Generational jeopardy? Parents' marital transitions and the provision of financial transfers to adult children.
OBJECTIVE
Transitions into and out of marriage are becoming more commonplace among persons in middle and later life. We assess the extent to which parental marital transitions influence inter vivos financial transfers to adult children at the family level.


METHODS
Panel data from 6,017 households with adult children in the 1992-1998 waves of the Health and Retirement Study are analyzed in this study.


RESULTS
Net of familial characteristics, those families experiencing a parental marriage were less likely than stably married households to make a financial transfer to an adult child. The effects of divorce or widowhood were modest. Divorce was associated with a slight increase in the probability of providing a transfer. Widowhood was associated with a slight increase in the total amount transferred to children.


CONCLUSIONS
The study adds weight to the growing argument that marital transitions may alter intergenerational exchanges. The results prompt us to further question how broader demographic and marriage patterns will influence relationships between parents and children in aging societies.
Shapiro
Adam
A
Department of Sociology & Anthropology, University of North Florida, Jacksonville, FL 32224, USA. ashapiro@unf.edu
Remle
R Corey
RC
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D032721:Adult Children; D000368:Aged; D004243:Divorce / Q000191:economics*; D005260:Female; D005378:Financial Support; D006801:Humans; D016901:Intergenerational Relations; D008297:Male; D008393:Marriage; D008875:Middle Aged; D011287:Prejudice; D012179:Retirement; D017805:Widowhood / Q000191:economics; D055815:Young Adult