Intergenerational Solidarity and the Structure of Adult Child‐Parent Relationships in American Families

TLDR

The authors investigate the structure of intergenerational cohesion by examining social‑psychological, structural, and transactional aspects of adult child‑parent relations. They employ latent class analysis to create a typology based on affinity, opportunity structure, and function. They identified five distinct relationship types—tight‑knit, sociable, intimate but distant, obligatory, and detached—whose distribution varies by sociodemographic factors, with weaker cohesion observed in father and divorced parent ties, yet overall intergenerational relationships remain structurally diverse and capable of meeting members' needs.

Abstract

The authors investigate the structure of intergenerational cohesion by examining social‐psychological, structural, and transactional aspects of adult child‐parent relations. The authors use latent class analysis to develop a typology based on three underlying dimensions of intergenerational solidarity: affinity, opportunity structure, and function. The same five types are found for relations with both mothers and fathers: tight‐knit, sociable, intimate but distant, obligatory, and detached. Relationship types are also differentiated by sociodemographic characteristics; relations with fathers and divorced parents tended to have the weakest cohesion. The authors conclude that adult intergenerational relationships in American families are structurally diverse but generally possess the potential to serve their members' needs.