CROSS-SIBLING EFFECTS IN PARENT-ADULT CHILD EXCHANGES OF SOCIOEMOTIONAL SUPPORT.

We use National Survey of Families and Households first wave data and innovative modeling to examine how one parent-adult child pair may affect other pairs. Three conceptual models guide our analyses of parents' giving and receiving of socioemotional support, representing enhancement, compensation, and independence. Giving support to one child is related to more giving to others (enhancement), but receiving support from one child is related to less receipt from others (compensation). Cross-sibling interactions do not reveal significant effects of distance of one child on exchanges with others, nor of gender or stepchild status of adult children. Cross-sibling interactions differ by race, suggesting enhancement in receiving support among Blacks and enhancement in giving support among non-Blacks. These analyses demonstrate the value of examining how parent-adult child ties are influenced by each other and by their family context.