Role reversal in adult child-aging parent family travel

Abstract

While family tourism has gained increasing attention from researchers, the relationship between adult children and their parents in family vacations remains an under-researched area. Drawing on role reversal theory and social exchange theory, this research examines the effects of role reversal on the well-being of adult children in family travels and with respect to “individual” and “relation” perspectives as mediating mechanisms. A quantitative-dominant concurrent nested mixed methods approach was employed. Results show that adult children can benefit from assuming the parental role in relation to their elderly parents as this reversal in roles can promote their well-being by stimulating their commitment to parents and by reducing their perceived cost of sacrifice. These effects were also moderated by their parents' confirmation.