Surviving Parents' Influence on Adult Children's Depressive Symptoms Following the Death of a First Parent.

558876 research-article2014

JAGXXX10.1177/0733464814558876Journal of Applied GerontologyStokes

Original Manuscript

Surviving Parents’ Influence on Adult Children’s Depressive Symptoms Following the Death of a First Parent

Journal of Applied Gerontology 1–21 © The Author(s) 2014 Reprints and permissions: sagepub.com/journalsPermissions.nav DOI: 10.1177/0733464814558876 jag.sagepub.com

Jeffrey E. Stokes1

Abstract Parents and children are linked across the life course, and they share common experiences. This article focuses on the bereavement experience of adult children’s loss of a first parent during adulthood and examines the downward influence of emotional closeness with a surviving parent on adult children’s depressive symptoms following loss. Analyses are based on adult children who experienced the death of a first parent (N = 227), drawn from the Longitudinal Study of Generations, a study of three-and four-generation families from Southern California. Multilevel lagged dependent variable models indicate that an emotionally close relationship with a surviving parent is related with fewer post-bereavement depressive symptoms when a mother survives a father, but not vice versa. This analysis extends the theory of linked lives and highlights the mutual influence parents and children exert, as well as the complex role of gender in shaping family relationships.

Manuscript received: July 6, 2014; final revision received: September 30, 2014; accepted: October 11, 2014. 1Boston

College, Chestnut Hill, MA, USA

Corresponding Author: Jeffrey E. Stokes, Department of Sociology, Boston College, 140 Commonwealth Avenue, McGuinn Hall 426, Chestnut Hill, MA 02467, USA. Email: [email protected]

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Journal of Applied Gerontology

Keywords death/bereavement, gender and family, intergenerational, parent–child relations, quantitative

Bereavement is often a family experience, shared by relatives of multiple generations (Stroebe, Schut, & Boerner, 2013). The loss of a daughter is also the loss of a sister, mother, or wife. The death of a parent is an important and extremely common transition experience in adults’ lives and a critical juncture for examining intergenerational relationships (Marks, Jun, & Song, 2007; Umberson, 1995, 2003). Using a life course perspective, this article addresses family bereavement experiences as an example of linked lives (Elder, Johnson, & Crosnoe, 2003; Greenfield & Marks, 2006). Individuals in salient relationships—in this case, parents and children—influence one another over time and also share key experiences, such as the loss of loved ones. Intergenerational relationships between parents and adult children are increasingly important influences for members of both generations (Bengtson, 2001; Elder, 1999; Elder et al., 2003). As concerns older adults, the bereavement literature centers on the experience of widowhood. However, parent– child relationships have a reciprocal, two-directional flow of influence and potential benefits. This article reverses the focal attention to the bereaved adult child and contributes to the theory of linked lives by examining the ways in which closeness with parents impacts adult children’s psychological well-being following the first parental death. One aspect of the experience of a parent’s death that has not been thoroughly examined is the role of social or emotional support from a surviving parent. Research on the experience of widowhood has revealed the positive influence that relationships with adult children can exert on parents (Ha, 2010). However, the extent to which parent–child relationships may impact adult children after the loss of a loved one has not been examined. This article assesses the benefits of parent–child emotional closeness for adult children after the death of a first parent, and has two primary research questions. Research Question 1: Does emotional closeness with a surviving parent influence adult children’s psychological well-being following the death of a first parent? Research Question 2: Is the effect of parent–child emotional closeness on adult children’s psychological well-being differentially influenced by gender of the surviving parent, the adult child, or both?


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Bereavement: A Family Experience Bereavement is not merely an individual psychological experience but also a social and familial one (Stroebe et al., 2013). Just as relationships affect both the individuals they comprise and persons and relationships external to the dyad (Suitor et al., 2009), so too can cessation of a relationship. Prior research, for instance, has demonstrated that the transition to widowhood affects the parent–child relationship: Widows not only become more dependent on their children for financial and legal advice than widowers but also provide more emotional and instrumental support than widowers (Ha, Carr, Utz, & Nesse, 2006). Thus, bereaved adult children who experience the death of a first parent simultaneously experience the loss of an important intergenerational relationship and changes in their relationship with a surviving parent (Ha et al., 2006; Kranz & Daniluk, 2002; Reczek, Liu, & Umberson, 2010; Umberson, 1995). I extend these insights in this article by incorporating adult children’s subjective emotional closeness with both deceased and surviving parents, to determine how surviving parents’ relationship with bereaved adult children after the death of a loved one influences those children’s bereavement experiences.

