Perceived Instrumental Support Exchanges in Relationships between Elderly Parents and Their Adult Children: Normative and Structural Explanations

Abstract

If the norm of filial responsibility is apparent, children should give relatively more instrumental support to their parents. Structural circumstances of adult children, such as being employed or having young children, and of their parents, such as having small families, influence the amount of instrumental support the parents receive. Data are from a sample of 365 adults and 634 of their children. The higher the filial responsibility of both parent and children, the more support the parent received, Mothers, old parents, parents in need of support, and parents without a partner received relatively more support. The structural circumstances of the children do not have any effect on the support that parents receive. Reciprocity is an important determinant of the support that the parent receives.