Intergenerational relations before and after offspring arrive: A within-person investigation
1Assistentinkatu 7, 20014, University of Turku, Finland.
Insights
Becoming a parent changes family dynamics. For daughters, contact with mothers increases post-childbirth, while sons experience decreased closeness with mothers, highlighting gendered intergenerational relationship shifts.
Area of Science:
- Sociology
- Developmental Psychology
- Family Studies
Background:
- Limited research exists on how becoming a parent affects adult children's relationships with their own parents.
- Previous studies often lack methodological rigor, necessitating further investigation into this life transition.
Purpose of the Study:
- To examine the association between first-time parenthood and changes in intergenerational relationships.
- Investigate shifts in contact frequency, emotional closeness, intimacy, and conflict between adult children and their parents.
Main Methods:
- Utilized data from the German Panel Analysis of Intimate Relationships and Family Dynamics (2009-2014).
- Employed within-person regression analysis to track individual changes over time.
- Analyzed longitudinal data from 4821 individuals (17,662 person-observations).
Main Results:
- Contact frequency between daughters and mothers significantly increased following the birth of a child.
- Emotional closeness and intimacy between sons and mothers showed a decrease after the arrival of their first child.
- No significant changes were observed in conflict levels.
Conclusions:
- Parenthood initiation alters intergenerational dynamics in gender-specific ways.
- Daughters may strengthen ties with mothers, while sons may experience a reduction in emotional connection.
- Findings underscore the importance of gender in shaping family relationships across generations.
Abstract:
The birth of a child may re-orientate the relations between adult children and their parents; however, the previous studies on the topic are both scarce and methodologically limited. The current study investigates whether younger adults' entry into parenthood (i.e., the birth of the first child) is associated with increased contact frequency, emotional closeness, intimacy and conflict with their own parents. The participants are from the German Panel Analysis of Intimate Relationships and Family Dynamics, which is a prospective survey of younger adults with six annual follow-up waves between 2009 and 2014 (n = 17,662 person-observations from 4821 persons). Within-person regression with a focus on each individual's variation over time was used to detect changes in intergenerational relations. The contact frequency between daughters and mothers increased after the arrival of their first child. In contrast, the emotional closeness and intimacy between sons and mothers decreased after the birth of their first child. The results are discussed with reference to gender-based differences in intergenerational relations.
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