Support from Adult Children and Parental Health in Rural America

Area of Science:

• Gerontology
• Rural Health
• Sociology of Health

Background:

• Adult children are crucial caregivers for aging parents.
• Geographic distance between parents and children can affect care accessibility and parental health outcomes.
• Rural parents often live farther from their adult children than urban parents.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the association between geographic proximity of adult children and instrumental/financial support for aging parents.
• To examine the impact of this support on parental health and functional limitations.
• To compare these dynamics between rural and urban older adults.

Main Methods:

• Utilized two waves (2013, 2017) of the Panel Study of Income Dynamics (PSID).
• Analyzed relationships between geographic proximity, adult children's support (instrumental and financial), and parental health indicators.
• Employed statistical methods to control for confounding factors.

Main Results:

• Rural parents reside farther from their adult children and receive less financial support.
• Rural parents are more likely to receive instrumental assistance from adult children.
• Rural parents exhibit poorer health and greater functional limitations compared to urban parents, even after accounting for proximity and support.

Conclusions:

• Geographic proximity and adult child support do not fully explain health disparities between rural and urban older adults.
• Factors beyond spatial and social proximity influence the health and well-being of aging parents.
• Addressing rural-urban health gaps requires understanding multifaceted influences on older adults' aging-in-place capabilities.