Bargaining Power, Parental Caregiving, and Intergenerational Coresidence

Area of Science:

• Gerontology
• Sociology
• Family Studies

Background:

• Long-term care policy increasingly focuses on community-based solutions for the elderly.
• Parent-child coresidence is a significant factor in caregiving arrangements.
• Understanding how family dynamics influence caregiving is crucial for policy development.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate how changes in parent-child coresidence affect caregiving decisions of non-resident siblings.
• To analyze these effects over a 5-year period, controlling for parent and child characteristics.

Main Methods:

• Utilized difference-in-difference models.
• Employed data from the Health and Retirement Study-Assets and Health Dynamics of the Elderly.
• Tested hypotheses regarding bargaining power shifts due to household formation and dissolution.

Main Results:

• Children whose parents began coresiding with a sibling provided less care.
• Adult children whose parents ceased coresiding with a sibling increased their caregiving likelihood and hours.
• These findings were significant compared to control groups.

Conclusions:

• Non-resident siblings' caregiving efforts are sensitive to parent-child coresidence changes.
• Shared living arrangements influence the distribution of caregiving responsibilities within families.
• These dynamics have implications for the well-being of elderly individuals and their caregivers.