Linked Lives and the Life Course This article utilizes and contributes to the framework of linked lives (Elder, 1999; Elder & Johnson, 2003), which emphasizes the interdependence of individuals’ lives and circumstances (Elder et al., 2003). For instance, adult children’s problems and successes influence the well-being of their parents (Fingerman, Cheng, Birditt, & Zarit, 2012; Greenfield & Marks, 2006; Suitor, Pillemer, & Sechrist, 2006). When adult children succeed, their parents benefit; when they experience problems, their parents suffer. Moreover, the widowhood literature has demonstrated the strong influence adult children have on their parents’ well-being following spousal loss, even as the widowhood experience can deepen parents’ dependence on adult children (Ha, 2010; Ha et al., 2006). The impact of the parent–child relationship goes both ways, as well (Kaufman & Uhlenberg, 1998; Knoester, 2003; Umberson, 1992). For instance, relationships with parents influence adult children’s marriages, with closer and more supportive parent–child relationships resulting in happier marriages for adult children (Reczek et al., 2010). Furthermore, parents and adult children mutually influence each other’s psychological well-being (Knoester, 2003). Parents and children continue to affect one another’s lives across the life course.


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While scholars acknowledge the parent–child relationship as an important factor in adults’ lives (Bengtson, 2001), prior research has not closely examined the loss of that relationship. Furthermore, prior research in the area of adult filial bereavement has focused on the effects of the loss experience itself (death of mother, death of father), but not on the role of the parent–child relationship with either the deceased or a remaining parent (Marks et al., 2007; Rostila & Saarela, 2011). In this article, I directly address these gaps in the literature.

The Role of Gender in Intergenerational Relationships Parent–child relationships and bereavement experiences are shaped by the gender of participants, as well. Relationships that are experienced differently during life may also lead to different experiences of loss. Mothers typically play a more central role in the extended family than fathers, and daughters maintain closer ties to relatives than do sons (Fingerman, 2004; Ha, Carr, Utz, & Nesse, 2006; Monserud, 2008; Suitor, Pillemer, & Sechrist, 2006; Umberson, 1992). As a result, the mother–daughter pairing is often considered particularly salient (Chodorow, 1978; Fingerman, 2001). Differences between experiences of mother and father deaths have been partially explained using this framework (e.g., Marks et al., 2007; Umberson, 1995). Gender differences in adult children’s bereavement experiences have also been partially explained by daughters’ greater recourse to intimate family relationships for support (e.g., Rostila & Saarela, 2011). However, prior research on the death of a parent has shown mixed results. For instance, sons and daughters may express their grief differently, with bereaved daughters displaying greater emotional distress and sons greater physical distress (Marks et al., 2007; Moss, Resch, & Moss, 1997). Moreover, adult children may respond differently to mother and father deaths (Douglas, 1991; Marks et al., 2007; Rostila & Saarela, 2011). Some research has indicated that the loss of a same-gender parent results in worse physical and psychological health for adults than the loss of an oppositegender parent (Marks et al., 2007), while other research suggests the death of a mother may have a greater impact on adult children’s mortality and grief reactions than the death of a father (Douglas, 1991; Lawrence, Jeglic, Matthews, & Pepper, 2006; Rostila & Saarela, 2011). Given the importance of ties to women in the extended family, the death of a mother may represent the loss of a more salient and supportive relationship than the loss of a father, whereas mothers may also offer more emotional support to children following the loss of a father than vice versa (Rostila & Saarela, 2011; Umberson, 1995, 2003).


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I assess each of these hypotheses by analyzing psychological well-being following the death of a first parent, and any differences apparent by gender of both parent and child. Moreover, I examine the extent to which the influence of the surviving parent–adult child relationship differs according to gender of parent and child.

