title: Family ties and health cross-nationally: the contextualizing role of familistic culture and public pension spending in Europe.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Although previous research theorizes that cross-national variation in the relationship between family ties and health is due to nation-level differences in culture and policy/economics, no study has examined this theorization empirically.
  
  
  METHODS
  Using data from the Survey of Health, Ageing, and Retirement in Europe (SHARE) and the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), this study uses multilevel modeling to analyze individual-, nation-, and cross-level effects for 30,291 older adults in 14 nations.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Family ties to spouses/partners and parents are associated with better health, but ties to coresident children are associated with poorer health in certain contexts. Familistic culture and public pension spending have a weak but statistically significant moderating effect on the relationship between intergenerational family ties and health.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This article underscores the complexity of family and highlights the need for continued theorization and measurement at the nation level to promote older adults' health in diverse contexts.
authors.affiliation: Correspondence should be addressed to Christine A. Mair, Department of Sociology and Anthropology, University of Maryland, Baltimore County, 1000 Hilltop Circle, Baltimore, MD 21250. E-mail: christine_mair@umbc.edu.
authors.forename: Christine A
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: Mair
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000375:Aging / Q000208:ethnology*; D003431:Cross-Cultural Comparison; D003469:Culture; D005060:Europe / Q000208:ethnology; D005195:Family Relations / Q000208:ethnology*; D005260:Female; D006304:Health Status; D006306:Health Surveys; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015233:Models, Statistical; D010415:Pensions / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*
keywords: Cultural factors; Family sociology; Health outcomes; Multilevel models; Pension expenditures.
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