Care Received and Unmet Care Needs Among Older Parents in Biological and Step Families

Increased likelihood of having step children among more recent cohorts of older adults, alongside lower levels of assistance from step children, has led to concerns about greater unmet needs for older parents in step families. However, few studies have directly examined family structure and unmet needs. We examined the associations between having step children (vs. only biological children) and receiving care from adult children, and unmet needs for assistance.

Using the 2015 National Health and Aging Trends Study, we investigated among older parents with care needs whether levels of care received from adult children and unmet needs differed between those with biological versus step families. We also explored whether a partner or paid care compensated for observed differences.

Older parents in need of care were more than twice as likely to receive care from their adult children if they had biological instead of step families. Unmet needs among older parents did not differ by family structure, nor did levels of partner or paid care.

Results illustrate that concerns about the implications of the rising prevalence of step families for care parents receive from their children may be warranted. However, there is a lack of evidence of greater unmet need for care for older parents in step families, as risks of unmet needs are high for older parents regardless of family type.