Stepfamily Variation in Parent-Child Relationship Quality in Later Life.

Objective: We use a family systems approach to examine how stepfamily structure is associated with both positive and negative parent-child relationships while considering mothers' and fathers' discrepant reports.

Background: Two in five older couples with children are in stepfamilies. Past research on later-life stepfamily dynamics has focused mainly on positive aspects of relationships and compared reports of mothers and fathers from different families.

Racial-Ethnic Gaps in Pandemic-Related Economic Hardship: Age Differences Among Older Adults.

Objectives: Racial-ethnic disparities in experiences of economic hardship during the pandemic are well documented in the population overall and among older adults. Existing research shows that this economic hardship was much less common at older than younger ages. Little is known about the intersection of racial-ethnic and age disparities in pandemic-related hardship in later life.

Mother-Child Closeness and Adult Children's Time and Financial Assistance.

Objectives: Drawing on the intergenerational solidarity framework and life course perspective, the authors assessed how mother-child closeness across different life stages is associated with adult children's time and financial assistance to mothers in later life.

Methods: Using children's reports of their perceived closeness to mothers from Waves 1 to 4 of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health (Add Health) and mothers' reports about adult children's time and financial assistance from Wave 2 of the Add Health Parent Study (AHPS) in the United States, the authors investigated how mother-child closeness during adolescence, emerging adulthood, and young adulthood is related to midlife adult children's support with a focus on difference between mother-daughter (N = 934) and mother-son (N = 899) dyads.

Results: Closeness during young adulthood was an important determinant of adult children's time assistance to their mothers, regardless of child's gender.

Age Differences in Experiences of Pandemic-Related Health and Economic Challenges Among Adults Aged 55 and Older.

Background And Objectives: The oldest adults faced the highest risk of death and hospitalization from coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), but less is known about whether they also were the most likely to experience pandemic-related economic, healthcare, and mental health challenges. Guided by prior research on vulnerability versus resilience among older adults, the current study investigated age differences in economic hardship, delays in medical care, and mental health outcomes among adults aged 55 and older.

Research Design And Methods: Data were from the COVID-19 module and Leave Behind Questionnaire in the 2020 Health and Retirement Study (HRS).

Gray Divorce During the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Objectives: Drawing on emerging evidence that the pandemic appears to have impeded both the divorce process and actual divorces, we examined whether the gray divorce rate (i.e., divorce among adults aged 50+) declined following the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Changes in late-life assistance networks for Black and White older adults during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has disproportionately impacted older Black Americans. Given that assistance networks play a crucial role in older adults' ability to respond to challenges, we sought to investigate whether older adults' assistance network size changed during the COVID-19 pandemic and differed by race.

Methods: We analyzed data from the 2018-2020 rounds of the U.

The Changing Demography of Late-Life Family Caregiving: A Research Agenda to Understand Future Care Networks for an Aging U.S. Population.

Repeated claims that a dwindling supply of potential caregivers is creating a crisis in care for the U.S. aging population have not been well-grounded in empirical research.

A Brief Report on Living Arrangements Following Gray Divorce.

Objectives: We offer new insights on how older adults in the United States navigate the aftermath of gray divorce (i.e., divorce that occurs among adults aged 50+) by describing their living arrangements upon divorce and tracking the stability of these configurations over time.

The Rising Midlife First Marriage Rate in the U.S.

Objective: This study documented change in the midlife first marriage rate for U.S. adults aged 40-59 between 1990 and 2019 and assessed the sociodemographic correlates of midlife first marriage formation for today's women and men.

COVID-19-Related Changes in Assistance Networks for U.S. Older Adults With and Without Dementia.

Objectives: Prepandemic research suggests assistance networks for older adults grow over time and are larger for those living with dementia. We examined how assistance networks of older adults changed in response to the onset of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic and whether these changes differed for those with and without dementia.

Methods: We used 3 rounds of the National Health and Aging Trends Study.

Sole Family Survivors: Older Adults Lacking Family of Origin Kin.

Objectives: We introduced a unique form of kinlessness: sole family survivorship, which describes the lack of family of origin (i.e., biological parents and siblings) kin.

The Roles of Gray Divorce and Subsequent Repartnering for Parent-Adult Child Relationships.

Objectives: Divorce is now widespread in later life, yet little is known about how older adults and their adult children respond in the aftermath of gray divorce. Guided by the life course perspective, this study examines the consequences of gray divorce and subsequent repartnering for parent-adult child relationships from the parent's perspective.

Methods: Using longitudinal data from the 1998-2014 Health and Retirement Study in the United States, we estimated growth curve models to compare fathers' and mothers' frequent contact with and financial support to their adult children prior to, during, and following gray divorce.

Does the Transition to Grandparenthood Deter Gray Divorce? A Test of the Braking Hypothesis.

