INSTRUMENTAL AND AFFECTIVE ASPECTS OF ELDERLY PARENT-ADULT CHILD RELATIONSHIPS IN BLACKS AND WHITES

摘要

The present study examined the instrumental and affective aspects of elderly parent-adult child relationships in Blacks and Whites, where both the elderly parent and the adult child were interviewed. The instrumental aspect measured the objective or interactional characteristics of kinship relations, whereas the affective aspect examined the subjective or qualitative characteristics of kinship relations. The study also examined the relationship between four independent variables and the overall instrumental and affective aspects of elderly parent-adult child relations. The four variables were: race, attitude toward aging, health, and marital status.;Overall, the elderly Blacks rated both the overall instrumental and affective aspects of kinship relations higher than the elderly Whites. Elderly Blacks who possessed relatively good health rated the instrumental or interactional characteristics of parent-child relationships higher than those elderly persons in poor health. In addition, the affective or qualitative aspect of parent-child relations was rated higher by elderly Blacks who were currently married and had a positive attitude toward aging. No differences were found between the elderly parents and their adult children regarding the affective aspect of their relationship.;Examining the reports of the adult children, the adult Blacks rated the overall instrumental and affective characteristics of parent-child relationships higher than the adult Whites. Also, both the Black and White adult children rated the affective or qualitative aspect of their relationship with their elderly parents higher when they perceived their parents to have a positive attitude toward aging.