Emotional Closeness With Parents While mothers and fathers—and daughters and sons—fulfill different roles in the multigenerational family, emotional closeness can vary across any gender pairing. I incorporate emotional closeness with parents in my analyses, that is, each adult child’s subjective perception of the relationship. Recent prior research on the death of a parent has not included subjective emotional closeness with deceased or surviving parents (see, for example, Marks et al., 2007; Rostila & Saarela, 2011), although research on widowhood and parent–child relationships have both shown the importance of subjective relationship quality (Carr, 2004; Ha & Ingersoll-Dayton, 2008; Reczek et al., 2010). Inclusion of subjective emotional closeness in the present analyses allows for a more comprehensive examination of the role of gender in shaping intergenerational relationships, as well. Relationship quality with parents not only influences adult children across the life course but can also be influenced by parents’ gender (Reczek et al., 2010). Adult children’s bereavement experiences may differ in part due to greater closeness with and social support from mothers as compared with fathers (Marks et al., 2007; Umberson, 1995). This study extends research into the death of a parent in adulthood by merging these insights and evaluating the extent to which the influence of parent–child emotional closeness is affected by the gender of the individuals. For instance, is emotional closeness with a mother after the death of a father more influential than emotional closeness with a father after the death of a mother? Is emotional closeness with a parent more influential for bereaved daughters than for bereaved sons? This allows me to more thoroughly investigate the intersection of gender and emotional closeness as it pertains to the experience of filial bereavement in adulthood. Furthermore, while some prior research on the death of a parent has used large samples (see, for example Marks et al., 2007; Rostila & Saarela, 2011), other quantitative studies have used samples sizes comparable with that analyzed here (see, for example, Moss et al., 1997; Umberson, 1995) and much qualitative research has relied on very small samples (see, for example, Kranz & Daniluk, 2002; Rosenblatt & Barner, 2006). This article has the dual advantage of examining a sample size large enough for quantitative analysis while including information on the emotional closeness of the parent–child relationship.


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Summary of Study Aims I use longitudinal data to analyze adult children’s psychological well-being following the death of a first parent. First, I assess whether emotional closeness with a surviving parent influences adult children’s psychological wellbeing after the death of a first parent. I then assess three alternative hypotheses concerning gender by examining whether the effect, if any, of emotional closeness with a surviving parent on adult children’s psychological wellbeing after loss differs by gender of the parent and/or the adult child. These analyses contribute to life course theory and the linked lives perspective, as well as to the literature on intergenerational relationships, bereavement, and gender.

Method Data Data came from the Longitudinal Study of Generations (LSOG) from the University of Southern California. Data collection for the LSOG began in 1971 with 2,044 participants from more than 300 third-generation families in Southern California who were randomly selected from a California Health Maintenance Organization. Follow-up surveys were conducted approximately every 3 years from 1985 to 2005, with fourth-generation participants joining in 1991 (Wave 4) upon attaining the age of 16. Data from Waves 3 to 8 (1988-2005) were used here, as measures used in this study were not included in Waves 1 and 2. Data sets were obtained for the present study at the Data Training and Users Workshop for the Longitudinal Study of Generations. The response rate for Wave 2 (1985) was 73%, with longitudinal response rates averaging 80% for Waves 3 to 8 (Gans & Silverstein, 2006). The LSOG is representative of White, middle-and working-class families (Silverstein, Parrott, & Bengtson, 1995), and nonmortality attrition patterns reveal that males, minorities, older participants, and less educated respondents were all at heightened risk of dropping out of the study. Data were originally collected to investigate intergenerational family relationships over time, but information on family member and participant deaths were also gathered and were used in this study to examine bereavement. Although the longitudinal data collection was completed nearly a decade ago, the LSOG offers a unique store of information on multigenerational family relationships over time, and is a rich resource for examining the influence—and the loss—of those relationships across the life course.


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The analytic subsample for this study included 227 adult children (Generations 2 and 3) who reported the death of a first parent between 1988 and 2005 (Waves 3 and 8). Multilevel modeling (MLM) was used to address the inclusion of multiple respondents from the same multigenerational families, as this nonindependence in the data would violate ordinary least squares (OLS) regression assumptions. Family codes referred to the extended, multigenerational family descending from a focal first-generation (G1) respondent(s), such that second-generation participants (G2s) from the same family would be siblings, whereas third-generation participants (G3s) from the same family could be either siblings or first cousins. Approximately 80% of respondents in the subsample were G3s, as most G2s had experienced the loss of at least one parent prior to Wave 3 (1988). The final analytic subsample consisted of 227 bereaved adult children from 134 multigenerational families.

