Being adult children of late-life divorced parents in Israel: A dyadic/familial perspective

IF 1.7 3区社会学 Q2 FAMILY STUDIES

Family Relations Pub Date : 2024-01-24 DOI:10.1111/fare.12998

Yafit Cohen, Naor Demeter, Chaya Koren

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Abstract

Objectives

In this study, the researchers examined adult children's experience during and after their parents' late-life divorce. The study applies a familial/dyadic perspective. Family systems theory is used heuristically.

Background

Late-life divorce is rising due to increased social legitimacy of divorce and life-expectancy. As parents age, their adult children become more involved in their parents' lives. Accordingly, adult children are expected to fulfill roles in their parents' life transitions such as late-life divorce. However, adult children's experiences regarding their parents late-life divorce is not as available in previous studies, especially from a dyadic/familial perspective.

Method

Semistructured in-depth qualitative-interviews were conducted separately with 51 participants (28 adult children, 23 parents) composed of seven family units (n = 33) and nine parent–child-dyads (n = 18). Thematic analysis and dyadic interview analysis were used.

Results

During the divorce, adult children experienced meaningful roles supporting their parents, mediating between them, or pushing them to finalize the divorce. Some avoided involvement. Parents described roles they assigned to their adult children and their consequences. After divorce, adult children continued supporting their parents, experiencing role reversal earlier than expected. Their new roles included relieving loneliness and worry and providing care.

Conclusion

The roles adult children experience reveals unique challenges for adult-child–parent relationships after parents' late-life divorce, influencing the family system.

Implications

Conceptualizing adult children's roles and the implications for family systems contributes to theoretical knowledge. Family counselors should provide families with relevant tools to deal with these consequences. Policy makers and training programs for family therapy should address the consequences of late-life divorce.

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以色列晚年离异父母的成年子女：双亲/家庭视角

在这项研究中，研究人员考察了成年子女在父母晚年离婚期间和之后的经历。本研究采用了家庭/缓和视角。由于离婚的社会合法性和预期寿命的增加，晚年离婚率正在上升。随着父母年龄的增长，他们的成年子女会更多地参与父母的生活。因此，人们期望成年子女在父母的生活转变（如晚年离婚）中发挥作用。我们对 51 名参与者（28 名成年子女，23 名父母）分别进行了半结构式深入定性访谈，其中包括 7 个家庭单位（33 人）和 9 个亲子家庭（18 人）。在离婚过程中，成年子女扮演了支持父母、调解父母关系或推动父母最终离婚的重要角色。有些子女则避免参与其中。父母描述了他们分配给成年子女的角色及其后果。离婚后，成年子女继续赡养父母，比预期更早地经历了角色转换。成年子女所扮演的角色揭示了父母晚年离婚后，成年子女与父母关系所面临的独特挑战，并对家庭系统产生了影响。家庭辅导员应为家庭提供相关工具，以应对这些后果。政策制定者和家庭治疗培训项目应关注晚年离婚的后果。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

Family Relations Multiple-

CiteScore

3.40

自引率

13.60%

发文量

164

期刊介绍： A premier, applied journal of family studies, Family Relations is mandatory reading for family scholars and all professionals who work with families, including: family practitioners, educators, marriage and family therapists, researchers, and social policy specialists. The journal"s content emphasizes family research with implications for intervention, education, and public policy, always publishing original, innovative and interdisciplinary works with specific recommendations for practice.