The Effects of Social Support on the Psychological Well-Being of Older Parents: A Longitudinal Study

Abstract

Abstract This study examines whether parental support (the provision of social support by older parents to adult children) and filial support (older parents’ receipt of social support from adult children) influence two orthogonal dimensions of older adults’ psychological wellbeing: positive feelings and negative feelings. This study also highlights the importance of accounting for parental need as a mediator of social support. A longitudinal design is used to examine the effects of social support on the psychological wellbeing of older adults at Wave 6 (1998) and Wave 8 (2004) of the Longitudinal Study of Generations. Parental support significantly increases parents’ positive feelings, which suggests that, when it comes to positive feelings, it is better to give support than to receive it. Filial support findings indicate that older adults with greater level of disability demonstrate a decrease in negative feelings when they received filial support. However, this effect does not hold for older adults with lesser levels of disability, suggesting that, when it comes to older adults’ negative feelings, it is better to receive support (rather than to give it) when parents are in need. Although parental and filial support have the potential to buffer stressful life transitions in old age, most parents wish to remain independent, even in later life, making them reluctant to accept filial support. The parent-adult child relationship is crucial for psychological wellbeing, especially because of increased life expectancy.