Measures Outcome variable Depressive symptoms after loss. The Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Inventory (CES-D) is a 20-item scale used to determine an individual’s depressive symptoms after the loss of a parent (α = .84 in the present data; Radloff, 1977). This scale was recorded at Time 2 (post-loss). Response categories ranged from 1 (rarely or none of the time) to 4 (most or all of the time) on a variety of items, such as “During the past week: I was bothered by things that don’t usually bother me,” and “During the past week: I had trouble keeping my mind on what I was doing.” The items were combined into a mean-score scale, which was transformed using the natural log to account for significant positive skewness. The scale was then standardized for ease of interpretation. Independent variables Emotional closeness with surviving parent. A six-item affectual solidarity scale (Bengtson & Roberts, 1991; Silverstein, Bengtson, & Lawton, 1997) was recorded at each wave of the LSOG and was used to determine subjective emotional closeness between the adult child and a surviving parent at the wave following a first parent’s death (α = .86 in the present data). Respondents were asked questions about their mother and father independently, with responses ranging from 1 (not at all) to 6 (extremely). Sample questions include “Taking everything into consideration, how close do you feel is the relationship between you and your parent at this point in your life?” and “How is communication between you and your parent—exchanging ideas or talking about things that really concern you at this point in your lives?” The


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emotional closeness variable was constructed as a mean-score scale, and was transformed by squaring the distribution to account for significant negative skewness. It was measured at Time 2 (post-loss) and was mean-centered. The scale was then standardized for ease of interpretation. Gender. Dichotomous indicators for gender of the surviving parent (1 = father survives mother, 0 = mother survives father) and gender of the adult child (1 = female, 0 = male) were included in the analyses. Four exhaustive and mutually exclusive dichotomous indicators were created for parent–child gender pairings, as well. Control variables. To isolate the effects of interest in this article, a number of control measures are included. First, I control for depressive symptoms at Time 1, to account for continuity in the outcome over time (Allison, 1990). Second, I control for emotional closeness with a deceased parent prior to loss, as the quality of an intimate relationship prior to loss can influence a person’s psychological and relational responses to loss (Ha & Ingersoll-Dayton, 2008). Third, I control for adult child’s age at the time of loss, as age is an important factor in both parent–child relationships and trajectories of depressive symptomology (Mirowsky & Ross, 1992). Depressive symptoms before loss. The same CES-D scale was used to assess depressive symptoms prior to the loss of a parent, and was used primarily as a control variable. This measure was recorded at Time 1 (pre-loss). This scale was also standardized. Emotional closeness with deceased parent. The same affectual solidarity scale was used to determine emotional closeness between the adult child and deceased parent prior to that parent’s death. It was also a mean-score scale that was squared to account for significant negative skewness. It was measured at Time 1 (pre-loss), and was mean-centered and standardized. Age. Adult child’s age at the time of loss was included as a continuous measure to account for any effects of the age-appropriateness of parental death. Age ranged from 35 to 74 and was mean-centered.

Analytic Strategy and Missing Data I used multilevel lagged dependent variable (LDV) models to address my research questions. Data were clustered into a two-level model of 227 individuals nested within 134 families. OLS regression was inadequate in this


