• 한국가족관계학회지
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• 제23권2호
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• pp.111-131
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• 2018

Objectives: This study examined the effects of residential proximity to adult children on the mental and physical health of middle-aged and older parents. The study also evaluated whether the parental age and gender of the adult child in closest proximity to the parent might moderate the association. Method: Data were drawn from five waves of the Korean Longitudinal Study of Aging(2006-2014). The analytic sample consisted of 7,359 parents aged 45 or older who had at least one non-coresidential adult child aged 19 or older. The analyses were conducted by estimating a series of fixed effects models while adjusting for the nested structure of the data. Results: The results showed that first, a closer distance between an adult child and the parent was generally associated with the parent experiencing a decrease in depressive symptoms. Yet, the mental health benefit was smaller for parents aged 65 years or older whose closest living adult child was a son. Second, a closer distance was observed to affect chronic illness only among middle-aged parents (aged 45 to 64). When the closest living adult child was a daughter, the middle-aged parent experienced deterioration in their chronic illness. On the other hand, the opposite pattern was observed when the closest living adult child was a son. Conclusions: The parental age and gender of the adult child in closest proximity to the parent might have varying effects on parents' health. A closer distance between an adult child and their parent has a positive impact on the mental health of the parent as a whole, whereas the effect of living closer was mixed in relation to the parental physical health.

• 가정과삶의질연구
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• 제33권4호
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• pp.105-118
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• 2015

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.

• Human Ecology Research
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• 제59권3호
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• pp.369-386
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• 2021

The purpose of this study was to examine which aspects of coresident intergenerational relationships were associated with the life satisfaction of unmarried children in established adulthood and of their parents. In this study, the coresident relationship characteristics included support exchange, emotion, interference-conflict, and perceptions of coresidence. Data were collected from (a) 250 never-married adults who were 35+ years old and lived in Seoul with at least one parent aged 75 years or younger and (b) 250 older adults who were 75 years old or younger and had at least one unmarried child aged 35+ years living in the same household. Our multiple regression analysis of unmarried children showed that the adult child's financial support, the adult child's psychological reliance on parents, the parent's psychological reliance on the child, and relationship quality were significantly related to higher levels of life satisfaction. In contrast, the parent's daily interference, daily conflicts, and anticipation of future care of parents were related to lower levels of life satisfaction. Second, the characteristics that were positively associated with the parent's life satisfaction were the parent's instrumental support, relationship quality, the coresident child's daily interference, positive perceptions of intergenerational coresidence, and expectation of future care of parents. In contrast, the parent's financial support, daily conflicts with the child, and taking intergenerational coresidence for granted were negatively related to the parent's life satisfaction. This study advances our understanding of coresidence between unmarried children in established adulthood and their older parents by focusing on the multiple aspects of intergenerational coresidence.

• 한국인구학
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• 제35권1호
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• pp.211-238
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• 2012

본 연구의 목적은 노년기 여성의 결혼지위가 신체 및 정신건강에 어떠한 영향을 미치며, 그러한 관련성이 연령 및 부모-자녀관계에 따라 달라지는가에 대해 시간의 변화를 고려하여 실증적으로 검증하는 것이다. 이러한 연구목적을 위해 한국노동연구원의 고령화연구패널조사 1차년도와 2차년도 자료를 이용하였으며, 65세 이상의 여성 노인 2046명을 분석하였다. 주요 분석결과는 다음과 같다. 첫째, 1, 2차년도 사이에 배우자를 상실한 여성 노인은 유배우 노인뿐만 아니라 이 기간 동안 지속적으로 배우자가 없는 노인에 비해서도 만성질환을 많이 앓고 있는 것으로 나타나 같은 무배우 상태임에도 불구하고 신체 건강 결과에서 차이를 보였다. 하지만 지속적 무배우 노인과 지속적 유배우 노인의 건강수준에는 유의한 차이가 없다. 둘째, 1, 2차년도에 배우자를 상실한 여성 노인은 유배우 노인보다 우울감 수준이 높은 것으로 나타나는데, 이러한 관련성이 65~74세의 젊은 노인 집단에서 강하게 나타났다. 셋째, 1, 2차년도에 배우자를 상실한 여성 노인은, 유배우 노인뿐만 아니라 이 기간 동안 지속적으로 배우자가 없는 노인에 비해서도 만성질환을 더 많이 앓고 있는 것으로 나타나는데, 이러한 관련성이 자녀만남빈도가 낮은 집단에서 강하게 나타났다. 하지만 결혼지위가 건강에 미치는 영향에서 자녀동거여부의 조절효과는 나타나지 않았다. 마지막으로, 건강의 하위차원에 따라 결혼지위가 건강에 영향을 미치는 과정에서 조절변인으로 작용하는 변수의 성격이 상이하였다. 본 연구는 전국 규모의 종단 자료의 분석을 통해 여성 노인의 결혼지위와 건강과의 인과관계에 대한 논리적인 검증을 시도하였고, 특히 결혼지위를 구분하는 기준과 연령 및 부모-자녀관계의 역할에 따라 건강에 미치는 영향이 상이하다는 것을 밝혔다는 점에서 의의가 있다.