Abstract
Aging parents’ marital status shapes their ties to family members, but less is known about its link to their daily mood and interaction with grown children. This study examined married, widowed, or divorced/separated aging parents (N = 203, Mage = 79.80) from the Family Exchanges Study, who completed a 7-day daily diary on their daily mood (positive, negative) and interactions (any contact, irritable, enjoyable interaction) with the grown children (N = 771, Mage = 53.20). Findings from multilevel models indicated that widowed parents were more likely to report irritable interactions with their grown children than the married ones. Furthermore, married and widowed parents tended to report more negative mood, whereas separated parents tended to report less negative mood on days they had irritable interactions with grown children. This study highlights the centrality of aging parents’ daily interaction with grown children and suggests that the dynamics of family composition warrant attention.
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Disclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.