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case due to the nonindependence of observations; significant variance in the outcome measure at the family level (Level 2) justified the need for MLM. The LDV approach allowed me to regress depressive symptoms after loss on my predictors of interest, while controlling for stability in depressive symptoms by including the measure at Time 1 as a predictor. There was some evidence of “regression to the mean” in depressive symptoms, making LDV preferable to a difference score approach (Allison, 1990). Random intercept models were performed using maximum likelihood estimation (MLE) techniques, to parse out Level 2 variance. Results of generalized linear squares (GLS) random intercept models and OLS models with cluster sandwich estimator standard errors were substantively similar. Model 1 includes all of the main effects and control variables, and addresses Research Question 1, that is, whether subjective emotional closeness with a surviving parent influences adult children’s depressive symptoms after the death of a first parent. Models 2 through 4 address Research Question 2. Model 2 includes all of the main effects and control variables, as well as an interaction term between surviving parent’s gender and subjective emotional closeness with a surviving parent, to assess whether the influence of emotional closeness with a parent on adult children’s depressive symptoms differs for mothers and fathers. Model 3 is identical to Model 2, except its interaction term is between adult child’s gender and subjective emotional closeness with a surviving parent, to assess whether the influence of emotional closeness with a parent on adult children’s depressive symptoms differs for daughters and sons. Model 4 replaces the two dichotomous indicators of parent’s and child’s gender with dichotomous indicators of parent–child gender pairings, and includes interaction terms between these gender pairings and subjective emotional closeness to assess whether the influence of emotional closeness with a surviving parent on adult children’s depressive symptoms differs by gender of parent and child. Collectively, Models 2 through 4 test the three alternative hypotheses involved in Research Question 2. Control measures were examined for multigenerational family size and time (in years) between loss and survey response but were excluded as they were not significant and did not significantly impact results. Marital status and marital satisfaction were examined as control measures; both were significantly related with depressive symptoms, but their inclusion did not alter any other predictors’ relationships with the outcome. They were, therefore, excluded in the interests of parsimony. Interactions between emotional closeness with deceased parent and parent’s gender, as well as with adult child’s gender, were tested but found to be nonsignificant, and were therefore excluded.


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Missing data were addressed using multiple imputation by chained equations (MICE), to avoid potential biases from the use of listwise deletion on missing at random (MAR) data (Royston, 2005). Of the 227 cases in the final analytic sample, 90.31% (205) had complete data on all measures. I created 10 imputed data sets for this analysis. Only one case was missing data on the outcome measure, but the imputed version was used for all analyses (Johnson & Young, 2011). Although imputation enhanced final sample size, listwise and imputed analytical results were substantively similar.

Results Table 1 offers descriptive statistics for all of the measures included in the analytic models. Approximately 62% of respondents were women (i.e., adult daughters), and about 72% of first parent’s death experiences were fathers’ deaths. The average age of bereaved adult children was slightly below 50, with a range from 35 to 74 years of age. Table 2 displays the results of multilevel LDV regression models. Model 1 offers support for the first research question. Emotional closeness with a surviving parent was related with fewer depressive symptoms after loss (B = −0.16, p < .05). Two of the control measures were significant, as well. Depressive symptoms before loss was positively related with depressive symptoms after loss (B = 0.38, p < .001); and older age was related with fewer depressive symptoms after loss (B = −0.02, p < .01). Emotional closeness with a deceased parent, however, was not significant. Model 2 offers limited support to the first research question and stronger support to the first of the alternative hypotheses considered by Research Question 2: that gender of the parent is a determining factor in the influence of emotional closeness on adult children’s psychological well-being. Both emotional closeness with a surviving parent (B = −0.23, p < .01) and the interaction between emotional closeness with a surviving parent and surviving parent’s gender (B = 0.25, p < .05) are significant. That is, emotional closeness with a surviving parent is significantly related with fewer depressive symptoms when a mother survives a father (the reference group). The size and positive direction of the interaction term reveal that this effect is unique for father’s death experiences; emotional closeness with a surviving father is not related with fewer depressive symptoms following the death of a mother. Alternating the reference group (supplemental analyses not shown) confirms that the effect of emotional closeness with a surviving parent is not significant when a father survives a mother. That is, Model 2 indicates that emotional closeness with a surviving mother after the death of a father is significantly related with fewer depressive symptoms, while emotional


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Table 1. Descriptive Statistics, Adult Children Who Experienced the Death of a First Parent, Longitudinal Study of Generations, 1985-2005 (N = 227). Observed Dependent variable Depressive symptoms (Time 2)a,b Key independent variables Emotional closeness with surviving parent (Time 2)a,c Mother’s death Daughter bereaved Daughters who lost mothers Daughters who lost fathers Sons who lost mothers Sons who lost fathers Control variables Depressive symptoms (Time 1)a,b Emotional closeness with deceased parent (Time 1)a,c Age Additional information Married/cohabiting (Time 2) Incomed Study generation 2 Study generation 3 Year of parent loss: Between 1988 and 1991 Between 1991 and 1994 Between 1994 and 1997 Between 1997 and 2000 Between 2000 and 2005