The gray divorce rate, which describes divorce among individuals aged 50 and older, has doubled since 1990. Extending prior research that showed the transition to parenthood has a "braking effect" on divorce, we examined whether the transition to grandparenthood, an emotionally meaningful midlife event that typically renews midlife marriages, exerts an analogous "braking effect" on gray divorce. Using panel data from the 1998-2014 Health and Retirement Study, we found that becoming biological grandparents has a large deterrent effect on gray divorce that persists even after accounting for a host of other factors known to be associated with divorce.

Midlife Marital Dissolution and the Onset of Cognitive Impairment.

Background And Objectives: Marital dissolution has become more common in midlife with the doubling of the divorce rate among middle-aged adults. Guided by the stress model that stipulates losing economic, social, and psychological resources lowers well-being, we posited that midlife adults who experienced divorce or widowhood were at greater risk of cognitive impairment than the continuously married. Subsequent repartnering was expected to negate the increased risk.

The Economic Consequences of Gray Divorce for Women and Men.

Objectives: Gray divorce, which describes divorce among persons aged 50 and older, is increasingly common reflecting the doubling of the gray divorce rate since 1990. Yet, surprisingly little is known about the consequences of gray divorce and in particular how women and men fare economically during the aftermath.

Method: Using longitudinal data from the 2004-2014 Health and Retirement Study, we estimated hybrid fixed/random-effects models comparing women's and men's economic well-being prior to, during, and following gray divorce and subsequent repartnering.

Division of Parent Care Among Adult Children.

Objectives: Many older adults rely on their children's support to sustain community residence. Although filial norms encourage adult children to help their parents, not every child provides parent care in times of need. The majority of prior studies have adopted an individualistic perspective to examine factors associated with individual children's caregiving behavior.

The Roles of Marital Dissolution and Subsequent Repartnering on Loneliness in Later Life.

Objectives: Loneliness in later life is associated with poorer health and higher risk of mortality. Our study assesses whether gray divorced adults report higher levels of loneliness than the widowed and whether social support or repartnership offset loneliness.

Method: Using data from the 2010 and 2012 Health and Retirement Study, we estimated ordinary least squares regression models for women (n = 2,362) and men (n = 1,127) to examine differences in loneliness by dissolution pathway (i.

Depressive Symptoms Following Later-life Marital Dissolution and Subsequent Repartnering.

The doubling of the divorce rate among individuals over age 50 during the past 20 years underscores the urgency of studying the consequences of gray divorce and subsequent repartnering for adult well-being. We filled this gap by using the 1998-to-2014 Health and Retirement Study to evaluate how the levels of depressive symptoms changed following gray divorce versus widowhood. Individuals who divorced or became widowed already had experienced higher levels of depressive symptoms dissolution relative to those who remained married.

Sibling Influences, Sibling Similarities, and Parent Care in Late Life.

Researchers have extensively examined why some particular adult children provide care to their aged parents, but rarely considered sibling similarities and influences in their examinations. Guided by social learning theory and diffusion of responsibility theory, we investigate whether sibling similarities are associated with adult children's care hours, net of the parent's and child's characteristics. Based on social comparison theory, we further examine whether such associations differ across adult children, depending on whether adult children share the same characteristics as their siblings.

Repartnering Following Gray Divorce: The Roles of Resources and Constraints for Women and Men.

The doubling of the gray divorce rate (i.e., divorce at age 50 or older) over the past few decades portends growth in later-life repartnering, yet little is known about the mechanisms undergirding decisions to repartner after gray divorce.

Early-Life Parent-Child Relationships and Adult Children's Support of Unpartnered Parents in Later Life.

Objectives: The proportion of older adults who are unpartnered has increased significantly over the past 25 years. Unpartnered older adults often rely on their adult children for support. Most previous studies have focused on proximal factors associated with adult children's support of their parents, while few have examined distal factors, such as parent-child relationships formed during childhood.

A National Portrait of Stepfamilies in Later Life.

Objectives: Scholars have documented increases in the prevalence and complexity of stepfamilies earlier in the life course, but no one has systematically investigated U.S. stepfamily structure in later life.

Intergenerational Transfer and Reporting Bias: An Application of the MIMIC Model.

Objectives: Parents' and adult children's reports of transfer do not always agree, because each has respective bias. This study demonstrates a method to separate reporting bias from transfer and identify their respective correlates.

Method: The analysis was based on 4,947 parent-child dyads from the Family Roster and Transfer Module added to the 2013 wave of the Panel Study of Income Dynamics.

Marital Biography, Social Security Receipt, and Poverty.

Increasingly, older adults are unmarried, which could mean a larger share is at risk of economic disadvantage. Using data from the 2010 Health and Retirement Study, we chart the diverse range of marital biographies, capturing marital sequences and timing, of adults who are age eligible for Social Security and examine three indicators of economic well-being: Social Security receipt, Social Security benefit levels, and poverty status. Partnereds are disproportionately likely to receive Social Security and they enjoy relatively high Social Security benefits and very low poverty levels.