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http://dx.doi.org/10.7466/JKHMA.2015.33.4.105

Structural and Associational Solidarity Between Adult Children and Older Parents: Impact on Older Parents' Cognitive Functioning  

Choi, Heejeong (Department of Consumer and Family Sciences, Sungkyunkwan University)
Min, Joohong (Department of Human Ecology, University of Alberta)
Publication Information
Journal of Families and Better Life / v.33, no.4, 2015 , pp. 105-118 More about this Journal
Abstract
This study examined whether structural (coresidence, proximity) and associational (frequency of face-to-face contact, frequency of contact via phone, email or letter) solidarity between adult children and older parents may influence older parents' cognitive functioning. Adult children may help delay older parents' cognitive decline by promoting healthier lifestyle, engaging parents in complex everyday problem solving, and providing emotional support. The data consisted of men and women 65+ at Wave 1 who had at least one child 20+ and participated in at least two waves of the Korean Longitudinal Study of Ageing (KLoSA, N=3,961). Cognitive functioning was measured with the Korean version of the Mini Mental State Examination. Fixed effects models were estimated using the xtreg procedure in STATA. Findings suggest that increases in proximity with at least one adult child may lead to enhanced cognitive functioning among older parents. Neither transitioning to coresidence with at least one adult child nor increases in frequency of contact with at least one non-resident adult child was associated with changes in older parents' cognitive functioning. With older parents' increasing preference for living close by, but not necessarily living with adult children, greater proximity may provide more opportunities for reciprocal support exchanges between the two generations, leading to better cognitive functioning of older parents.
Keywords
cognitive functioning; adult child-older parent relationships; intergenerational solidarity; proximity; coresidence;
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