M or n

SD or %

Minimum

Maximum

2.61

0.38

2.00

3.90

4.02

1.03

1.00

6.00

64 141 42 99 22 64

28.2% 62.1% 18.5% 43.6% 9.7% 28.2%

— — — — — —

— — — — — —

2.61 3.91

0.38 1.19

2.05 1.00

3.80 6.00

49.73

8.85

35

74

178 US$67,500

78.4% —

— Under US$10,000

41 186

18.1% 81.9%

— US$200,000 or more

62 41 35 32 57

27.3% 18.1% 15.4% 14.1% 25.1%

— — — — —

— — — — —

Note. The average income of US$67,500 is based on a mean of 7.75 on the raw scale. aDescriptive statistics displayed for raw variable; transformed variable used in analyses. bRaw scale ranges from 1 = fewest depressive symptoms to 4 = most depressive symptoms. cRaw scale ranges from 1 = least emotionally close to 6 = most emotionally close. dIncome was measured on a scale ranging from 1 = under US$10,000 to 21 = US$200,000 or more.

closeness with a surviving father after the death of a mother has no such association. Figure 1 illustrates this finding. Given that more than 70% of first loss experiences examined in these models are fathers’ deaths, it is possible that this association reveals the primacy of mother–adult child emotional closeness at all times, and not


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Table 2. Depressive Symptoms Following the Death of a First Parent (N = 227). Model 1 Fixed effects

B (SE)

Main effects Emotional closeness with surviving parenta,b Father survives motherc Daughter bereavedd Interaction effects Emotional closeness with surviving parenta,b × Father survives mother Emotional closeness with surviving parenta,b × Daughter bereaved Father survives mother/son bereavede Mother survives father/daughter bereavede Mother survives father/son bereavede Emotional closeness with surviving parenta,b × Father survives mother/son bereaved Emotional closeness with surviving parenta,b × Mother survives father/daughter bereaved Emotional closeness with surviving parenta,b × Mother survives father/son bereaved Control variables Depressive symptomsa,b Agef Emotional closeness with deceased parenta,b Constant

Model 2

Model 3

B (SE)

B (SE)

Model 4 B (SE)

−0.16* (0.07) −0.02 (0.13) 0.14 (0.12)

−0.23** (0.08) 0.00 (0.13) 0.12 (0.11)

−0.16 (0.10) −0.02 (0.13) 0.14 (0.12)

0.04 (0.13) —

—

0.25* (0.12)

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

0.00 (0.12) —

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

−0.28 (0.15)

—

—

—

−0.23 (0.16)

0.38*** (0.06) −0.02** (0.01) −0.11 (0.07) −0.09 (0.10)

0.39*** (0.06) −0.02** (0.01) −0.12 (0.07) −0.07 (0.09)

0.38*** (0.06) −0.02** (0.01) −0.11 (0.07) −0.09 (0.10)

—

0.05 (0.24) 0.07 (0.15) −0.10 (0.17) 0.03 (0.25)

0.40*** (0.06) −0.02** (0.01) −0.12 (0.07) −0.00 (0.13) (continued)


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Stokes Table 2. (continued) Random components

σ (SE)

σ (SE)

σ (SE)

σ (SE)

Level 1: Individual

0.81*** (0.05) 0.19 (0.17) 15.49, 6 34.76%

0.81*** (0.05) 0.16 (0.21) 14.25, 7 37.21%

0.81*** (0.05) 0.19 (0.18) 13.28, 7 34.75%

0.81*** (0.05) 0.17 (0.20) 10.08, 10 37.52%

Level 2: Family F, df R2 aTransformed

variable. variable. cReference group is mother survives father. dReference group is son bereaved. eReference group is father survives mother/daughter bereaved. fMean-centered variable. *p < .05. **p < .01. ***p < .001.

Depressive Symptoms After Loss

bStandardized

0.5 0.4 0.3 0.2 0.1 0 -0.1 -0.2 -0.3 -0.4 -0.5 -0.6

Father Survives Mother Mother Survives Father Low Closeness

Average Closeness

High Closeness

Emotional Closeness with Surviving Parent

Figure 1. Emotional closeness with a surviving parent and depressive symptoms after loss.

