调节丧偶者约会与亲子关系之间关联的因素。多元分析表明，丧偶后 6 个月有约会意向的鳏夫报告与子女的支持水平低、冲突水平高，但寡妇报告的关系质量提高。这种模式反映了这样一个事实，即有约会意向的男性确实会建立新的关系，而女性的兴趣则没有转化为实际的约会。丧偶者的约会在有紧张亲子关系史的人群中会损害亲子亲密关系，但在亲子关系良好的人群中会增强这种关系。与父子关系相比，约会对母女关系的影响更为严重。总的来说，在某些情况下，约会会威胁到亲子关系，但也可能会加强丧偶者的亲子纽带。我们讨论了这对老年丧偶者和成年子女福祉的影响。
