"I'll Give You the World": Socioeconomic Differences in Parental Support of Adult Children.
Research has shown that parents with higher socioeconomic status provide more resources to their children during childhood and adolescence. The authors asked whether similar effects associated with parental socioeconomic position are extended to adult children. Middle-aged parents (N= 633) from the Family Exchanges Study reported support they provided to their grown children and coresidence with grown children (N= 1,384). Parents with higher income provided more emotional and material support to the average children. Grown children of parents with less education were more likely to coreside with them. Parental resources (e.g., being married) and demands (e.g., family size) explained these patterns. Of interest is that lower income parents provided more total support to all children (except total financial support). Lower income families may experience a double jeopardy; each grown child receives less support on average, but parents exert greater efforts providing more total support to all their children.
Department of Human Development and Family Sciences, The University of Texas at Austin, 108 E Dean Keeton St., Stop A2702, Austin, TX 78712-1248 ( kfingerman@austin.utexas.edu ).
Karen L
KL
Fingerman
Department of Human Development and Family Sciences, The University of Texas at Austin, 108 E Dean Keeton St., Stop A2702, Austin, TX 78712-1248.
Kyungmin
K
Kim
Department of Human Development and Family Sciences, The University of Texas at Austin, 108 E Dean Keeton St., Stop A2702, Austin, TX 78712-1248.
Eden M
EM
Davis
Department of Sociology, University of Pennsylvania, 3718 Locust Walk, Philadelphia, PA 19104.
Frank F
FF
Furstenberg
Institute for Social Research, University of Michigan, 426 Thompson St., Ann Arbor, MI 48104.
Kira S
KS
Birditt
Department of Human Development and Family Studies, The Pennsylvania State University, 211-H Henderson, South Building, University Park, PA 16802.
Steven H
SH
Zarit
family; intergenerational support; intergenerational transfers; parenting; social class; social support; socioeconomic status; transition to adulthood; young adulthood