Note. “Low Closeness” is defined as two standard deviations below the mean. “High closeness” is defined as two standard deviations above the mean. All other covariates are set to zero.

specifically following the death of a father. However, correlations of Time 1 measures for this sample reveal no such phenomenon. Pearson r values for the correlation between depressive symptoms and emotional closeness with a father (r = −.26) and a mother (r = −.24) are approximately equal, with emotional closeness with a father having the slightly stronger association. This


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suggests that the differential influence of emotional closeness with a mother following the death of a father is specific to the bereavement context and not a by-product of fathers typically dying before mothers. Unlike Model 2, Model 3 does not display any unique significant results. This offers no support for the second alternative hypothesis considered by Research Question 2: that gender of the adult child is a determining factor in the influence of emotional closeness on adult children’s psychological well-being. That is, the influence of emotional closeness with a surviving parent following the loss of a first parent does not differ across adult sons and daughters. Likewise, Model 4 reveals no unique significant effects. This offers no support for the third alternative hypothesis considered by Research Question 2: that the parent–child gender pairing is a determining factor in the influence of emotional closeness on adult children’s psychological well-being. The results of Models 2 through 4 offer support only for the first alternative hypothesis considered by Research Question 2: The influence of parent–child emotional closeness on adult children’s depressive symptoms is primarily dependent on the gender of the surviving parent, not the adult child.

Discussion The present analyses offer new and interesting findings that make a meaningful contribution to the literature on linked lives, bereavement, intergenerational family relationships, and gender. Greater emotional closeness with a surviving mother after the death of a father is significantly related with having fewer depressive symptoms following loss. The same cannot be said for emotional closeness with a surviving father following the death of a mother, nor are there any differences according to gender of the bereaved adult child. This demonstrates the influence of intergenerational relationships following the death of a parent in adulthood, the importance of linked lives following a bereavement transition that impacts both members of the adult child-surviving parent dyad, and the role of gender in shaping these effects.

Linked Lives The results presented in Table 2 offer support for the framework of linked lives (Elder, 1999; Elder & Johnson, 2003). Although emotional closeness with a surviving parent was related with depressive symptoms after loss overall, this effect was driven primarily by emotional closeness with a surviving mother after the death of a father.


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Prior research on widowhood has shown that adult children influence widowed parents’ psychological well-being following loss (Ha, 2010). In particular, increased positive support from adult children results in fewer depressive symptoms for widowed parents, while greater negative support and decreased positive support results in more depressive symptoms for widowed parents (Ha, 2010). Other research has demonstrated that children’s problems and their accomplishments influence their parents’ well-being (Fingerman et al., 2012; Greenfield & Marks, 2006; Suitor et al., 2006). This article examines the downward influence of the parent–child relationship and reveals the importance of emotional closeness with a mother for adult children’s psychological well-being following the death of a father. This finding contributes to the framework of linked lives by illustrating the impact throughout adulthood of emotional closeness with parents, while extending the framework to the empirical setting of filial bereavement. It also highlights the role of gender, as mothers appear to be more strongly connected with their adult children than are fathers.

Gender The present study reveals interesting gendered effects in intergenerational relationships. While the death of a mother was no more impactful than the death of a father overall (Lawrence et al., 2006; Rostila & Saarela, 2011), the salience of the mother–child relationship shows itself in the efficacy of emotional closeness. The present analyses showed no difference between bereaved sons and daughters, nor between any parent–child gender pairings. Prior research has emphasized the uniqueness of same-gender pairings (Marks et al., 2007), particularly the mother–daughter pairing (Chodorow, 1978; Fingerman, 2001; Suitor et al., 2006; Umberson, 1992), but none of these pairings were significantly different from one another. Rather, relationships with mothers were more influential than relationships with fathers regardless of adult children’s gender. It is possible that incorporation of the subjective emotional closeness measures masks potential differences by gender to a certain extent, if indeed differences according to gender are primarily due to differences in emotional closeness. It is also possible that differences between parent–child gender dyads are too slight to be detected given the present sample size. However, the differences according to surviving parent’s gender in the influence of emotional closeness on adult children’s depressive symptoms are clear in the current findings. The results of the present analyses offer support for the primacy of mothers in the intergenerational family: Mothers exerted an emotional influence


