Assistance to Aging Parents and Parents-In-Law: Does Lineage Affect Family Allocation Decisions?

Authors: Shuey K.¹; Hardy M.A.²

Source: Journal of Marriage and Family, Volume 65, Number 2, May 2003 , pp. 418-431(14)

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Abstract:

In this analysis we used data from the Health and Retirement Study to examine how couples organize transfers of assistance to aging parents and whether the flow of assistance is structured by family lineage. We found evidence of a tradeoff between types of assistance and a unilineal pattern of assistance. Few couples provided both time and money, and few assisted parents and parents-in-law. The determinants of assistance varied by type of care, recipient, and patterns of parental survival. Couples were more responsive to the needs of the wife's parent(s) and were less likely to exclude her parents from care even under circumstances of competition. Controlling for resources, African American and Hispanic couples were consistently more likely to provide assistance.

Keywords: aging; caregiving; consanguineal; intergenerational transfers; race–ethnicity

Document Type: Research article

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1741-3737.2003.00418.x

Affiliations: 1: Carolina Population Center, CB 8120, The University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC 27516-2524 ( ), Email: shuey@email.unc.edu 2: *Pepper Institute on Aging and Public Policy and the Department of Sociology, Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL 32306-1121

Publication date: 2003-05-01