Department of Sociology, Bowling Green State University, Ohio.
Gerontologist. 2019 May 17;59(3):519-527. doi: 10.1093/geront/gny013.
Parents' and children's lives are interwoven over the life course. Parents' positivity and negativity toward children relate to children's and parents' transitions, although the nature of this relationship is unclear. This study investigated the extent to which transitions-like those tied to residence, unions, employment, parenthood, and health-related to parents' positivity and negativity.
This study used the Health and Retirement Study's Psychosocial Survey from 2006 and 2010 to examine how parents' and children's transitions related to parents' positivity and negativity toward children.
Children's residential independence, parents' return to employment, and widowhood increased parents' positivity. Parents' negativity was higher when children moved home or lost employment, while negativity was lower when any child divorced and following the parent's divorce. The analyses also revealed children's transitions-moving in and employment loss-mattered more than the parent's own divorce for negativity.
Children's transitions indicating parenting success or children's support needs-like residential, employment, and union transitions-linked to parents' positivity and negativity toward children. Parents' transitions related to positivity and negativity were also likely related to support and strength of ties between parents and children. Moreover, children's transitions matter more than parental divorce when considering negativity, although dependent on child's transition type. This study has implications for older adults, especially as parents' feelings toward children are indicative of late-life well-being and potential support avenues.
父母和孩子的生活在整个生命周期中交织在一起。父母对孩子的积极和消极态度与孩子和父母的过渡有关，尽管这种关系的性质尚不清楚。本研究调查了与父母的积极和消极态度相关的过渡，如与居住、婚姻、就业、父母身份和与健康相关的过渡。
本研究使用了 2006 年和 2010 年的“健康与退休研究”心理社会调查，以研究父母和孩子的过渡与父母对孩子的积极和消极态度的关系。
孩子的独立居住、父母重新就业和丧偶增加了父母的积极性。孩子搬回家或失去工作时，父母的消极情绪会增加，而任何孩子离婚以及父母离婚后，父母的消极情绪会降低。分析还表明，与父母自己离婚相比，孩子的过渡——搬进来和失业——对消极情绪更为重要。
表明育儿成功或孩子支持需求的孩子的过渡——如居住、就业和婚姻过渡——与父母对孩子的积极和消极态度有关。与积极和消极有关的父母过渡也可能与父母和孩子之间的支持和联系的强弱有关。此外，在考虑消极情绪时，孩子的过渡比父母离婚更为重要，尽管这取决于孩子过渡的类型。本研究对老年人具有重要意义，尤其是因为父母对孩子的感情是晚年幸福和潜在支持途径的指标。