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on both their sons and daughters following the death of a father, while fathers did not exert such an influence on either sons or daughters. While the results discussed here are necessarily prospective and limited, due to the characteristics and size of the sample, they lend support to the hypothesis that relationships with mothers are more influential for adult children overall, rather than to hypotheses concerning the importance of same-gender dyads in general or the mother–daughter dyad in particular. While emotional closeness with a surviving mother was influential for the sample overall, it is worth noting that older adult children experienced fewer depressive symptoms after loss. The LSOG does not contain information on the suddenness or unexpectedness of loss experiences, but it appears that older adult children may be more psychologically prepared for the death of a parent than younger adult children. The influence of emotional closeness with a mother may be partly due to changes in parent–child relationships following the loss of a first parent. Ha and colleagues (2006), for instance, found that widows were not only more dependent than widowers on their adult children but also provided more emotional support. While this was contingent upon education, older parents adhering to more traditional gender norms would be expected to fulfill such roles; therefore, emotional closeness with surviving mothers may be influential due to the greater emotional support widowed mothers provide when compared with widowed fathers. Moreover, recent research has highlighted the importance of gender and cultural expectations surrounding femininity/masculinity in affecting a loved one’s depression. Specifically, wives’ depressive symptoms influence their husbands’ future depressive symptoms, but not vice versa (Thomeer, Umberson, & Pudrovska, 2013). It may be that a similar phenomenon is occurring here as regards mothers’ unique efficacy in affecting adult children’s depressive symptoms; differences in mothers’ and fathers’ influence on adult children’s depressive symptoms may be due to mothers’ comparative ability to handle grieving and provide effective emotional support.

Bereavement and Family The loss of a first parent in adulthood is most often examined as a widowhood experience for adult children’s parents. This study reverses the focus and examines the experience of filial bereavement, analyzing the influence of emotional closeness with parents on adult children’s psychological wellbeing rather than on widowed parents’ well-being (Ha, 2010). These analytical decisions contribute to the literature on bereavement in a family context and reveal the complexities and continued influence of intergenerational relationships in adults’ lives across the life course. The death of a loved one impacts the family as a whole as well as all its members; moreover,


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the influence of family relationships after a bereavement experience is not unidirectional: Adult children significantly influence their bereaved parents’ well-being (Ha, 2010) and are also significantly affected by their relationships with mothers who survive fathers.

Limitations The present study retains several limitations. First, the sample was not nationally representative and did not allow for an examination of the potential effect(s) of socioeconomic status and/or race/ethnicity. Family relationships are not uniform across race and class, and bereavement experiences may not be either (Fingerman, Vanderdrift, Dotterer, Birditt, & Zarit, 2011; Sarkisian, Gerena, & Gerstel, 2007). Moreover, given the relatively small sample size (N = 227), nonsignificance of certain effects should not be overinterpreted. The advantages of the present data and sample justify its use here, and future research should seek to extend these analyses to other populations, using large nationally representative samples. Second, I could not incorporate measures of support or relationship quality with “fictive kin,” friends, neighbors, or confidantes due to the data being gathered only from legal family members. The extended family was also limited to two generations and did not include siblings. This may result in an overly strict depiction of social support available after loss, as siblings are important components of family life, and compensatory nonfamily supports can be sought when family support is either inadequate or otherwise unavailable (Allen, Blieszner, & Roberto, 2011; Ha, 2008; McHale, Updegraff, & Whiteman, 2012).

Conclusion The present study demonstrates that parents’ and adult children’s lives are linked across the life course, including through bereavement experiences. Furthermore, the influence of intergenerational relationships flows both ways. This article reveals that greater emotional closeness with a surviving mother is related with fewer depressive symptoms for adult children after the death of a father. These results offer support for the concept of linked lives, while contributing to the literature on intergenerational relationships, gender, and bereavement in a family context. Declaration of Conflicting Interests The author declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.


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Funding The author disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: This work was supported by the Data Training and Users Workshop for the Longitudinal Study of Generations, Summer 2012.

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Author Biography Jeffrey E. Stokes, MA, is a doctoral student in the Department of Sociology at Boston College. His research focuses on aging and families, intergenerational family relationships, health and well-being, and quantitative analysis.


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