Gender Differences in Parent-Child Coresidence Experiences

Abstract

Gender differences in exchanges and parent-child relations for adult children residing in parent households are investigated using data from the National Survey of Families and Households. Daughters report doing more housework, and sons are more likely to pay room and board, but both exchanges are modest and are unrelated to each other and to the reported quality of parentchild relations. There are few differences between sons and daughters in parent-child relations and their predictors. Overall, coresidence appears to be more similar than different for adult sons and daughters. The empty nest has become normative for parents in middle adulthood, and leaving home is part of the transition to adulthood for postadolescent children. However, recent cohorts of young adults have delayed nest-leaving and increasingly returned to the parental home during periods of transition, economic hardship, or marital problems (Aquilino, 1990; Goldscheider & Goldscheider, 1994; Ward, Logan, & Spitze, 1992). These studies indicate that coresidence typically is a response to the needs of adult children, rather than caregiving for parents. It most commonly involves unmarried children living in the households of their parents, and about half of these children have never left the nest. Sons are more likely than daughters to delay nest-leaving or to return to the parental home (Aquilino, 1991b; Goldscheider & Goldscheider, 1994), but there are also indications that coresidence is more stable for daughters (Ward & Spitze, in press), suggesting that they have greater need for assistance or have more satisfying coresidence experiences. Thus, coresidence experiences may differ for sons and daughters (and for mothers and fathers). Gender shapes the central dimensions of family life, from the nature and quality of family relationships to the division of household labor. This is reflected in the literature on caregiving, which focuses on the particular efforts of daughters, but less attention has been given to gender differences in more common forms of involvement between parents and adult children, including coresidence. We focus on gender differences in the nature and quality of coresidence experiences-in particular, the implications of exchange relations for parent-child relations. This will further our understanding of an increasingly frequent arrangement that has implications for financial and psychological well-being. We also focus on responses of coresiding children, rather than parents, who have been the subject of much of the coresidence literature. We view exchange relations as a centerpiece of coresidence arrangements. Shared households may involve a variety of exchanges: housing and economic assistance; help with household tasks, health-related needs, and child care; and companionship and emotional support (Ward & Spitze, 1992). The equity of these exchanges likely affects the quality of parent-child relations. Although monetary payments or housework may be perceived as fair trade for housing assistance, they also may be a locus of conflict. For example, children may create more housework for parents, and parents may resent their freeloading (Goldscheider & Goldscheider, 1994). From the child's perspective, exchange may be more significant because of issues of autonomy and control. Coresident children may resent being treated like young children who are expected to help with housework, for example, and may consider other exchange expectations (such as paying room and board) inappropriate for close family ties. Thus, exchange relations are a potential source of conflict. This will affect the quality of parent-child relations, which is itself central to satisfaction with coresidence. Relations between parents and children are generally positive (Umberson, 1992), and coresident parents and children likely are self-selected in terms of relationship quality (Aquilino,1991a). However, any close and ongoing relationship may involve some strain, and elements of coresidence may heighten this (Ward & Spitze, 1992). …